Posted on 01/09/2014 2:09:59 PM PST by Hojczyk
Sears, once America's golden retailer, is a company in crisis.
The company has shuttered hundreds of stores in recent years. The embattled company has been selling some its most profitable stores to raise money.
And now, shares are tumbling after Sears lowered guidance for the quarter and announced that comparable sales in the fourth quarter have slid more than 7%.
Brian Sozzi, chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors, took poignant photos inside of New Jersey and New York Sears locations in October.
"To understand why Sears is in a 'sell stores mode' one must look no further than the stores themselves, where the truth is to be found," Sozzi writes.
His photos show the sad reality of what Sears is today.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
All stores in malls look that that to some degree. I hate to go to malls and pretty much have to be forced to go.
All around depressing.
Those brands are so watered down now that you can get them just about anywhere.
We replaced a 25yr old Kenmore dryer last year (it was in an outside utility room and mice chewed up some of the internals) with another Kenmore (and put out mouse traps). We got it via the local small town store. The 26yr old Kenmore washer is still washing. It’s the only brand my mother will even consider.
I went in about two months ago. The only reason I visit the store is to buy Land’s End merchandise. There was no one in the woman’s department to help me, as I was looking for a specific item. The store appeared empty of customers.
I eventually found what I needed and proceeded to the check-out counter. The young female clerk saw me since she was about three feet away, but she was sitting in a chair at the end of the counter using her computer or ipad, completely ignoring me. I stood there for a few minutes then spoke up. She acted like I was disturbing her or waking her up...lol.
Oh, I had it backwards?
Oh well. As another FReeper just mentioned - we have no KMarts here in Texas (bankrupt).
I did go to Sears this last Christmas. Shopping for a TV in the $300-500 range.
If there was no Amazon or Best Buy or Costco or Sams or WalMart....
I might have just bought at Sears. But there are. And I didn’t.
I have purchased big ticket items at sears for 40 years.
Recently my clothe dryer stopped working (no heat) I called for service and it was five days before anyone could get to me (so I had to take my stuff to the laundryman to dry)
Finally a guy comes out. Messes with the dryer, claims it is fixed, I test it seems to be working.
Next day it stopped working.
Now up to this point I don’t expect much better service from anyone anymore. But bad service goes down hill from here.
I called in for service and was given another appointment in five working days. I explained this was a call back. Doesn’t matter. So more trips to the laundryman.
Eventually the service tech shows up and the first thing he tells me even if it is under warranty, that is only for parts he would have to charge me for his labor. I yelled at him, “Are you insane, it does not work for 24 hours and yet you want to charge me for a second service call?”
He conceded maybe that was not a good idea. He looked at it and found the “problem” but did not have the part. He would be back. More trips to the laundrymat.
Finally after a couple of weeks they were able to get the right part in and it works (and it still works) but I was not a happy camper.
That day I looked up the Chairman of Board for Sears and wrote a letter of complaint.
I did get an answer, a person called and said they got my letter and they were sorry for the poor service, but if I was to buy an extended warranty I would be put first in line and would not have to pay for service or parts.
In frustration I just hung up on them.
No more Sears for us.
My parents owned a Western Auto. In fact, my son still runs that same store in our small town. If I remember correctly, Western Auto bought out Whites and shut them down. Sears bought out Western Auto and shut them down. Then Sears bought Kmart and shut lots of Kmart stores. I guess I don’t feel too bad about Sears going broke. They helped to create the no mom and pop store world we seem to have today. Our store still has a Western Auto sign up and we still try to treat our customers as friends because that is what they are to us. Buy locally from small stores. You might be surprised by superior service even if we can’t beat their cut-throat price.
LOL! Well... :)
I’m still using a GOLD Kenmore gas dryer...purchased around 1980. Still going strong. Never needed one repair.
Kenmore contracts their designs to whomever is willing to build them at the lowest price. LG, Samsung, GE, Whirlpool.
Whirlpool and GE are it for US amnufacturers.
Whirlpool is Kitchen Aid, Maytag, Amana Fridgidaire, Magic Chef, Roper.
GE is still GE and Hotpoint, but tdo a lot of contrct work for Sears/Kenmore. It’s abot 1/4 of GE’s appliance production
The kind we see in all the rundown laundrey-mats?
I was so lucky and blessed to get that job. Some of my high school buddies that got jobs there were stuck in the stockrooms making $2.65/hr which was the minimum wage.
While the photos may be accurate, they're no better than what I've witnessed at WalMart, Target and a couple of others.
For the record, I've got a Sears, a Macy's, a Pennys, a Nordstrum, a Lord &Taylor, 2 Wal Marts, 1 Menards, (next to a WalMart) a Target, 1 Lowes hardware, 2 Home Depots, 1 Gander Mountain, 1 Brands Steak House, 1 Outback Steakhouse and a third that I can't remember its name.
All within 5 miles of my house...........How the hell they can compete with each other and still make a profit is beyond me.......
Same thing happened to ours...I found the problem was one of the thermostats. Do you use a lot of dryer sheets? If so, check your lint filter...even though the lint is gone, the filter will have this waxy type build up from the dryer sheets and this causes the dryer to overheat (trip the thermostat) and not heat.
Found it on the back, took it out and gave it a good whack on the ground and it reset...dryer works like a champ now and we clean the lint filter at least once a month with a fine wire brush.
Coool~! you just reminded me! My grandfather was a builder/carpenter/craftsman at the turn of 20th century. He built a mansion for a local coal baron, a huge, beautiful home. It was a pre-cut Sears house, and it came in by rail. My grandfather had to send draft horse teams to pick it up and deliver to the site. That house, built in 1903, is still standing, still beautiful!
We loved Lechmere! We bought our kitchen table from them in about 1983 or ‘84. It’s been chewed on by puppies and dogs and has a mildew stain on the top (not very large-from a leaking jug of water), but with the artful arrangement of place mats, it still looks good. I love it. It’s as solid as a rock.
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