Season's greetings at Sears: Dingy shops, sparse shelves

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Nearly 10 months out of bankruptcy, Sears is limping into the holiday shopping season.

Eddie Lampert, the hedge fund billionaire who promised to save 425 Sears and Kmart stores and roughly 45,000 jobs when he bought the company out of bankruptcy, has seen his $5.2 billion lifeline wither.

While there were plans for new small stores centered on appliances, only three have opened. The chain is still shrinking. By February, the store count will be down to 128.

Many of the stores that remain have the same old problems. They’re grungy and understaffed, poorly stocked and losing vendors. At the end of the year — a crucial time for retailers — Sears’ threadbare Black Friday catalog signals it’s going to have problems getting shoppers to its doors. And online, it can’t compete with Amazon and its traditional rivals.

“They used to be top of mind, particularly during this time of year,” said Coye Nokes, a partner at OC & C Strategy Consultants. “Now, they’ve faded into the landscape. They’ve become irrelevant.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/seasons-greetings-at-sears-dingy-shops-sparse-shelves/ar-BBXCfkp?li=BBnbfcN

That's what happens when you put a vulture capitalist in charge.

[hlthe2b]

1. Well, I guess Sears will soon join Roebuck...

Forgotten into history.

I'm not happy about it. Sears served a real purposes for many decades. It is sad.

[madamesilverspurs]

2. Drove by what's left of our Sears store yesterday.

It's being demolished, now just a pile of rubble at the mall. Our K-mart relocated before closing; it's old location became a bingo hall before being torn down, the site is now home to a big new police station.


.

[marble falls]

3. Eddie Lampert is the poster child for the evils of vulture capitalism.

[StarfishSaver]

4. Sears could have been the tip of the spear on internet commerce

Thanks to their catalog operation, they were already way ahead of the game. They had the rep, the distribution network, etc. They were the original Amazon and could have easily taken it to the next level. But they completely missed the boat.

This is very sad to me. Sears was a huge part of my life.

[ChubbyStar]

6. Huge part of my childhood too

I was a military kid and much of my youth was spent overseas, the PX only had limited things at that time, now they are like a department store, but the Sears catalog was a dream factory for my sisters and I. I got a faux fur GOLD coat for Xmas from Sears when I was 10, it was my prize possession. I had that thing until I was 20, of course I no longer wore it, and it became my first cats favorite binkie. Sears blew their advantage over all other retailers when they did not capitalize on the internet.

[madaboutharry]

5. It is really a pity.

I remember being in Sears with my mom on the day Reagan was shot. People were standing watching the televisions on the display floor.
The stores even into the 1980's were still bright and cheery and filled with merchandize. I think they started sinking right after that. They haven't been thriving for at least 30 years. It is a surprise there are still any left at all.

[mwooldri]

7. Whole lots of Sears still to be sold off.

I'm surprised the home improvement division is still around as part of Sears. It makes money, should have been disposed of in bankruptcy to the highest bidder.

Kenmore brand still can be flogged off - sell it to Amazon. Then again, Amazon should get what assets Sears has left and let the Sears name die. K-Mart killed it off IMO.

[emmaverybo]

8. Sad. They had some good stuff. Reasonable. Childhood and young adult go to store. With mom.

[Raftergirl]

9. Never liked Sears

The only one in my area closed about 5 years ago. It was one of the anchors at a regional mall. Part of it is a Whole Foods now.

[Freedomofspeech]

10. We used to buy our appliances there.

Last edited Sat Dec 7, 2019, 06:36 PM - Edit history (1)

We redid our kitchen 15 years ago and the Kenmore Refrigerator, stove and dishwasher are still humming away!