Sear/Kmart to shut 120 stores

[91344George]

@LT4 Vette:

If I recall correctly Jupiter FL is a very wealthy area so it is no surprise that discount stores are not that popular, the Penny's thing is interesting because pundits in the retail sector are saying that many shoppers that used to shop at slightly upmarket stores like Nordstroms, and Dillards are now economizing and shopping more often at JCP, Sears, Kohls, and the like.

Then again I know that FLA is swimming in underwater mortgages including formerly comfortably well off folks that are now walking away from their mortgages in droves.

 

[AuthorEditor]

Your individual shopping experience isn't very relevant unless you visit many different stores. I have found that even with big box stores the management makes a big difference. For example, the auto maintenance department at our WM is well run, has friendly employees, and is much better than many other places I have been. I have found returns to generally be painless and fast at WM, though Target is even better. KM tends to have older stores that are not well organized, but often has different things than at WM. For instance, I just got some Philips headlamp bulbs there--not available at WM. I bought a netbook there for a present, and the KM price beat Staples, Best Buy, and BJs, and the spec was slightly better. So, I think there is a wide variety in the shopping experience at the same retailers but in different stores.

 

[UncleS2]

Good thing I'm all shoed up. Why, you ask?

For about 20 years, K-Mart has been my reliable go-to for low priced, comfortable sneakers & casual shoes that fit. My feet are too wide for many medium width shoes, & too narrow for some wide shoes. $pend more $$? Nope, fit is no better, & I just tossed a pair of $50 Reeboks- my only high-$ tennies ever- due to separated soles. Over the years I've found almost nothing at WM, Academy, or anywhere else that was low priced, fit me well, & seemed to be as well made as shoes costing several times more.

I was gettin' due for some new clodhoppers, old boat shoes & tennies wre comin' apart. A few weeks ago I lucked onto a sale at K-Mart and bought 5 pairs of new shoes- 2 boat-shoe types(K-Marts fit, Academys are agony after a few minutes as well as high-$ $perrys), two leather casual pair(one pair called "driving shoes", thin soled & uber-comfy knockoff of high-$$ Car & Driver darlings), & a pair of white tennies. Total for all 5 pair, $99.95 + tax.

For bargain priced shoes I love K-Mart!

Sure hope the Longview TX store stays open. the Longview Sears too, for that matter. But I will agree that Sears is its own worst enemy.

 

[PandaBear]

They had it coming for years. I used to go there to buy craftsman tools and appliance when remodel homes, but now they are more expensive (or at least not on sales) and carry not as attractive selection compare to Best Buys, Home Depots, Lowes, etc. So what is the point of going there now?

Sears auto is a joke too, their line is long and no sales, no price match, no bring in your own tires, no flat repair. I don't know why would anyone go there.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
Walmart is not doing Sears in, Sears is doing Sears in.

Ratty stores, high prices, indifferent sales staff, annoying upsells. Great place to shop.

What they really need to do is send the board of directors and management team packing.


Very true, the Target near my home is very well organized and well stocked / priced for most items. Their own store branded stuff is decent quality as well. I see them doing well compare to Walmart even if they are slightly more expensive.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

The problem with Sears/Kmart starts at the top. What is now Sears Holdings has been seriously mismanaged for more than a decade. There have been almost 20 consecutive quarters of losses, there has been little or no capital investment in existing stores, and it's finally catching up to them.

I sincerely doubt that Sears Holdings can return to profitability. The hole that in which they now find themselves is much too deep to get out of, and I full expect either a complete bankruptcy or the various business units and brands to get broken up and sold.

Originally Posted By: 91344George
The fall of Sears probably started when the Sears and Roebuck families disengaged from the company.


You need to learn a little history before you start speculating. The company has been publicly traded since the early 1900's and there was never any "family" involvement beyond the founders.

 

[rjundi]

A friend of mine owns a company that sells product to Walmart, Target and Kmart amongst others.

He got to visit each one's HQ and the vast difference between Walmart which was horrid with broken steps, broken furniture, poor landscaping and ugly offices. However they make money. He went to Kmart in Sears tower and it was beyond beautiful walking in the building with a waterfall and beautiful rugs and marble throughout.

Old school vs new new school. Target falls in the middle.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
The problem with Sears/Kmart starts at the top. What is now Sears Holdings has been seriously mismanaged for more than a decade. There have been almost 20 consecutive quarters of losses, there has been little or no capital investment in existing stores, and it's finally catching up to them.

True that. Lampert incorrectly thought the real estate value alone of the Sears/Kmart properties would somehow make up for not putting money back into improving existing stores. Hasn't worked out that way, and now Sears Holdings is deeper in the hole.

I hope Sears can survive if for no other reason that competition is a good thing. That said, I doubt it, as too much time has passed and Sears/Kmart has fallen too far behind it's competitors.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: 2004tdigls
Walmart is scary

http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid=-3836296181471292925


They might be the worst offenders now because of their size but it's hardly a new thing that they are doing. Unfair labor practices, shoddy products and political arm twisting have always existed. Walmart simply applies it successfully in the retail area.

It would be a good item to research the unfair practices Sears used to use when they were a top dog.

 

[PZR2874]

So now is the time to ruin all my Craftsman tools to get them "renewed"?

I like that idea

 

[Spazdog]

Sears destroyed Western Auto.

