It's amazing that they ceased their catalog operations just when online and catalog shopping were beoming even more popular.
The other one that was predictably good was Spiegal, before they were bought out by a German company that went from the practical merchandise that would be used for years to more stylish lower quality selections.
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.
How can these companies be as stupid as they are?
Our local K-Mart is a zombie store.
You go in there, and no employees OR customers.
I have no idea how they even pay the lease and utilities, let alone make a profit.
First, they don't attract the best and brightest in retail execs. Mainly because of the second issue: These companies are so old-cultured and unnavigable with Byzantine processes and undivorceable fulfillment of shareholder duties, with each department knowing how to protect its rice bowl entirely suspicious of all new thinking and change, they're just unmanageable and next to impossible to rebrand.
Any new CEO coming in would quickly find themselves the caretaker at a cemetery. Any motion of 'we need to tear this part down, consolidate over there, and streamline this element over here within this timetable I drew up' would find horrible rot and rust underneath every component across the enterprise with every hammer swing revealing more and worse.
Only a dictator with plenty of capital behind them could turn the ship around. Sears hasn't got the minds or the money and doesn't look like it's going to attract either very soon.
Anyone worth their salt would rather construct something new.... Like, oh, Amazon Prime.
Kmart looks like an outlet store of overstocked, rejected Chinese crap.
I suspect it is the modern business degreed type. Got paper but no smarts.
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.