The death of Sears

[disneysteve]

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

Sears sold Craftsman to Stanley earlier this year.

[bigdaddybus]

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.

My parents never got the Wish Book, but Grandma and Grandpa did! I remember laying on the floor in front of the fireplace looking at the Wish Book for hours when visiting G&G. I can smell the fireplace, grandpas pipe, and dinner cooking just thinking about it. Sad to see them go, but they failed to adjust change.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm wondering if shipping costs and hard to return items will put ecommerce back in competition with brick and mortar. I mean i don't buy a lot of stuff online if I'm unsure because I hate having to pay shipping to return stuff. And yes there are many things you buy that you have to pay shipping back if you don't like it. Some are free but many are not.

And it's been shown that online is not as profitable. I'm curious why is amazon getting into brick and mortgage is not profitable? Truth is it'll probably walmart who'll give them huge trouble because you can buy online and return in their many stores. Plus if walmart gets their act together they can potentially get their shipping faster with all the distribution centers in place. but we'll see.

There has to be a reason why amazon wants to get into brick and mortar and it' not because they expect to lose money.

[PeggyHefferon]

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.

I can't imagine the above scenario is the norm though. What I have observed, is that the anchor stores close the location and the mall ends up vacant and sitting on the market for many years.

[creditcardfree]

I can't imagine the above scenario is the norm though. What I have observed, is that the anchor stores close the location and the mall ends up vacant and sitting on the market for many years.

Well it was nearly a ghost town for many years before it was torn down. Only one anchor store left, it was all the other stores that took their business to another town 20 miles south. I have no idea if it is the norm. It is wise for mall owners to look for other ways to make the space useful. I have seen them turned into corporate office space in many places in the midwest. I have seen some of the space used for large gyms.

[torea]

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.

Yeah I don't think they'll be dying soon, and I still like them more than the other brands. But the company I worked for was owned by Lowe's (who owns/produces Kobalt) and the company was phasing out Craftsman for Kobalt. Slowly. But nonetheless.

[bjl584]

Eddie Lampert is running out of real estate to sell.

[txex86]

Eddie Lampert had no idea how to run Sears and has run it into the ground. It really is a shame.

[Snicks]

It is a shame. Sears didnt' seem to know what direction to go when the world started changing. They tried the "buy the warranty for a crockpot" approach. This was extremely annoying and they would then pester customers with calls and the hard sell when were buying a toaster. It really created a lot of negativity with Sears, so much so that i personally stopped shopping there because I didnt' want to deal with that nonsense.
They tried to be everything to everybody and then failed at doing anything well.

[disneysteve]

It is a shame. Sears didnt' seem to know what direction to go when the world started changing. They tried the "buy the warranty for a crockpot" approach. This was extremely annoying and they would then pester customers with calls and the hard sell when were buying a toaster. It really created a lot of negativity with Sears, so much so that i personally stopped shopping there because I didnt' want to deal with that nonsense.
They tried to be everything to everybody and then failed at doing anything well.

There is a lot more to their failure than this, but you raise a good point. If the shopping experience is viewed as a hassle, people will avoid it. We used to buy our appliances at Sears but in recent years, we shifted to other places like Lowe's or Home Depot partly because the experience was much nicer. We didn't feel like we were dealing with a sleazy used car salesman the way we did at Sears.

[bjl584]

Sears was unable to find their niche. Walmart went after working and middle class shoppers. Target caters to the middle and upper middle class. Sears/Kmart is in no man's land. They also refuse to reinvest any money into their stores to make them more modern and cleaner with better technology. No one has a reason to go to Sears anymore. There are more modern places to shop with a more knowledgeable staff, better prices, a better selection, and an overall better shopping experience.

[rennigade]

There is a lot more to their failure than this, but you raise a good point. If the shopping experience is viewed as a hassle, people will avoid it. We used to buy our appliances at Sears but in recent years, we shifted to other places like Lowe's or Home Depot partly because the experience was much nicer. We didn't feel like we were dealing with a sleazy used car salesman the way we did at Sears.

At least at sears there was a salesperson that could assist you. Go to home depot or lowes...the sales people exist but they're almost always busy helping someone. So you have to wait around much longer.

I guess the question is...do you haggle or negotiate the price of appliances when you go to home depot or lowes? If not then who cares? At sears the price is listed on the item...its not like the sales people are trying to charge you $500 more than what the price is. Now they may try to steer you to the more expensive one...but thats on you. It only takes a couple words to get your message across and those issues go away.

For most people who arent good at diy projects...best bet is to find a local mom and pop store who sells appliances. They're easier to deal with, more hands on, they will come out and fix your appliance if anything ever happens (for a free of course.) You may pay a little more up front but you'll get better service than any big box store.

[disneysteve]

At least at sears there was a salesperson that could assist you. Go to home depot or lowes...the sales people exist but they're almost always busy helping someone. So you have to wait around much longer.

I guess that is just personal preference in how you like to shop. I can't stand when a salesperson comes over to "help" me when I'm shopping. Leave me alone. If I have a question, I'll come find you.

We bought our fridge at Lowe's. That was our last major appliance purchase. We went in, looked around, checked out the different models, looked up reviews online while we were shopping, and decided what we wanted. Then we went home, I ordered $1,000 of discounted giftcards online and went to Lowes.com and ordered the fridge. We didn't need a salesperson at all and nobody tried to force feed us an extended warranty.

[Fishindude77]

Sears used to be the best place around my neighborhood for TV's electronics and appliances, and some stores had some pretty decent sales people to help you out. Can't hardly stand buying from the big box outfits like Home Depot & Lowes. Sales people are usually dummies and delivery is a hassle to work out.

Thankfully, I've still got a local Maytag store to deal with. Bought a new dishwasher the other day, was in, out, and paid for in about five minutes. They delivered on my schedule no charge, had the machine swapped out in a half hour, discarded the old one and swept the floor when complete. Might cost slightly more than the big box, but worth it in my eyes. Plus they have a local service man, should anything ever go wrong.

[pflyers85]

I guess that is just personal preference in how you like to shop. I can't stand when a salesperson comes over to "help" me when I'm shopping. Leave me alone. If I have a question, I'll come find you.

We bought our fridge at Lowe's. That was our last major appliance purchase. We went in, looked around, checked out the different models, looked up reviews online while we were shopping, and decided what we wanted. Then we went home, I ordered $1,000 of discounted giftcards online and went to Lowes.com and ordered the fridge. We didn't need a salesperson at all and nobody tried to force feed us an extended warranty.

I prefer to be left alone when I shop as well. I think the majority of people's opinion on that has shifted since the age of the Internet. Prior to being able to look up information about products and models online you had to go into the store to speak to a knowledgeable sales associate who was privy to the specifications and data to help you select the best product based on your wants and needs. Today many people are accessing that information on their own and are walking into the stores equally and in many cases more informed than the sales associates working at those stores.