The death of Sears

[TexasHusker]

When I was a kid, we went to Sears a lot. At Christmas, they turned the garden center into a giant wonderland of toys. Santa was at Sears. Magical place. They even had a candy shop and grill at my Sears.

When my dad needed fertilizer or lawn equipment, or a set of wrenches or a hammer, we always shopped at Sears. If mom needed a new bra or a new vacuum, she went to Sears. If the kids needed new jeans, "Tough Skins" with the cool vinyl patch were the answer.

We had a few family portraits done at Sears. We bought our appliances and bicycles at Sears. Tires came from Sears. TV and stereo came from Sears, as did many of the records we played. Christmas decorations came from Sears. I believe we even bought furniture and mattresses from Sears.

Fast forward 40 years...

We buy our appliances at Best Buy or Lowes, and sometimes online.
We go to WalMart, Lowes, or Home Depot for tools and lawn stuff
When we were buying toys, it was Toys R Us or WalMart.
If my wife needs a bra, she goes to Victoria's Secret
If we need jeans, we generally go to Old Navy.
If we need a family portrait, we hire a professional photographer.
If we need new tires, we go to Discount Tire.

Somehow, some way, Sears transitioned from being the go-to for practically everything, to the go-to for practically nothing.

[97guns]

Yep we used to shop sears fior everything too, shoes, clothes, and household items. Sears near us always had a little candy/nut shop where the aroma of popcorn would fill the air, my mom would always buy something from there, her favorite was the gummy candy that looked like slices of lemon, lime and oranges. I also remember sears stores that were stand alone stores, no need for shopping malls and food courts, they were the boss of retail at that time.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Wow you guys hit a nerve there with those reminiscences of Sears, sad to see it on life support.

[TexasHusker]

Wow you guys hit a nerve there with those reminiscences of Sears, sad to see it on life support.

[msomnipotent]

It wasn't Christmas season until the Wish Book came in the mail. Kids would just flip out when it came. And it was a rite of passage to go to Sears to buy your first set of tools. All the paint and furniture from my first place was bought from Sears. There was a festival-like atmosphere when they had their back to school clothes sale. Free popcorn and balloons all over the place.

[torea]

I worked in a hardware store for a few years and I'm fairly certain the only thing that's kept Sears afloat has been it's Craftsman tools. A lot of folks only buy Craftsman because of the lifetime warranty on hand tools and because their sets (and often the sets they inherited) are Craftsman. Unfortunately for Craftsman, other brands have gotten big enough to do the same thing, such as Kobalt. I think when Craftsman dies, Sears will too

[saver17]

Which is why I would never want a job dealing with SALES

too unstable

[TexasHusker]

Which is why I would never want a job dealing with SALES

too unstable

Good salespeople are in HIGH demand and always will be. I was in a sales oriented job in a hospital system and they viewed me as the guy who was feeding the system hundreds of $ millions in lucrative managed care contracts. Whether that was justified I don't know, but that's what they thought and felt.

Every time I turned around they were giving me a $10K raise and I didn't even ask for it.

The competing hospital system then offered me a nice $ package to jump ship and work for them, and when I informed my hospital about the offer, they raised me $50,000 per year on the spot and gave me a contract with an 18 month guaranteed buy-out if we ever parted, which I one day took advantage of.

Save the CEO, NO ONE in the company had as lucrative buyout as me, including my boss. He never liked that .

The professions that make the money are medicine, law, and sales.

[saver17]

Good salespeople are in HIGH demand and always will be. I was in a sales oriented job in a hospital system and they viewed me as the guy who was feeding the system hundreds of $ millions in lucrative managed care contracts. Whether that was justified I don't know, but that's what they thought and felt.

Every time I turned around they were giving me a $10K raise and I didn't even ask for it.

The competing hospital system then offered me a nice $ package to jump ship and work for them, and when I informed my hospital about the offer, they raised me $50,000 per year on the spot and gave me a contract with an 18 month guaranteed buy-out if we ever parted, which I one day took advantage of.

Save the CEO, NO ONE in the company had as lucrative buyout as me, including my boss. He never liked that .

The professions that make the money are medicine, law, and sales.

I know, I have a friend who is a very good sales person and has never been laid off. He has the personality for it but I never did

[TexasHusker]

I know, I have a friend who is a very good sales person and has never been laid off. He has the personality for it but I never did

Often, the guys that don't have the personality for it end up being the best at it.

Most folks are terrified of sales because they view it like a pushy car salesman. It doesn't work that way.

I was into building relationships - sales took care of itself. I became golf buddies with key people at several large insurance companies and getting deals done was a complete piece of cake.

