Sears Holdings to close 120 stores

[bjl584]

Sears Kmart: Beginning of the end?- MSN Money

[disneysteve]

I'm amazed that this chain has lasted as long as it has. Kmart was on death's door years ago and somehow managed to hang on. The few times I've set foot in one of their stores, it was always a ghost town with no more than a handful of customers. I can't imagine how they've managed to stay in business with Target and WalMart providing a far superior shopping experience.

[pdweaver]

I completely agree. The Kmart i live by is never busy, and any time i try to support them i get upset because they have only 1 register open. I have to wait in a line even when there are only 3 people checking out?!

[beth_williams]

I think this is more of a sign of the death of brick and mortar stores than a bad economy. People are more apt to buy online, even furniture and appliances. If retailers don't figure out how they are going to emerge in the online space, they will die. Amazon even owns a furniture line, which they sell through their online presence.

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by beth_williams

I think this is more of a sign of the death of brick and mortar stores than a bad economy. People are more apt to buy online, even furniture and appliances. If retailers don't figure out how they are going to emerge in the online space, they will die. Amazon even owns a furniture line, which they sell through their online presence.

People were saying the same thing 10 years ago, but it hasn't happened yet. Online sales are more a compliment to brick and mortar stores in most cases.

The internet keeps getting bigger, but so do shopping malls.

[snafu]

Sears has coasted on the past since the 70's The stores in our area have not been updated and the merchandise seems so out of fashion. Snow blowers were featured in large, [expensive] newspaper ads but when you get to the store 3 hours later [opening] there are none, never were any...you can order it! W-h-a-a-t? i could do that on-line or by phone...why did I drive over, find a parking stall in their poorly lit underground parking garage, miles from the entrance etc. Salesman was a gem, knew everything about the demo models...can't tell you the nasty words running in my head as I walked back to the car!