Sears Files for Bankruptcy

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I remember reading that many of the great Chicago bluesmen used Sears and Wards guitars when they were starting out because they were dirt cheap and the men were dirt poor...I think Son Seals showed up at open mic events on weekends with no guitar and would borrow somebody's, then somebody decided his talent deserved better and gave him the money to buy a guitar at Wards. Son knew he had it made when he saved up enough money to buy a superior Sears Silvertone!

Hound Dog Taylor played some weird cheap guitars from Japan with lots of switches and never moved up to better brands because the distorted sounds he got out of them were a big part of his music. Some of those cheap guitars are major collector's items now!
 
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
all this filing does is allow Lambert and the board to extract more money from carcass, Thieves. Simple common thieves. He will never be a CEO again, but with his millions doubt he cares. I hope someone raises a breach of fiduciary responsibility lawsuit against him. Drain him for legal fees


I thought his hedge fund took a bath in this debacle. If correct, I doubt his fund will be made whole again by this filing.
 
Well, the good news for me is, maybe my' Last Sears Catalog Ever Published' (big book) I have, still in the wrapper, will finally be worth something now. !! Stored since the '90's, last one. Actually, I think I have 2 of them. .... Sears catalogs were so cool back in the 60's and 70's growing up. Really acquainted a kid with the American dream, a lawn with a riding mower, Sears paint on the house, all the nice stuff.

I actually remember a couple of fellow students in engineering school in the early 80's who said it motivated them to do well in school so they could get a house with "a bunch of Sears stuff". ... Sounds funny now, but remember Sears was where the nice tools & everything was back then. Kids today might equivalence it with a combination of Home Depot stuff with Walmart necessities, with a more upscale twist. Sears catalogs were Amazon mail-order before Amazon mail-order, way before.

And who can forget the Kit Houses Sears sold in the 00's to 40's. They'd ship all the parts, already cut, and a bucket of nails, & you'd hire somebody to pour a foundation, etc., while YOU got to construct the frame. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home
 
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Originally Posted by Smoky14
Montgomery Wards use to be a main competitor, still have a tool set my Father left me from MW. Never have broken one and Dad got them before WWII....made in America.
Times change...not always for the better. Es Escobosa ese?

Smoky
 
Originally Posted by dishdude
Heard it here first. Not surprised. Sad, they still employ a lot of folks. Hopefully they can emerge and restructure as a competitive retailer.


They are hoping just to make it to Christmas and then close their doors after the shopping season is over.
 
Originally Posted by ragtoplvr
all this filing does is allow Lambert and the board to extract more money from carcass, Thieves. Simple common thieves. He will never be a CEO again, but with his millions doubt he cares. I hope someone raises a breach of fiduciary responsibility lawsuit against him. Drain him for legal fees

According to USA Today Lampert and his companies own 49% of Sears Doubt he'd sue himself.

This had been coming for years when they failed to adapt their mail order business to the Internet. Had they done that there never would have been an Amazon (Woo Hoo) and they could have kept and possibly owned retail and mail order.
 
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Lampert has been milking Sears dry. His fallback defense was that the real estate holdings of Sears were worth more than the company.

Times have changed and that statement may not hold water now. Malls are dying a slow death and most of the Sears stores at the malls are not in prime locations, ie ends of the mall. The internet model is forcing malls to rethink their plan or to shut down.
 
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Originally Posted by itguy08
This had been coming for years when they failed to adapt their mail order business to the Internet. Had they done that there never would have been an Amazon (Woo Hoo) and they could have kept and possibly owned retail and mail order.


It's rare for an existing company to adapt to lead a new market, because they're usually far too invested in the old one. Given the choice between potential future profits and existing profits, most managers will always choose the latter.

Besides, it would only have bought them a few years. Local manufacturing is going to take down Amazon the way Amazon took down Sears: why buy cheap Chinese crap from Amazon when you can just print it in your basement?
 
I'll personally miss them.

Hopefully at least one of the three near me last until the end of the year, so I can use most of my rewards points!
 
Interestingly, Amazon recently made a deal with Sears Automotive service to install tires ordered on Amazon. .... We might see Sears Automotive, as a name and franchise, survive.
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Interestingly, Amazon recently made a deal with Sears Automotive service to install tires ordered on Amazon. .... We might see Sears Automotive, as a name and franchise, survive.

Or, Amazon may just buy the automotive business if they believe that is in their best interest going forward.
 
A shame, but a sign of the times. I miss what Sears was 30yrs ago. My last few purchases from them were for work boots, but that's gotten so bad that I wrote them off completely.
 
Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
And who can forget the Kit Houses Sears sold in the 00's to 40's. They'd ship all the parts, already cut, and a bucket of nails, & you'd hire somebody to pour a foundation, etc., while YOU got to construct the frame. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home
Who are you kidding? If you can assemble a house, you can pour a pad. Normal people would be considered skilled DIYers today, especially if they grew up during the depression!
 
Growing up during the Depression endowed one with talents?

...you can romanticize anything I suppose.

ps I realize the value of thrift and sensible purchasing so lacking in today's world of cable watching, tattooed teeny boppers.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Ironic that Sears did not do well with online sales, since they practically invented catalogue sales.


It's founder did. It's current bean counter just provided a perfect example bean counters who only emphasis profit over quality and people will fail.
 
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