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

[Sonikku]

My heart goes out to those that worked there for decades in better times that earned a pension only for that pension to now be in doubt.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

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.

Mine was free and I still maintain it. For me it's about ownership and upkeep of a thing, rather than treating it as disposable as a paper bag.

Having said that, I also repair my own TVs, have had the same pocket knife since I was 16, and have built/maintained every computer I've owned since I was 10, so I might be the oddball.

 

[Carson Dyle]

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.

Not really. Sears likely had order fulfillment systems in place that were around since 1900. You can't turn an old battleship like that.

I saw a recent comment about how catalog showrooms could have jumped out to a head start on online sales. Same thing. Totally different business model that's horribly difficult to get going in a different direction.

And now there's Walmart, trying out-Amazon Amazon. And mostly failing, despite probably the largest product distribution network in the world. Terrible web site. Confused delivery model. It all seems like a distant secondary concern of theirs, which it is.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Eventually as America implodes you will see more and more stuff closing. As the middle class shrinks there is not enough of the 1%ers who take the majority of the profits to make up for the deficit in purchasing by the ever shrinking middle class.

All that cash sitting in vaults overseas does nothing for the economy.

 

[lxskllr]

And now there's Walmart, trying out-Amazon Amazon. And mostly failing, despite probably the largest product distribution network in the world. Terrible web site. Confused delivery model. It all seems like a distant secondary concern of theirs, which it is.

Walmart could be interesting if they didn't suck so bad. Having physical locations all over means they could ship lightning fast. That would be especially good for groceries. Just think, you could have the walmart experience at your front door. No traveling required :^P

 

[Fritzo]

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.

I read that Husky took a big chunk of Craftsman's loyalty. Also Craftsman started lending their name to crappy gimmicks and ruined their name.

This clip sums up Sears perfectly

 

[IronWing]

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.

The salesman who sold us a stove had the whole pitch down to two lines. "They all crap now. Want to buy the warranty?" It worked.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Walmart could be interesting if they didn't suck so bad. Having physical locations all over means they could ship lightning fast. That would be especially good for groceries. Just think, you could have the walmart experience at your front door. No traveling required :^P

They couldn't very well ship out of their retail locations. And the distribution centers were originally set up to service those retail locations. So if they use those same centers for fulfilling their online orders (I have no idea if they're doing that) it's once again trying to retrofit a different type of business onto an existing one, which leaves them at a terrible disadvantage against Amazon, which was built and designed from the ground up.

A while back I ordered a $3 jar of peanut butter from Walmart (way cheaper than using Amazon) for pickup at my local store, with free shipping. The product was sent two-day to the store, and I picked it up a few days later. I doubt that they made a penny on that sale.

 

[lxskllr]

They couldn't very well ship out of their retail locations. And the distribution centers were originally set up to service those retail locations. So if they use those same centers for fulfilling their online orders (I have no idea if they're doing that) it's once again trying to retrofit a different type of business onto an existing one, which leaves them at a terrible disadvantage against Amazon, which was built and designed from the ground up.

What I had in mind was runners in cars/small trucks. Either in-house, or contracted out; maybe in partnership with Uber. They could take the stock from the retail shelves.

 

[TwiceOver]

Mine was free and I still maintain it. For me it's about ownership and upkeep of a thing, rather than treating it as disposable as a paper bag.

Having said that, I also repair my own TVs, have had the same pocket knife since I was 16, and have built/maintained every computer I've owned since I was 10, so I might be the oddball.

It's not really that, it's that I don't know what I'm doing and would rather not fuck things up. Then I have to dispose of the oil. It's really just not worth my time. If it was a $200 mower, maybe. I do DIY most things that don't have engines though.

 

[VirtualLarry]

A while back I ordered a $3 jar of peanut butter from Walmart (way cheaper than using Amazon) for pickup at my local store, with free shipping. The product was sent two-day to the store, and I picked it up a few days later. I doubt that they made a penny on that sale.

Was that the only thing you ordered? Seems a bit... financially inefficient for you as well... gas money? Time to go to store? (Unless you frequent that store.)

I guess I'm lucky, I've got a grocery down the street that I go to, and a Walmart further at the edge of town.

I still find it a PITA to go to Walmart, the parking lot is huge, they're usually packed, etc. Much easier and quicker just to go to the grocery.

Although, I did have a bunch of cases of Ramen Noodles delivered, from walmart.com recently. Saved going to the store. Free shipping on orders over $35. Given the shipping boxes, they may not have made much money off of me. Though, the wholesale cost of Ramen noodles probably isn't that much.

 

[ultimatebob]

Yeah, it's only a matter of time until Sears, JcPenney, and K-Mart all go out of business. People either want to go upscale with their clothes and shop at a Nordstrom, or go cheaper and shop at an Old Navy or Target.

Hell, there doesn't seem to be a product category where K-Mart or Sears are not outmatched. Tools, or Lawn and Garden stuff? Go to Lowe's or Home Depot. Electronics? Buy it at Target or Walmart if it's cheap. More expensive electronics? Check it out at Best Buy and buy it from Amazon . Auto stuff? Go to Autozone or NAPA.

 

[ponyo]

Lampert and Berkowitz sucked the company dry. Sears fate was sealed when they made the deal with the devil.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Was that the only thing you ordered? Seems a bit... financially inefficient for you as well... gas money? Time to go to store? (Unless you frequent that store.)

I do. After they shipped it to themselves via 2nd-day, I didn't pick it up until a number of days later, while I was shopping in the store.

