Posted on 01/09/2014 2:09:59 PM PST by Hojczyk
I dunno, she looks rather innocent in that 1981 video. Certainly, she doesn't look like the slayer of American retail giants. Besides, that was early in Reagan's first term - the "good old days" by any current measure.
I'd forgotten all about those Laserdisc Tele-Shop catalogs. Sears was this close >< to becoming the modern retail sales monster that is now best exemplified by Amazon.com, but blew it. Sad, really. They obviously had some people capable of pushing innovation, but the technology learning curve outpaced them.
Sears should reestablish their gunshops on house. Hipoint through Benelli. Bring back JCHiggins shotguns as they are well known for their quality. Expand to rifles and pistols. If they use the same level of qc that they do with other products they will have a winner.
At Christmas go full metal jacket, old fashioned AO Schwartz type toy displays with trains going, anything can move does etc. Lots of demonstrator stuff on the floor.
When I was a kid Sears was the place to go for toys for Christmas. It was mind blowing for a six year old.
Those *depressing* pics look like they’re from K-Mart. Haven’t set foot in a Sear’s in over two decades. My, how they’ve gone down hill.
I totally agree with you - that’s why for decades I avoided Sears in Brooklyn and Long Island.
Recently, though, I was lured to Sears at the Gadsden Mall in Alabama for a sale on shoes.
Let me preface by saying I’m a cheap bastard who only goes to stores of this type for exactly what I came for.
While navigating towards the shoe section, it seemed to me that at least this Sears had very cleverly laid out and made displays of merchandise right up to the threshold of claustrophobia. I thought back to my impressions of the past, and how much Sears, at least here, had improved.
Then I got bombarded for all sorts of Sears this-and-that programs, incentives, and credit at the register, so it will be a cold day in hell before I go back there!
The main problem has been a lack of quality workers.
I’ve had one kenmore dishwasher at my house here for about 20+ years. i bought it after using one in my last apt. it scrubs the s**t out of everything. thot it was dying recently but it is still running.
We almost always went to Sears for car batteries, up until this happened. All my family had Craftsman tools too. It is a cryin’ shame what has happened to Sears.
You found employees? Dewd.
The last few times I've gone tool shopping it's been hard to find anyone to man the register. I've also broken more Craftsman hand tools in the last three years than in the previous 30.
14 months on a water heater is horrible. And the mess of all that water too. The last 20 years all we got at Sears was tools,some of our batteries,and maybe an appliance or 2. Now it seems they don’t honor the traditional craftsman tool replacement or battery warranties. We can all toast to their demise someday.
Perhaps it is more damaged than I thought, but so far I am not impressed. It seems to have trouble discharging the water even with a brand new pump installed, and while it technically "washes", the motor on it seems to only be operating in some sort of half-agitate mode. It also seems to be leaving lint, pine needles, and pet fur on the 'washed' items for some reason I cannot fathom. For the money I already spent just repairing it, and the price that is required to replace the main motor as well, I am thinking that I simply need to chalk it up to experience and purchase a new one and a dryer as well.
Suggestions?
Ding, ding!
and don’t forget the popcorn machine. :)
Ah, the heavenly fragrance of Sears hot buttered popcorn! The closest I've come to that flavor is the "buttered popcorn" Jelly Belly candy.
Indoor plumbing did away with their catalog business.
I could fix Sears. I would sell Kmart and with the $$$, I would have Sears focus on hardware, appliances, clothing and sporting goods.
Maybe they all like to hang out in the tool section, since that seemed to be where all the other shoppers were, too.
:^)
Interesting that most of the locations Kmart didn’t close were either in the Valley or in El Paso. Guess they are going for the Hispanic trade, which is fine but none of those Kmarts listed is in a particularly prosperous town. Kmart used to have some fairly decent stuff some years ago but they deteriorated in a hurry.
Those homes are very much cherished by many. They’re considered to be of very good quality, and many are still in existence.
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There is a whole neighborhood in an older part of Dallas that has bunches of the Sears homes, all in very good condition and selling for lots of money. I have some original Sears catalogues from 1940, 1941, 1943, and 1946 and one of them has a whole section of the pre-cut houses. IIRC, the prices ranged from about $2795 to $7995 for a nice 2 story house.
I’m with you there! I’m old and glad of it. I hope I die before the final collapse. I feel bad for my grandchildren but as my husband pointed out, they will not have known any different way of life than what exists today so they may have lower expectations. It’s not like those of us who lived in and came to maturity in the 40’s, 50’s, and even the 60’s when America was a completely different place.
Who had hand-me-down Toughskin jeans? THIS GUY!
It’s due to the rise of internet shopping. The Fry’s store in Palo Alto recently cut their floor-to-ceiling shelving to about shoulder-height. The shelves used to be packed with merchandise…now the much shorter shelves are often not even full.
“I asked her for Adidas and she bought me Zips! “
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