Posted on 10/16/2018 6:49:06 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Sears, RIP: Bowing to the inevitable, Sears' owners on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Yes, it's a sad day for the 126-year-old company. But it's not a tragic story, for it underscores the underlying vibrancy, innovation and creativity of American capitalism.
Monday's filing came as Sears faced a deadline for payment of $134 million on its debt. It didn't have the money, so it filed for protection from its creditors. Eddie Lampert — the largest shareholder in the company, with nearly half its shares — stepped down as CEO.
By the end of this year, Sears will be a much-diminished company. From more than 4,000 stores as recently as 2011, it now has about 700. It will close 142 more stores by year's end, leaving it a remnant of its former self. Already shorn of its Craftsman tools brand and looking for a buyer for its Kenmore appliances unit, there's little left now but a famous name with few assets other than semi-empty stores and real estate.
We won't go into the rest of the gory details of its finances, other than to say the picture isn't pretty.
Yet, even as we lament its decline, we should remember that Sears itself was once a great retail disruptor, just as the companies that have killed its business today are disruptors themselves. Sears was Amazon before Amazon was Amazon.
Sears, Builder And Destroyer Sears started in 1886 as a mail-order watch company, but soon branched out into other goods. By the early 20th century, Sears catalogs were common in American households.
But Sears' success came at a price. Thousands of small, independent local retailers couldn't compete with Sears' low prices and national reach. Many thousands went out of business.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Did they finally dump Allstate? Or maybe they are not affiliated. The worst insurance ever.
I miss Montgomery Wards more than I’ll ever miss Sears.
In part because I took a moonlighting job there one Christmas season.
So many national retailers have gone, only to be replaced by others. Maybe Sears should have invested in the Big Box type stores. I saw it’s demise coming when the Craftsman tools were stamped Made in.....! So be it, another Big Chain bites the dust. Maybe someone will put a store together with the name, “American Made”, and only sell items made in the USA.
I still remember the smell and the layout of my childhood 1940s Sears Roebuck.
Somewhat related:
I have noticed that two of the criticisms the Left likes to make about Trump are:
1) He is an incompetent businessman who has been forced to declare bankruptcy more than once.
2) He can’t relate to normal people because he’s never suffered a set back in his life.
They don’t seem to see the irony in these twin statements. As this article indicates, a market economy (”capitalism”) allows some to rise and some fall based on merit. This vibrancy is the only way an economy can stay healthy. Life is a test. Every day. No one aces the test every day, but over the long haul, the best emerge as winners.
They were to late and missed out on the trend.
Cheap Chinese imports.
Who cares if they fall apart..just buy a new one every year.
Who cares if your jeans tear apart if you catch them on the corner of your desk.
They are only $12!
The only things I ever bought from Sears were Craftsman tools and equipment and Kenmore Appliances. If they had concentrated on those areas rather than selling crappy clothes and jewelry, they might have survived. Their stores have been disorganized and sloppy for decades.
Their management has been atrocious. I’m surprised they lasted this long.
According to USA Today, Sears Holdings’ court filings this week announced that the following Kmart and Sears stores are set to close in 2018, with liquidation sales starting very soon:
Alabama
Sears, 1001 Rainbow Dr, Gadsden
