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18 Depressing Photos That Show Why Sales Are Crumbling At Sears
Yahoo Finance ^ | January 9, 2014 | Ashely Lutz

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 ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: bhoeconomy; economy; retail; sears
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To: Diana in Wisconsin
What happened, I wonder? I know this has been a decades-long slide, but it’s hard to believe that it couldn’t be reversed when it first started.

I blame Cheryl Tiegs. It all started with her... Click to see where it all started...

181 posted on 01/09/2014 4:43:02 PM PST by Alas Babylon!
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To: Ditter

So much has changed since those days. So many iconic stores have gone away. It’s sad.


182 posted on 01/09/2014 4:45:00 PM PST by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: Responsibility2nd
But then - Sears owns KMart.

Actually just the opposite...KMart owns Sears.

183 posted on 01/09/2014 4:45:18 PM PST by A_Tradition_Continues (formerly known as Politicalwit ...05/28/98 Class of '98)
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To: grania
Then there's KMart which makes me want to SCREAM. Plenty of people want an alternative to WalMart. If KMart went to a Made in the USA format instead of having almost all Chinese crap it would be really popular.

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.

184 posted on 01/09/2014 4:48:27 PM PST by cva66snipe ((Two Choices left for U.S. One Nation Under GOD or One Nation Under Judgment? Which one say ye?))
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To: Black Agnes
the stuff in the stores might be different.

That could be. I wasn't all that impressed with the selection. I'm sure the options are numerous when ordering online.

185 posted on 01/09/2014 4:49:26 PM PST by Disambiguator
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To: kaehurowing

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).


186 posted on 01/09/2014 4:50:46 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic war against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Hojczyk

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!


187 posted on 01/09/2014 4:58:42 PM PST by RetiredArmy (I am proud to be a Christian and follower of my Lord Jesus Christ. Time is short for U to know Him!)
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To: wayoverthehill

KMart locations in Texas http://www.mystore411.com/store/list_state/56/Texas/Kmart-store-locations


188 posted on 01/09/2014 4:59:10 PM PST by A_Tradition_Continues (formerly known as Politicalwit ...05/28/98 Class of '98)
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To: Black Agnes

“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.


189 posted on 01/09/2014 4:59:55 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic war against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Gay State Conservative

“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...


190 posted on 01/09/2014 5:03:09 PM PST by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic war against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: Wiggins
Did you ever meet a woman who didn't think she was right all the time?


ruhroh !

191 posted on 01/09/2014 5:03:12 PM PST by tomkat (you'll know when it's time)
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To: Mr. Jeeves

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!


192 posted on 01/09/2014 5:09:05 PM PST by Deathtomarxists
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To: shotgun
Walk into a Sears store today and its virtually empty of sales staff who know little to nothing about the product.

IT's been that way since the late 80's!!

193 posted on 01/09/2014 5:14:20 PM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: Graybeard58

I hate ovaltine.


194 posted on 01/09/2014 5:18:25 PM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: mowowie

I was in Springfield. It’s a Lowes. That was a fun place to work. They did hire nice girls!


195 posted on 01/09/2014 5:18:42 PM PST by Vermont Lt (If you want to keep your dignity, you can keep it. Period........ Just kidding, you can't keep it.)
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To: SMM48
Ace hardware has a licensing agreement to carry Craftsman. Tried exchanging a broken socket wrench over the weekend -- was told I had to do that at Sears.

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.

196 posted on 01/09/2014 5:19:49 PM PST by usconservative (When The Ballot Box No Longer Counts, The Ammunition Box Does. (What's In Your Ammo Box?))
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To: shibumi

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.


197 posted on 01/09/2014 5:23:22 PM PST by logitech (It is time.)
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To: Hojczyk
Sears died when it was bought by Kmart. I used to love Sears tools and appliances. The last few purchases were a complete disappointment.

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.

198 posted on 01/09/2014 5:27:06 PM PST by hopespringseternal
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To: F15Eagle

It seems like it was Discover Card but it was a while back.


199 posted on 01/09/2014 5:34:50 PM PST by Free in Texas (Member of the Bitter Clingers Association.)
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To: Hojczyk

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.


200 posted on 01/09/2014 5:38:34 PM PST by Some Fat Guy in L.A. (Still bitterly clinging to rational thought despite it's unfashionability)
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