Sear/Kmart to shut 120 stores

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Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Say what you will about Sears/Kmart, without fail the shopping experience is better than Walmart.


This must be a regional thing. I have a choice of no fewer than FOUR Walmarts within a 30 minute drive from me, and possibly with the exception of one, I'd shop there before either our Sears or our Kmart. The only time I've been in the Kmart in the last year was to check on the Mobil/Castrol clearance they apparently had earlier this year. The store is crumbling apart (as is most Kmarts I've been to), the floor tiles are ripping up or missing, the shelves are poorly-stocked, and there's really just no compelling reason for me to go in there.

We do a lot of our shopping at Walmart, and at least two of the Walmarts are at least as nice as our Target, which also got a re-do in the last two years. The Walmarts are brightly-lit. The grocery section has the same smooth-polished glossy brownish concrete floors that our local Harris Teeter has (Harris Teeter is the local "boutique" grocery store). All of the grocery refrigerator units have bright LED lighting. Most sections are well-stocked, and the checkout lines are usually well-manned. I've also never been turned away by a Walmart for a refund.

I do hope our Sears stays around, because they do offer a selection of tire brands that I can't get anywhere else. And they price-match, so I can take any Tire Rack or DTD quote in and they'll match it. Walmart's TLE is nothing to write home about, but they appear to stay busy with it...
 
The thing that bothers me about Sears is that they just won't take "no" when you tell them you're not interested in an extended warranty. I purchased a well-rated Kenmore washer about three months ago, declined the E/W and thought that was it. Then the calls started coming and...no matter how many times I told the person on the phone "no"...they wouldn't stop. Ultimately, I had to call the manager of the appliance department for the local Sears and chew him out; then the calls stopped.

Unfortunately, I'm looking to buy a new dryer soon and they're running a pretty decent deal on the dryer I want ($~300 off). The discount is great enough that I'll risk having to go through the E/W fiasco again. But then again, that'll probably be the last thing I buy from them for another 5-6 years. Like eljefino mentioned above, Sears is pretty much just a place to park my car so I can get to another store in the mall....
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Sears is no different from most other big B&M stores.


Maybe not in their home market of Illinois, where I see you are from, but down here they have fallen significantly behind others.

Home Depot carries much of what I would shop at Sears for, and I would much rather go there. Not saying HD is perfect mind you, but they are much better. At least in my area...
 
Sears/K-Mart are only closing 120 of their most unproductive stores (less than 3%)....and they have about 4000 stores in the U.S. and Canada.

So they will still be around in most places. Hopefully they can get thier house in-order... and survive this economic downturn....but I doubt it.

My guess is.... that we won't see Sears/K-Mart in the next few years....and their customers will be moved over to Wal-Mart and Target....and many of their stores will be bought up by those two companies.

Hopefully their Craftsman tools will be carried by someone else.
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
ACE is where I prefer to shop. The prices are higher than Lowes or HD but their staff are knowledgeable and the stores seem to always have what you need.


These guys are sleeper agents in a world of big boxes. And they fit a lot of "real hardware" (eg nuts and bolts) in way less square footage.

Around here they're a locally owned franchise and the guy isn't a jerk.

Now they just need more of those ads with John Madden.
 
One thing I really like about Sears is that when they put stuff on sale they don't fool around. 50% off list or more is seen pretty frequently, so if you can wait you can save a boat load of money. And, when I go in there are always things on deep discount that aren't in the newspaper flyers. I got some jack stands for around 50% off, and I bought some Lands End shoes there the other day for 50% off.
 
Originally Posted By: Mustang_Cougar
The thing that bothers me about Sears is that they just won't take "no" when you tell them you're not interested in an extended warranty. I purchased a well-rated Kenmore washer about three months ago, declined the E/W and thought that was it. Then the calls started coming and...no matter how many times I told the person on the phone "no"...they wouldn't stop. Ultimately, I had to call the manager of the appliance department for the local Sears and chew him out; then the calls stopped.

Unfortunately, I'm looking to buy a new dryer soon and they're running a pretty decent deal on the dryer I want ($~300 off). The discount is great enough that I'll risk having to go through the E/W fiasco again. But then again, that'll probably be the last thing I buy from them for another 5-6 years. Like eljefino mentioned above, Sears is pretty much just a place to park my car so I can get to another store in the mall....


I hate when the sales guy thinks your doomed if you dont buy the E/W. When I bought my current TV at futureshop the salesman was very insistent that I got the E/W. He even said if it were him buying the 2000$ tv he would get it. Then He even said I should get the E/W on the psp that I bought at the same time. I finally told him that I dont care at all If any of this stuff breaks cause Id rather buy a new one than clean it let alone take it to some place to get it fixed. After that he didnt bug me anymore.
 
Sears is closing 4 general mall type stores. They are closing all their hardware and stand alone tire/battery stores. An article in Nov 11 ESQUIRE claims they have no valid business plan and low cash flow and a matter of time before all Sears/K-Marts are gone.

Sears auto repair sucked for years. They have good KENMORE appliances and I like to stroll down their tool isles. Got a few things in their tool clearance rack on my last visit.

K-Mart as mentioned ,stores empty of shoppers. Some times you find a deal.
 