Arizona
Sears, 2250 El Mercado Loop, Sierra Vista
Sears, 3150 S 4Th Ave, Yuma
Sears, 6515 E Southern Ave, Mesa/East
Sears, 7611 W Thomas Rd, Phoenix-Desert Sky
Sears, 3177 Chandler Village Dr, Chandler
Arkansas
Kmart, 2821 East Main St, Russellville
California
Kmart, 215 W Hanford/Armona Rd, Lemoore
Kmart, 1351 E Hatch Rd, Modesto
Kmart, 375 E Alessandro Blvd, Riverside
Kmart, 3247 W Noble Ave, Visalia
Kmart, 912 County Line Rd, Delano
Kmart, 2530 S Euclid Ave, Ontario
Kmart, 3968-A Missouri Flat Road, Placerville
Sears, 1700 Stoneridge Dr, Pleasanton
Sears, 100 Santa Rosa Plz, Santa Rosa
Sears, 3333 Bristol St, Costa Mesa
Sears, 1011 W Olive Ave, Merced
Sears, 5901 Florin Rd, Florin
Sears, 3751 S Dogwood Ave, El Centro
Sears, 100 Vintage Faire Mall, Modesto
Sears, 100 Los Cerritos Mall, Cerritos
Sears, 1401 N Montebello Blvd, Montebello
Sears, 3001 Ming Ave, Bakersfield
Colorado
Sears, 10785 W Colfax Ave, Lakewood
Sears, 7001 S University Blvd, Centennial
Connecticut
Sears, 1201 Boston Post Rd Sp 2095, Milford
Sears, 850 Hartford Tnpk, Waterford
Florida
Kmart, 900 N W 76 Boulevard, Gainesville
Kmart, 12350 Sw 8th Street, Miami
Sears, 733 N Highway 231, Panama City
Sears, 300 Mary Esther Blvd, Mry Est/Ft Wltn Bch
Sears, 1050 S Babcock St, Melbourne
Sears, 3800 Us Highway 98 N Ste 500, Lakeland
Sears, 303 Us Hwy 301 Blvd W, Bradenton
Sears, 3100 Sw College Rd Ste 300, Ocala
Georgia
Kmart, 400 Crosstown Road, Peachtree City
Kmart, 6239 Turner Lake Road, Covington
Idaho
Sears, 460 N Milwaukee St, Boise
Illinois
Kmart, 3701 Broadway St, Quincy
Kmart, 4210 N Harlem Ave, Norridge
Kmart, 5000 23Rd Ave, Moline
Sears, 3340 Mall Loop Dr, Joliet
Indiana
Kmart, 430 W Ridge Rd, Griffith
Kmart, 723 3rd Ave, Jasper
Sears, 1251 US Highway 31 N, Greenwood
Sears, 6780 W Washington St, Indianapolis
Sears, 3401 S Us Highway 41, Terre Haute
Iowa
Kmart, 2803 E Kanesville Blvd, Council Bluffs
Kmart, 1111 N 2nd, Cherokee
Kmart, 2307 Superior, Webster City
Kansas
Kmart, 400 South Broadway, Salina
Kmart, 7836 State Ave, Kansas City
Kentucky
Kmart, 600 C W Stevens Blvd, Grayson
Kmart, Northridge S/C Us Hwy 127, Russell Springs
Sears, 4807 Outer Loop, Louisville-Okolona
Sears, 2625 Scottsville Rd, Bowling Green
Louisiana
Kmart, 7000 Veterans Memorial, Metairie
Maine
Kmart, 417 Main Street, Madawaska
Maryland
Kmart, 835 Solomons Island Rd N, Prince Frederick
Kmart, 6163 Oxon Hill Road, Oxon Hill
Sears, 15700 Emerald Way, Bowie
Sears, 400 N Center St, Westminster
Sears, 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia
Massachusetts
Sears, 1235 Worcester Rd, Natick
Michigan
Kmart, 06600 M-66, North Charlevoix
Kmart, 1025 M-24, Lake Orion
Sears, 900 Briarwood Cir, Ann Arbor
Sears, 2100 Southfield Rd, Lincoln Park
Minnesota
Sears, 425 Rice St, St. Paul
Sears, 12431 Wayzata Blvd, Minnetonka
Missouri
Kmart, 2901-5 N Belt Hwy, St. Joseph
Kmart, 7100 NW Prairie View Rd, Kansas City
Kmart, 1 Flower Valley Shp Ctr, Florissant
Nevada
Sears, 1245 W Warm Springs Rd, Henderson
New Hampshire
Sears, 50 Fox Run Rd Ste 74, Portsmouth
New Jersey
Kmart, 779 Delsea Dr, N Glassboro
Sears, 1500 Highway 35, Middletown
Sears, 1750 Deptford Center Rd, Deptford
New Mexico
Sears, 6600 Menaul Blvd NE Ste 700, Coronado
New York
Kmart, 987 Route 6, Mahopac
Kmart, 8363 Lewiston Road, Batavia
Kmart, 2590 Military Rd, Niagara Falls
Kmart, 349 Orchard Park Rd, West Seneca
Kmart, 93 West Campbell Rd, Schenectady
Sears, 75 W Route 59 Ste 100, Nanuet
Sears, 1111 Franklin Ave, Garden City
Sears, 600 Lee Blvd, Yorktown Hts
Sears, Rt 394 & Hunt Blvd, Lakewood
North Carolina
Kmart, 1530 East Broad Street, Statesville
Kmart, 4500 Western Blvd, Raleigh
Kmart, 1001 Patton Ave, Asheville
Sears, 703 N Berkeley Blvd, Goldsboro
Sears, 400 Cross Creek Mall, Fayetteville
Sears, 11033 Carolina Place Pkwy, Pineville
Ohio
Kmart, 15891 State Rt 170 East, Liverpool
Kmart, 17840 Bagley Rd, Middleburg Heights
Sears, 5320 Youngstown Rd, Niles