I still don't see how we weren't turning a profit. All the service bays were full all the time and we had far more retail customers than the Hi-Lo (O'Reilly) or Autozone down the street did. But they insisted on blowing millions of dollars on a consulting firm that suggested we tear out the false ceiling, rip up the floor tiles, and get uglier taller gondolas for that "Home Depot" look...

Yeah. People shop at auto parts stores because they look like warehouses.

Idiots. Complete and utter idiots.

Then they closed all the K-Marts. This is the 4th largest retail market in the United States behind Greater Chicagoland. And our economy is typically better than most regions. Take advantage of that? Nahhh? Close it.

Then there's NTB and all it's stupid sales gimmickery. Wow! Charge too much for two tires and give away two for free IF you buy a far overpriced alignment. Do you follow Discount Tire's lead? Nope! People want gimmicky sales. Idiots.

Still idiots. I'll tell those overpaid white collar fools that they are idiots to their collective idiot faces. Right now, some MBA is reading this thinking, "He can't say that! and then go on with that tired old mantra of, "the only controllable overhead is payroll...." But at some point you are hacking out your own company's ability to compete and destroying your own future.

 

[javacontour]

I tell the sales guy who tries to sell the extended warranty that if the product is that bad, maybe I shouldn't buy it at all.

If I have to buy an extended warranty to feel good about it, maybe I shouldn't buy it.

That usually shuts them up. Better half a loaf than no loaf at all.

I'm with El Hefe, Sears is usually where I park to get to some other store in the mall. I can usually park in under 100 feet from the door, walk through the tool section and then get to where my daughter wants to go.

Originally Posted By: abycat
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.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Right now, some MBA is reading this thinking, "He can't say that! and then go on with that tired old mantra of, "the only controllable overhead is payroll...." But at some point you are hacking out your own company's ability to compete and destroying your own future.


Labor, especially in "right of work" states, is the easiest cost category to trim. This is especially true for positions where the skill level is generic and widely available (for example, the first labor categories to go are administrative assistants and janitors). But shedding high skill labor can be counter productive if you do not gain productivity (such as overtime by exempt staff) as a result of labor reduction.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
It's just laughable how many Walmart apologists we have, almost implying that Walmart is doing us a favor by existing.


Who in this thread said that Walmart is doing us a favor by existing, or "almost implying" it?

I think that, to a true Walmart hater, anyone that doesn't share their hatred for the store necessarily must love the place. That's not necessarily so. One can recognize a store's physical merits without having any emotional attachment to it. That you said that some folks are "almost implying" something tells me that you're likely reading more into the post than what's really there. I suspect it was my post you were reading too much into, and if it was indeed my post, then I know you were reading too much into it.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Sears destroyed Western Auto.

I still don't see how we weren't turning a profit. But they insisted on blowing millions of dollars on a consulting firm that suggested we tear out the false ceiling, rip up the floor tiles, and get uglier taller gondolas for that "Home Depot" look...

Idiots. Complete and utter idiots.

Then they closed all the K-Marts. This is the 4th largest retail market in the United States behind Greater Chicagoland. And our economy is typically better than most regions. Take advantage of that? Nahhh? Close it.

Still idiots. I'll tell those overpaid white collar fools that they are idiots to their collective idiot faces. Right now, some MBA is reading this thinking, "He can't say that! and then go on with that tired old mantra of, "the only controllable overhead is payroll...." But at some point you are hacking out your own company's ability to compete and destroying your own future.


Especially this.

The worst thing that ever happened to the business world was the rise of the MBA. The most over paid over hyped recently invented make work job in the management field.

 

[91344George]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit


Originally Posted By: 91344George
The fall of Sears probably started when the Sears and Roebuck families disengaged from the company.


You need to learn a little history before you start speculating. The company has been publicly traded since the early 1900's and there was never any "family" involvement beyond the founders.


Exactly that is what I meant. Once the founders left the scene I think the slow decline began.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: 91344George
The worst thing that ever happened to the business world was the rise of the MBA. The most over paid over hyped recently invented make work job in the management field.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Not good news, abundant choices and competition among retailers is always an advantage for shoppers.

Sorry to hear about Kmart. I remember when they first opened in my area years ago, they had an automotive section that could rival an auto parts store, plus they sold guns and ammo right along side the laundry detergent.

Sears on the other hand use to be good for Craftsman lawn tractors and such, now they wrecked those as well, and forget about electronics. I waited a 1/2 hour in a boiling hot store for the one guy working in that department only to be told they wouldn't price match Walmart for a LCD TV.

 

[Merkava_4]

What about the Orchards Supply Hardware chain? They're owned by Sears
and every time I go in there, there's only 3 customers in the entire store...

 

[Mr Nice]

Originally Posted By: 91344George
@LT4 Vette:

If I recall correctly Jupiter FL is a very wealthy area so it is no surprise that discount stores are not that popular, the Penny's thing is interesting because pundits in the retail sector are saying that many shoppers that used to shop at slightly upmarket stores like Nordstroms, and Dillards are now economizing and shopping more often at JCP, Sears, Kohls, and the like.


Most of Jupiter is middle class, its the people on the water that are rich. I love shopping at JCP, Kohls and Sears for clothes. Places like Macy's and Nordstrom are way too ritzy for me. I would feel out of place even window shopping there.