Goodbye Sears? Sears acknowledges that they may no longer be a "going concern".

[dud]

Sears has been discussed here within the forums from time-to-time. An example is from January when Sears sold off their Craftsman brand to B&D:

https://forums.anandtech.com/thread...sh-and-the-history-of-sears-downfall.2496517/



Two months later and now the company is warning in it's annual report to shareholders that the company may soon no longer be a going concern:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-going-concern-idUSKBN16S2WG


I grew up with Sears but hardly shop there anymore. Every time I go into the store I see huge spaces full of stock but very few people shopping ... and even fewer actually buying anything.

Really sad and I feel for those who will lose their jobs if the annual report ends up foretelling the future of the company.

 

[Ichinisan]

Selling a brand like Craftsman makes zero sense. Even if everything else falls away, that still had reputation / value. You could shut down every brick-and-mortar store and still make money off the Craftsman name / products.

Sell off the good stuff in a futile attempt to save the dying/dead parts of the business? What a stupid decision!

 

[shortylickens]

Umm, Craftsman is not good stuff.
Craftsman is shit.
It was shit long before the brand was sold off.
And it stayed shit long after.

I think anyone who wants tools is getting quality goods from someplace not Sears, or cheap items from Harbor Freight.
They are not heading for Sears, even if they still believe Craftsman makes decent stuff.

 

[SearchMaster]

Selling a brand like Craftsman makes zero sense. Even if everything else falls away, that still had reputation / value. You could shut down every brick-and-mortar store and still make money off the Craftsman name / products.

Sell off the good stuff in a futile attempt to save the dying/dead parts of the business? What a stupid decision!

Unless half your foot traffic is people exchanging tools under the lifetime warranty.

 

[IronWing]

Kenmore appliances are on par with the other major brands (made in the same factories so they aught to be) but when we replaced our washer and fridge earlier this year, we didn't even consider Sears as it looked like they wouldn't be around for the warranty period. If other shoppers viewed it the same way, it's a death spiral.

 

[sm625]

Isnt it amazing how long a zombie can just sort of mill about without consuming any flesh? Sears reminds me of that one zombie from Walking Dead that was so weak it could barely even reach out one hand to grab at Rick.

 

[PottedMeat]

to most people sears means craftsman ( rebadged whatever deals they could get ) or kenmore ( rebadged/customized big brand ). maybe they should have shut down their clothing/kitchenwares/furniture/toys, leased that space out, and become a tool/appliance place instead.

they've got a crapload of properties where i am - a huge spot at the mall with a autoservice place, a gigantic warehouse discount type place at a strip mall - this is fairly new too, and a separate mower/garden/repair store.

 

[SMOGZINN]

The days of the big department store is almost over in general. What do they really offer anymore? For the most part they are not customer friendly, they do not provide quality products or customer service. So, what do they offer that is worth the hassle of dealing with them?

 

[TwiceOver]

Umm, Craftsman is not good stuff.
Craftsman is shit.
It was shit long before the brand was sold off.
And it stayed shit long after.

I think anyone who wants tools is getting quality goods from someplace not Sears, or cheap items from Harbor Freight.
They are not heading for Sears, even if they still believe Craftsman makes decent stuff.

My mower is a craftsman. It fires up first pull every time even after winter and I have done nothing to it other than change the blade in the 10 years I've owned it.

That said, it's really just a briggs engine on a metal platform, so it's not like "Craftsman" did much there.

 

[monkeydelmagico]

They sold the craftsman brand because it still had value. I would not be surprised if they sold the Kenmore brand as well. As a good corporate steward you don't want anything of value going down with the ship. Leave the unfunded liabilities for the bag holders to squabble over in bankruptcy court.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

My mower is a craftsman. It fires up first pull every time even after winter and I have done nothing to it other than change the blade in the 10 years I've owned it.

That said, it's really just a briggs engine on a metal platform, so it's not like "Craftsman" did much there.

And for what it's worth, you probably *should* do more than change the blade. Eventually the engine will give out if you aren't oiling it and cleaning the carb occasionally.

 

[Ken g6]

What's really sad is Sears had the perfect platform to jump to the digital age: a catalog! But they discontinued the catalog shortly before the Internet became a major thing.

 

[NutBucket]

I read an article this morning that stated part of the reason for selling Craftsman was to fund their pension plan which they have to do by law.

