ruhroh !
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 ...
I blame Cheryl Tiegs. It all started with her... Click to see where it all started...
So much has changed since those days. So many iconic stores have gone away. It’s sad.
Actually just the opposite...KMart owns Sears.
K-mart shot itself in the foot in literal terms doing stupid things like destroying Sporting Goods to please Rosie. K-Mart's sporting goods dept in our area used to be tops when I was teen buying items there in the 1970's. They also made the mistake was destroying Electronics Dept. Nothing there to see move along. They also didn't go head to head with Walmart on grocery items. Lawn and garden? They have nothing much. Automotive the same. What they do have these days is stuff at usually full retail price with dysfunctional checkouts crammed in so no one escapes. Oh yea don't write a check because their verification system is down AGAIN.
Made in America would certainly be a huge plus. Having consistently stocked items on the shelves or available in the stockroom if they run out. That would put them above most Walmarts of today. They would also need to go to an at least six days a week open 24 hour operation. I can say the same above for Target as well. I have no reason to shop at K mart or Target.
That could be. I wasn't all that impressed with the selection. I'm sure the options are numerous when ordering online.
Our businesses do a good job of pressuring the cops to keep that away; it kills business. OTOH, I’ve been in a fast food place in Newark where panhandlers are INSIDE, and ask you for change when you turn from the counter (haven’t been there in years as a result).
1,000% completely agree. The Sears in the Oxford, Alabama mall is a complete and utter dump. Most of the photos here look like the Oxford store. The men’s department has NOTHING in it. Sears used to have a very nice men’s suits and sports jackets area years ago. This one has nothing. There is a Sears in Gadsden, AL mall and their store is 100% different than the Oxford store. Much better stocked. The men’s suits and sports coats have many to select from, in several colors. It is a well stocked store. Looks very much like the old Sears of years ago. But the Oxford store might as well shut its doors. It is an EMPTY dump. The Penny’s in the Oxford store is also going down hill. The one in the Gadsden mall is a bit better. The Gadsden has a Belk’s store and we shop there more. I have 10 sports and suit jackets that I bought from Belk’s. I did not pay more than $20-40 for any of them as I waited for the sales and the last ones on the racks. All were jackets that cost over $200-350 and they were better prices. Sears and Penny’s in Gadsden have a decent selection, but nothing near Belk’s selection. My wife says the women’s department in Belk’s is superior to either of the other stores. What has come to America’s stores? We have allowed our companies that were the bedrock of American business go into the ground. Going overseas has destroyed our base. Thanks DIMOCRATS!
KMart locations in Texas http://www.mystore411.com/store/list_state/56/Texas/Kmart-store-locations
“This was a store that was jam packed with stuff just 6 or 8 years ago. It’s where we bought all the kids shoes. Now we’re lucky to find something they like and in their size. Retail in this country will take decades to recover from the past 5 years. If it ever does.”
The fact is the shopping experience is permanently altered by the internet; there is no reason for stores to pay for so much space for “window shoppers” (especially if “recreational shopping” in this country is gone for most people). I don;t buy clothing or shoes online, but I;d probably buy just about anything else. Recently I was in two stores (one an army-navy store, the other a large chain bookstore), and neither had what I was looking for. Both offered to order it for me, and in both cases I told them I’d order it myself (and not from their store). So many stores now offer you the opportunity to see whether they have what you need in a specific store location, and they’ll offer to get it there for you as well if they don;t have it in stock.
“Sears was an important part of an America that was far superior to the filthy cesspool we have today.”
Imagine watching some Asian guy try shoes on with no socks (he was wearing sandals); absolutely disgusting. I’d imagine the reason we’re resembling the Third World is because that is where the “replacement Americans” come from...
ruhroh !
Yeah look like when I worked there in ‘84the year of the big cabbage patch doll craze. We got a truckload inand it was insane and that was just the emplyees fighting over them!
IT's been that way since the late 80's!!
I hate ovaltine.
I was in Springfield. It’s a Lowes. That was a fun place to work. They did hire nice girls!
So I won't be buying any Craftsman tools at my local Ace Hardware since I'd have to exchange broken ones at the nearest Sears - 15 miles away.
I still have mid 60’s SEARS aluminum boat.
Remember when they used to have a kick ass sports dept? Go carts ,mini bikes, tents, canoes and lots of guns.
If I broke my Craftsman knife, no problem.
I sure miss the good old days.
The last couple of years I haven't even been able to find anything online to comparison shop against. Sears online was always out of stock of anything I was interested in. The stores kept botching inventory (as seen in the pictures).
Craftsman hand tools used to be great, now I just get tired of taking them back to the store endlessly. Ratchets are the worst. I have older ratchets that are good to this day, but nothing I have picked up in the last ten years hasn't been back to the store at least once.
It seems like it was Discover Card but it was a while back.
None of these issues means squat as long as the store has merchandise people want at prices they are willing to pay. Sears doesn’t, so they are sliding down the tubes.
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