Oklahoma
Sears, 6929 S Memorial Dr, Tulsa Woodland Hls
Sears, 9800 SW Washington Square Rd, Washington Sq
Sears, 3201 W Main St, Norman
Oregon
Kmart, 3955 S W Murray Blvd, Beaverton
Sears, 827 Lancaster Dr NE, Salem (Lancaster)
Pennsylvania
Kmart, 720 Clairton Blvd/Rte 51, Pleasant Hills
Kmart, 528 W Plank Road, Altoona
Kmart, 1502 South Fourth St, Allentown
Kmart, 1000 Nutt Rd, Phoenixville
Kmart, 1170 Mae Street, Hummelstown
Kmart, 100 Tarentum Rd, New Kensington
Kmart, 1180 Walnut Bottom Rd, Carlisle
Kmart, 3205 Lincoln Hwy, Thorndale
Kmart, 111 Hulst Dr, Ste 722, Matamoras
Sears, 880 Butler Street, Pittsburgh
Sears, 5522 Shaffer Rd Ste 129, Dubois
Sears, 100 Neshaminy Mall, Bensalem/ Crnwls Hts
Sears, 2300 E Lincoln Hwy, Langhrn /Oxford Vly
South Carolina
Kmart, 129 West Butler Avenue, Mauldin
Kmart, 2302 Cherry Rd, Rock Hill
Tennessee
Kmart, 6909 Maynardville Pike NE, Knoxville
Sears, 7600H Kingston Pike, West Town
Sears, 2800 N Germantown Prkway, Cordova
Sears, 2801 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, Clarksville
Sears, 2100 Hamilton Place Blvd, Chattanooga
Texas
Sears, 7508 N Navarro St, Victoria
Sears, 2901 S Capitol Of Texas Hwy, Austin/Barton Creek
Sears, 3450 W Camp Wisdom Rd, Southwest Ctr
Sears, 2501 Irving Mall, Irving
Sears, 6301 NW Loop 410, Ingram
Sears, 1000 E 41st, Austin
Sears, 6002 Slide Rd, Lubbock
Sears, 2002 S Expy 83, Harlingen
Sears, 2605 Preston Rd, Frisco
Virginia
Kmart, 6364 Springfield Plaza, Springfield
Kmart, 118 Waller Mill Rd, Williamsburg
Kmart, 2712 W Main St, Waynesboro
Sears, 100 Newmarket Fair Mall, Hampton
Washington
Kmart, 1001 E Sunset Drive, Bellingham
Sears, 3500 S Meridian Ste, 900 Puyallup
West Virginia
Kmart, 1701 4Th Ave W, Charleston
Sears, 9520 Mall Rd, Westover/Morgantown
Wyoming
Kmart, 4000 East 2nd Street, Casper
Sears, 701 SE Wyoming Blvd, Casper
Our Montgomery Ward had an alley that ran along one side of the store. The Greyhound buses drove through the alley and stopped at the side door to pick up and discharge passengers.
How about hiring a CEO that knows how to exist in the internet age?
Plus- I love shopping at Sears.
Announce they are selling all Trump lines of products and watch patriots come in to the store.
Look what happened to Chik-fil-A
so, you’re saying that in 120 years we won’t have Jeff Bezos to kick around anymore.
A friend says Sears is run by hedge fund people that are benefitting from the collapse. I didn’t understand his argument.
Neither do I, unless they ‘sold short’......................
When Sears ended their catalogue business, I wrote them a letter of complaint. I’ve often wondered how they would have fared if they’d continued it. They might have become Amazon in waiting if they’d still had a catalogue business when the internet became widespread. But Sears decided on a mall anchor store future.
Never understood why they couldn’t have done both. It’d be interesting to see a record of how companies that had successful catalogue businesses when the interest arrived have fared since.
Sears spun off Allstate many years ago. I owned Sears stock at the time and made a nice chunk of change from the spinoff. Allstate is my insurance company now and I've had very good experiences with them.
Eddie Lambert the CEO is a hedge fund guy who has been paying in (This is an example, not exact numbers.) 60 cents on the dollar in cash and debt and taking out $1.00 in real estate sales, selling brands etc.
Basically the CEO was Sears’ major investor and he could do as he wished with the company and kept stripping it of assets while doing the minimum from outside investing to keep it solvent.
$137 million in debt this week hit and when he knew the gig was up and he’d be going upside down in the deal he resigned.
Meanwhile his firm collected on all the divestitures.
Don’t bet on it.....................
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