Kmart += Sears

[AFB]

http://quote.bloomberg.com/app...GZIjm_s&refer=home

Good or bad move?

 

[Ryan]

Walk into a kmart - that should answer your question.

 

[AFB]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Walk into a kmart - that should answer your question.

True. They both suck.

 

[TMPadmin]

Who cares? I don't shop at either.

 

[Psycho18]

Originally posted by: TMPadmin
Who cares? I don't shop at either.

Same

 

[aircooled]

I thought kmart went bankrupt a few years ago.....

 

[etalns]

Originally posted by: aircooled
I thought kmart went bankrupt a few years ago.....

Didn't they have some post bankruptcy restructuring that occurred? I'm nearly positive they went bankrupt also.

 

[Tremulant]

Oh. Jebus. I hate kmart, don't mind sears. But now I can see sears tanking. Especially if they adopt kmarts checkout habits. Example: 1 register open with the trainee cashier working it when there's 20 people in line. Even though right above the register it says "if there's ever more than 3 people in line at all registers, we'll open up another register." pfft. It's almost as bad as wal-mart on the weekends.

And yes, kmart did go bankrupt, they were supposed to close the store nearest me, but it never happened.

 

[rudder]

My wife actually shops at sears quite a bit. We get $10 of a $20 purchase coupon quite regularly and the why my kids go through jeans, it saves us lots of $$$. Kmart on the other hand, I avoid like the plague.

 

[NuclearNed]

What do you get when you combine two stores that suck?

 

[T2T III]

K-Mart can't run shiat. They'll run Sears into the ground and both retailers will be gone.

 

[wyvrn]

They still aren't going to be able to compete with Walmart's distribution system and low price strategy. Kmart couldn't keep up with Target's upscale discount strategy. The only thing that helps them is Sear's brand names like Craftsman. But they are going to have to close a lot of stores and figure out a strategy that doesn't pit them up against Walmart or Target.

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: NuclearNed
What do you get when you combine two stores that suck?

K-Suck ??

 

[psiu]

Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.

 

[Chadder007]

Sears is very nice around here....The KMarts are all messed up though.

 

[Kelemvor]

Sears is great for tools and things like that. But if it turns into KMart I will never shop there again. KMart is barely a step up from the $.99 store.

 

[bockchow]

Craftsman is the only reason i go into Sears and i don't go to K-mart unless i have no other choice.

 

[AmigaMan]

Originally posted by: bockchow
Craftsman is the only reason i go into Sears and i don't go to K-mart unless i have no other choice.

Yup. New Searses aren't that bad. The one near me has lots of cool toys like widescreen tv's, craftsmen tools, video cameras, etc. Not that I would buy their overpriced stuff (except the tools), but it sure is cool to look at and drool over.

 

[dman]

Sears has a pretty strong purchasing chain, I think they are just hindered by their mall locations. If they can move some of their inventory off to non-mall locations and keep prices down they may do well. However, I don't see how they can do this across the board. If they market the Kmart locations as Sears stores, sell the same items for less, then the mall locations will suffer... because the Kmart locations would be subsidizing them. If they don't do that, Kmart locations aren't going to get any more business just because they change the name to Sears-something-or-other and sell the same craptacular stuff.

So, my guess is that Sears has a long term plan to restructure the mall locations--focus on clothing and other key lines (electronics, hardware probably just because of the history), and build upon the specialty items to Kmart locations (Automotive, Hardware, Electronics, appliances, Lawn and Garden, Furniture, etc). How do they do that without confusing their customers, well, good luck.

We'll see.

 

[moshquerade]

good move. KMart sucks, but will suck a little less now.

 

[dullard]

K-Mart sucks in my opinion, but Sears is actually quite good. Sears has high quality items and pricematches anyone but with good customer service, cheaper delivery, and all coupons/specials are stackable. So I usually go to the other stores to get prices and drive to Sears to buy the goods. Sears is clean and pleasant to shop at as well.

I don't like the sound of merging a nice store with an unpleasant store. What I heard this morning though was that their goal was to turn failing K-Mart stores that they didn't get out of the lease on with their bankruptcy into Sears stores. It will be a dramatic increase in Sears and a dramatic decrease in K-Marts. So I guess that has to be a good thing, replacing crap with a good store.

 

[shiner]

I shop at Sears all the time...best place in the world for tool and appliances. Of course the big Sears store here is pretty big.....the original building was built in sometime in the 1940's.....was three stories tall....they just tore it down a few years ago and built a new one with even more square footage but only 2 stories tall. Great store. Of course we also have the Sears stores in the mall....but the stand alone store is the one I'm at most of the time. Great f'ing store.

KMart....well....they can suck my left nut.

 

[Amused]

Yep, those who skip Sears are missing out on great hardware and appliances. They also have some great deals on a decent selection of HD and SD TVs now and then.

Kenmore has been highly rated by all the consumer mags. A great brand because Sears picks the best makers to slap their badge on... and then offer a discount.

And if you're over 30, Lands End (now a sears brand) are some nice clothes.

Let's hope Sears fixes Kmart rather than the other way around.

All you Walmart haters should love that someone may be fixing Kmart.

 

[randomlinh]

kmart bought sears?!? damn.... that sucks

 

[TheAudit]

Kmart owes my company about $1.5 million from their bankruptcy. We?ll never see a dime from that collection.