"The company plans to use a big portion of the $900 million it got for Craftsman to shore up its pension plan. It will put $250 million in cash and some income from annual payments toward the plan as part of a deal with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., a federal agency that protects private pension plans."

That's from today's LA Times.

 

[KB]

This doesn't surprise anyone. They have been losing money for years. It amazed me that people still loaned them money and thanks to dying malls even their real estate is worth less.

I read an article this morning that stated part of the reason for selling Craftsman was to fund their pension plan which they have to do by law.

"The company plans to use a big portion of the $900 million it got for Craftsman to shore up its pension plan. It will put $250 million in cash and some income from annual payments toward the plan as part of a deal with the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp., a federal agency that protects private pension plans."

That's from today's LA Times.

Its looks like the PBGC will be taking over another pension. Pensions are disappearing about as fast as brick and mortar stores are.

 

[SearchMaster]

My mower is a craftsman. It fires up first pull every time even after winter and I have done nothing to it other than change the blade in the 10 years I've owned it.

That said, it's really just a briggs engine on a metal platform, so it's not like "Craftsman" did much there.

And I had a Craftsman riding mower. I literally replaced something from every system within the first three years (steering, ignition, spindle (name?), tires, brakes, probably more). The only exceptions would be engine and transmission, but the transmission took a dump after 5 years. The engine (B&S Industrial) was solid until the end though.

 

[WT]

Selling a brand like Craftsman makes zero sense. Even if everything else falls away, that still had reputation / value. You could shut down every brick-and-mortar store and still make money off the Craftsman name / products.

Sell off the good stuff in a futile attempt to save the dying/dead parts of the business? What a stupid decision!

Was working in the garage with my FiL last weekend and we broke a Torz bit. He was at Sears the following day to replace it, and the only line in Sears was at the tool counter - to replace broken Craftsman tools !! It had to be a serious money pit at this point, and would explain why they decided to ditch the brand. Still, a bad decision, but Sears as a brand is no longer salvageable.

 

[Sonikku]

Sears is like the last remaining pillar in my mall that has been there since I was a child. I can see why it has gotten to this position but take no joy in seeing it fall. This could be like a domino in retail space. In a couple decades 90% of what people buy will probably come from Walmart, Target, or Amazon.

 

[Stopsignhank]

I have a Sears 2 miles from my house and I cannot tell you the last time I was in there. Not sure why, it is just not on the top of my list.

 

[IronWing]

I have a Sears 2 miles from my house and I cannot tell you the last time I was in there. Not sure why, it is just not on the top of my list.

The one nearest me smells like damp, dirty laundry that's been sitting in the bin too long..

 

[Raduque]

I recently bought my bed and washer/dryer from Sears. Also some clothes.

 

[NuclearNed]

I worked for Sears for something like 7-8 years. I'll hate to see them go for nostalgic reasons, but I'm pretty sure that it's inevitable at this point, barring some miracle.

Part of the reason that I quit shopping there is how aggressive they get with their maintenance agreements. I hated selling them, and I hate being pressured to buy them.

 

[Genx87]

Isnt it amazing how long a zombie can just sort of mill about without consuming any flesh? Sears reminds me of that one zombie from Walking Dead that was so weak it could barely even reach out one hand to grab at Rick.

Sears has been dying for over a quarter century. Truly amazing how long they have held out.

 

[lxskllr]

Sears is like the last remaining pillar in my mall that has been there since I was a child. I can see why it has gotten to this position but take no joy in seeing it fall. This could be like a domino in retail space. In a couple decades 90% of what people buy will probably come from Walmart, Target, or Amazon.

When I was a kid, there were no Sears close by. You ordered from a catalog, then picked up your stuff from a local Sears store front which was nothing but a big mailbox. They didn't have inventory on site.

There's a Sears close by now; I think... Haven't been there in awhile. I only go to the mall around jul, and didn't even do that this year aside from taking my daughter to exchange gifts. Looked pretty desolate inside considering how close to the holidays it still was.

 

[TwiceOver]

And for what it's worth, you probably *should* do more than change the blade. Eventually the engine will give out if you aren't oiling it and cleaning the carb occasionally.

Not worth it on a $100 push mower. They are like printers. If I get more than 2 years out of it, I got my money's worth. In this case $10/yr to mow and still going.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

This has been planned for years. The ceo and board of Sears has been milking the brand for all it's worth. No one above middle management ever wanted to 'save' the brand. They've been lining their pockets for at least 10 years.