Although, I did have a bunch of cases of Ramen Noodles delivered, from walmart.com recently. Saved going to the store. Free shipping on orders over $35. Given the shipping boxes, they may not have made much money off of me. Though, the wholesale cost of Ramen noodles probably isn't that much.

That was another thing. This single jar of peanut butter was packed better than most hard drives I've received. And the employee at the pickup counter had to retrieve it from the back, then she opened the box, inspected it and made sure it was what I ordered. Crazy. That's just not a working model for a profitable line of business.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sears should do like Amazon and basically be an online retailer. They could maybe keep some stores open but they would just be centres that stuff gets shipped to/from.

What's funny is our Sears turned into a Sears Outlet and I always wanted to go check it out for good deals and never ended up doing it, now ours is going to close soon too.

Retail in general is a cut throat business though, even online. With globalization even the mighty struggle to stay afloat.

 

[StrangerGuy]

Retail will be relegated to giant Walmart/Costco etc centers, discount stores, food/restaurant outlets, cinema theatres and other niche stores that will be safe from the likes of Amazon.

 

[Genx87]

Yeah, it's only a matter of time until Sears, JcPenney, and K-Mart all go out of business. People either want to go upscale with their clothes and shop at a Nordstrom, or go cheaper and shop at an Old Navy or Target.

Hell, there doesn't seem to be a product category where K-Mart or Sears are not outmatched. Tools, or Lawn and Garden stuff? Go to Lowe's or Home Depot. Electronics? Buy it at Target or Walmart if it's cheap. More expensive electronics? Check it out at Best Buy and buy it from Amazon . Auto stuff? Go to Autozone or NAPA.

Bingo

Sears was a case study in my capstone class 15 years ago. Their issue was identity. They didnt want to compete with Macys on the high end nor Walmart on the low end. They were stuck in between these models and people lost interest in their brand.

 

[Genx87]

That was another thing. This single jar of peanut butter was packed better than most hard drives I've received. And the employee at the pickup counter had to retrieve it from the back, then she opened the box, inspected it and made sure it was what I ordered. Crazy. That's just not a working model for a profitable line of business.

That is funny. My buddy ordered 10 jars of Salsa from Walmart online. They tossed them into too big a box with one piece of crumpled paper for padding. Needless to say the majority of the jars were broken.

Walmart is clearly lacking consistency in their model.

 

[feralkid]

I read that Husky took a big chunk of Craftsman's loyalty. Also Craftsman started lending their name to crappy gimmicks and ruined their name.

This clip sums up Sears perfectly

What?

Feralkid would never ride with the Humongous.

I don't care if he IS the Ayatollah of Rock and Rollah.

 

[Fritzo]

Yeah, it's only a matter of time until Sears, JcPenney, and K-Mart all go out of business. People either want to go upscale with their clothes and shop at a Nordstrom, or go cheaper and shop at an Old Navy or Target.

Hell, there doesn't seem to be a product category where K-Mart or Sears are not outmatched. Tools, or Lawn and Garden stuff? Go to Lowe's or Home Depot. Electronics? Buy it at Target or Walmart if it's cheap. More expensive electronics? Check it out at Best Buy and buy it from Amazon . Auto stuff? Go to Autozone or NAPA.

I like JCPenney. They have decent clothes for good prices, and their housewares section is pretty good too.

 

[Svnla]

I like JCPenney. They have decent clothes for good prices, and their housewares section is pretty good too.

I love JCP $10 off $10 coupons. As a matter of fact, I used two of them yesterday for several shirts (t shirts and polo shirts) on red tag clearance section and the average price was about $1/each. Not bad at all.

Back to Sears, I drove past by the local Sears at the mall a few days ago and the parking lot was almost empty. Not a good sight.

 

[dullard]

The US just has way, way, way too much retail space. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-retailers-have-a-ridiculous-problem/

"the U.S. has a “ridiculous” amount of retail space, equaling about 7.3 square feet per capita. That’s well in excess of the 1.7 square feet per capita in Japan and France, and the U.K.’s 1.3 square feet."

At one point we had the ability to support it. But the middle class has been left behind decades ago with all the recent gains almost entirely in the wealthy and a bit in the poor. Combine that with a lack of materialism in today's youth (they only need a used cell phone to be reasonably happy) and the growth of online stores and we will see many more retailers close their doors.

Retail won't die entirely, but much of it needs to be pruned way back.

 

[Sheep221]

The US just has way, way, way too much retail space. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-retailers-have-a-ridiculous-problem/

"the U.S. has a “ridiculous” amount of retail space, equaling about 7.3 square feet per capita. That’s well in excess of the 1.7 square feet per capita in Japan and France, and the U.K.’s 1.3 square feet."

At one point we had the ability to support it. But the middle class has been left behind decades ago with all the recent gains almost entirely in the wealthy and a bit in the poor. Combine that with a lack of materialism in today's youth (they only need a used cell phone to be reasonably happy) and the growth of online stores and we will see many more retailers close their doors.

Retail won't die entirely, but much of it needs to be pruned way back.

Where do they get this bs from, Europe is one giant-ass shopping mall, everyone here buys stuff they don't need with money they don't have. Malls are just so fucking big, you could probably stock a few airplanes inside if they had front door large enough.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Sears fucked up when they shut down the catalog instead of embracing the internet.
Since then they have been in a death spiral. They will die soon, finally.

 

[Staples]

I understand Craftsman was quality at one time but I have seen their recent stuff and it is like a commodity brand now, they just put their name on any old crap out of China.