Originally Posted By: ronbo
They are closing all their hardware and stand alone tire/battery stores. An article in Nov 11 ESQUIRE claims they have no valid business plan and low cash flow and a matter of time before all Sears/K-Marts are gone.


I forgot that Sears owned NTB as well. They ran those into the ground as well.

I don't doubt the Esquire article, they've been bailing water for years. The only path is to clean house, I hope they wake up and see it soon enough to save Sears.
 
Originally Posted By: Mustang_Cougar
The thing that bothers me about Sears is that they just won't take "no" when you tell them you're not interested in an extended warranty. I purchased a well-rated Kenmore washer about three months ago, declined the E/W and thought that was it. Then the calls started coming and...no matter how many times I told the person on the phone "no"...they wouldn't stop. Ultimately, I had to call the manager of the appliance department for the local Sears and chew him out; then the calls stopped.

Unfortunately, I'm looking to buy a new dryer soon and they're running a pretty decent deal on the dryer I want ($~300 off). The discount is great enough that I'll risk having to go through the E/W fiasco again. But then again, that'll probably be the last thing I buy from them for another 5-6 years. Like eljefino mentioned above, Sears is pretty much just a place to park my car so I can get to another store in the mall....


Oh, I forgot about that. I swore my last appliance buying trip would be the last time I would do business with Sears, and so far I have stuck to it. I would pay more to not do business with them, that's how annoying the E/W stuff is.

And they don't give it up either, if you call their credit center for some reason (got 12 mo no interest)then they try to push their credit protection stuff on you, more aggressively than anyone else I have heard.

The moral of all this is, if you treat your customers like suckers, then pretty soon only suckers will shop your store.
 
Originally Posted By: Brons2


The moral of all this is, if you treat your customers like suckers, then pretty soon only suckers will shop your store.


What about the suckers going to Walmart for a "deal", when the only deal coming is the effective off shoring of their job?

Not saying that any other box store, sears and Kmart included, are any better - I'm sure Kresge was importing Taiwanese and Japanese stuff long before Walton was big into ripping off the American population.

It's just laughable how many Walmart apologists we have, almost implying that Walmart is doing us a favor by existing.
 
Indeed. Walmart was not part of my Chinese-free Christmas initiative. We shopped local and bought stuff from first-world nations as a family.
 
I hope Lands' End splits off and stays around. I really like their stuff and the customer service is outstanding.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
They just owned a new kmart by us.

Say what you will about Sears/Kmart, without fail the shopping experience is better than Walmart.
Originally Posted By: daman
I cant believe the KM stores around here are still surviving,they carry nothing and there prices are 10% higher then WM,nobody's hardly in the store it's old,dirty,ceiling leaking all the time just a [censored] store..

I agree with Daman. The last time I set foot in a Kmart store was more than 10 years ago. That experience was so bad I said to myself that never get near Kmart as long as I live.

Sears stores are different, I bought many appliances from Sears from water heater to washer/dryer to refrigerator to toaster oven ... And of course Craftsman tool sets (long time ago).

I don't go to WM too often because the nearest store is about 14-15 miles drive. But if I was somewhere with a WM close by I would stop by to buy what I need there.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: Brons2


The moral of all this is, if you treat your customers like suckers, then pretty soon only suckers will shop your store.


What about the suckers going to Walmart for a "deal", when the only deal coming is the effective off shoring of their job?

Not saying that any other box store, sears and Kmart included, are any better - I'm sure Kresge was importing Taiwanese and Japanese stuff long before Walton was big into ripping off the American population.

It's just laughable how many Walmart apologists we have, almost implying that Walmart is doing us a favor by existing.


How true.

Sears is still decent because when it comes to returns they are still the best and also about satisfaction in my experience if you are NOT satisfied with anything you buy from them you can usually get your money back with no problem at all.

The fall of Sears probably started when the Sears and Roebuck families disengaged from the company.

I DESPISE China Mart and NEVER shop there, when you look a little closer at things the prices are not all that much less and sometimes are significantly more than the competition and customer service is nonexistent, returns are a hassle with slow long lines and lots of questions and checking over the merchandise..and I put a LARGE share of the blame on China Mart for the destruction of US manufacturing.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
They just owned a new kmart by us.

Say what you will about Sears/Kmart, without fail the shopping experience is better than Walmart.
Originally Posted By: daman
I cant believe the KM stores around here are still surviving,they carry nothing and there prices are 10% higher then WM,nobody's hardly in the store it's old,dirty,ceiling leaking all the time just a [censored] store..


Different as they are, I have to agree with both posts. My default K-Mart experience was that they were old, ratty and felt like something left over from the seventies, but I have been in newer stores that were a pleasure. And like JHZR2, I can't stand the crowded experience and extended checkout experience at WalMart.
 
I saw this coming years ago. Kmart has had rediculous prices on everything,I cannot count how many times I walked outta there store with nothing in my hands.
 
Read dailyjobcuts.com and you will many reatilors are shutting under performing stores and that goes for Petco, Lowes, Starbucks ....etc.

I was in Kmart today and the place was dead. Then I went to JC Penny to use the $10 off $25 purchase coupon and the parking lot was 70% full. Very few people were returning Xmas gifts. I used 6 of the 40% discount coupons on clothes.
 
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