I had a rule with my clients: Never talk about business at lunch, dinner, or on the golf course. NEVER.

My boss went with me on a call once with a client 2 states away, and he felt the need to step in and show off his big shot sales routine. What an embarrassment it was. I told the CEO "please don't allow him with me on calls in the future."

He never took another trip with me.

[creditcardfree]

I worked in telemarketing about 20 years ago. The company was contracted to take calls for their in home services, such as plumbing and water heater repairs (among others). Ever since, I've had the worst opinion of Sears. We as 'customer service' were of no help on a Sunday afternoon. We basically took name, address and phone number and were told someone would call. So often an hour or two later the customer would call back stating they had not been called. We had zero authority to help the customer. We were simply a middle man to take information that I'm sure was somehow sent to an outside plumber who had a contract with Sears. Clearly some of them did not hold up their end of the bargain!

I think Kmart and Sears should die. They do no good service to the public at all.

[disneysteve]

I think Kmart and Sears should die. They do no good service to the public at all.

The problem with these big department stores failing is what I mentioned in another thread. It often takes the mall down with them. We were just at a local mall tonight for dinner. The mall has (well, had) 3 anchors: Boscov's, Sears, and Lord and Taylor. Lord and Taylor has already closed. I'm sure the Sears will be gone in the not too distant future. Boscov's is the only one that's still doing well and shows no signs of closing up. But having one, and soon two of three anchors vacant has a negative impact on every other business at the mall.

This particular mall revitalized itself a few years ago by adding some high end restaurants. They actually got a local referendum passed to allow liquor sales (the town is dry). If not for the influx of money from the restaurants and a new movie theater that was built there a couple of years ago, the mall might well have died by now.

Of course, the restaurants and theater don't necessarily bring customers to the stores. I mean we went for dinner tonight and didn't set foot in the mall. But at least the rent being paid helps keep the place operating.

[creditcardfree]

The problem with these big department stores failing is what I mentioned in another thread. It often takes the mall down with them. s built there a couple of years ago, the mall might well have died by now.

Of course, the restaurants and theater don't necessarily bring customers to the stores. I mean we went for dinner tonight and didn't set foot in the mall. But at least the rent being paid helps keep the place operating.

I don't buy into the too big to fail mentality. Yes, there may be an impact to other stores, but stores and malls need to adjust to the consumer, not the other way around. Sears and Kmart do not have the same feel that other stores have. Customers know it, thus the reason they don't shop there and they have failed. Sears and Kmart failed to adjust, so they should fail.

I did see the other thread and commented on it, mentioning living in a town with a dying mall. The city did tear the entire mall down, leaving the anchor stores as stand alone businesses. They created more of a town center type of feel with retail and restaurant. The city did put dollars/tax incentives on the table to make the entire thing happen. I was looking forward to the change as a consumer. I wouldn't have had to drive 30 minutes to get to the other mall.

Have you noticed that many malls are remodeling so their stores have store fronts on the outside of the buildings now? I think this is to make the business more visible and accessible. People are short on time and want to get in and out quickly.

[disneysteve]

I did see the other thread and commented on it, mentioning living in a town with a dying mall. The city did tear the entire mall down, leaving the anchor stores as stand alone businesses. They created more of a town center type of feel with retail and restaurant.

This happened to one of our local malls, too. They knocked down about half the mall and built a mixed use complex of restaurants, office space, and residential. That area is doing pretty well. We've dined there several times. What's left of the mall, however, is still struggling. It's a ghost town in there and the Macy's is closing (if it hasn't already) which will just make it worse. They need to raze the rest of the mall and re-utilize that space.

Have you noticed that many malls are remodeling so their stores have store fronts on the outside of the buildings now? I think this is to make the business more visible and accessible. People are short on time and want to get in and out quickly.

The Gallery in downtown Philadelphia is in the midst of a multi-year multi-million dollar renovation that includes this change. I can't wait to see the final product and see if it is successful.

[Fishindude77]

I worked in a hardware store for a few years and I'm fairly certain the only thing that's kept Sears afloat has been it's Craftsman tools. A lot of folks only buy Craftsman because of the lifetime warranty on hand tools and because their sets (and often the sets they inherited) are Craftsman. Unfortunately for Craftsman, other brands have gotten big enough to do the same thing, such as Kobalt. I think when Craftsman dies, Sears will too

Yep, when it comes to sockets, ratchets & wrenches it's pretty hard to beat Craftsman and the lifetime guarantee. Was in an Ace Hardware store the other day and they had a Craftsman tool display, so looks like they're still going to be available. Don't care for the Kobalt tools mentioned.