This is what happens when you don't adapt to change.

 

Exactly right. They did not adapt to the changing times, and when they tried it was too late.

Funny story, at least to me. I signed up for a Sears online account and app about a year ago. They started sending me "free cash" in emails that required no purchase to redeem. The amounts ranged from $5-$20. I just so happened to be working in a location with a Sears that was about 3 miles from where I was staying. At least once a week, I was getting this "free cash" incentive. It probably averaged about $10 a week. So I would go down to the store and get something. I easily "bought" about $200 worth of merchandise for free over about 6 months. Some of the things I was able to get for free over that time were 6 of the 1 lb propane containers, 3 sets of rechargeable AA batteries with chargers, several torx tools and sets, several flashlights, two wrench sets and there was more I don't remember.

Now if that is not just plain stupid, I don't know what is.

 

It's been a done deal. They just had to sell off all their divisions...

 

So many fond memories of Sears overcharging me all my young life for mediocre grade stuff and their vehicle inspection mechanics stabbing holes in my mustang with screwdrivers and forcing me to replace ball joints all the time. Sorry kid, your vehicle didn't pass inspection. Has a hole in the fender. Also, when we stick a 4 ft crowbar on your steering linkage and have fat George jump on it, the linkage moves ever so slightly.

Glad to see them go. Rotten sobs.

 

Sears made a bad mistake. Sears began with its catalog. If it has just adopted an online catalog when Amazon started selling books on line, no one would even remember Amazon now. Online is nothing more than a digital catalog seen by customers on their computers.

What a foolish bunch of people.

I do not know how many people still depend on Sears pension plan. It was one of the best in the late 60's. The saying was they have a great retirement plan if you just can make a living until then. The government will be taking that over. How much retirees will be cut and how much it will cost taxpayers; I have no clue.

 

One of my best friends retired from Sears. She told me all you needed to do to get a $25 gift certificate was to complain about something -anything. They didn't keep records you could do it over and over again...Now having worked for the also now defunct Hancock Fabrics, I understand this. A lady bought around $800 worth of supplies to make her wedding dress. She had never sewn before. Brought it all back 6 months later with no receipt hacked to bits in a garbage bag and demanded a refund - she got it. That day I started looking for a new job. My store closed 3 months later.

 

One of my best friends retired from Sears. She told me all you needed to do to get a $25 gift certificate was to complain about something -anything. They didn't keep records you could do it over and over again...

Many years ago I was a McDonald's manager. Any time anyone complained about anything, they were handed a card good for a Quarter Pounder, fries, and a drink. About a half-dozen regulars complained at least once per week.

My girlfriend at the time worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken. I saw a family sit in the car while they sent their 10-year-old kid in to complain that the last time they bought a bucket of chicken it was cold when they got home. The kid walked out with a free bucket of chicken, a free quart of mashed potatoes, and a free quart of cole slaw. Nice way to teach your kid about ethics.

Keep this in mind if you are every hungry and without funds for a meal.

 

Sears got too used to bilking people with overpriced garbage, when competition eliminated the floor salesperson and store overhead, Sears doubled down on it.

 

I saw a guy walk into a sears tool area, pick up a drill kit from the display shelf, walk over to the cash register and demand a refund. They gave him the price of the drill, and he walked out the door.

Idiots.

 

They turned into a bad Walmart. 50 years ago they had some cool stuff, my parents mostly bought tools but they also had great BB Guns and rifles like 22's. Good sports department too back in the day.

 

I remember getting reprints of the old 1900's catalog. Thought they were really cool.

Sears is definitely a case study to be used in business schools. You had their finance program, catalog, big stores, branded merchandise, repair division and parts. Then it all went to crap then got worst and worst.

 

I did like there hand tool policy when used honestly.

I also liked how I could order parts for my gas powered tools and my air compressor.

Anyone know who the actual makers of their compressor models were?

 

No, but I did like my 110vac small backup compressor which burned up in the first fire. I ordered another one as a temp when we were renting while our house was being rebuilt but it arrived with a broken air filter.

Instead of sending us a new filter, they gave us a credit and we shipped it back. We went down to the local store and they didn't have that model in stock so they gave us a more expensive Briggs and Stratton unit for the same price and it was fine. Unfortunately, a month later that one burned up (along with everything else) in the Saddle Fire.

I did replace it with another smaller Craftsman compressor which I use as a backup portable to my 60 gallon two stage Ingersol Rand.

 

Most retail is headed the same way. Big stores with lots of people to stock products on display can't compete with online just in time home delivery. Sears, J.C. Penney, Gap, Best Buy, Blockbuster, Kmart, ToysRUs, Bon Ton (which includes Boston Store, Younkers, Bergner’s, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman and Herberger’s), . ........ the examples continue to grow. Up to 3,800 retail locations are closing this year alone.

https://www.businessinsider.com/stores-closing-in-2018-2017-12/

Sears, being the original Amazon, could have stopped sending out catalogs and developed a better website. Then used their stores as delivery points for pickup or and extra home delivery charge.

If we ever have difficulties with something most times Amazon tells us to toss it or keep it because the goods aren't worth shipping back to them. If they aren't worth the shipping costs, they aren't worth the manpower to put them on display in a large retail store that needs to be built, upkeep, taxes, heat, cooling, and electricity.

And of course, Amazon has just about put every bookstore out of business.

 

The Sears out by me was a healthy, thriving store until the corporate office changed it all around.

They ruined it and they lost their customer base.

 

I just hope the warranty division for Kenmore stays around. I still have a year's warranty left on my washer.

And am I going to be able to get it fixed when the warranty is up? Sure hope so.

When our very old fridge dies we will not be going to Sears.

 

Sears, GE, Kodak all made the same mistake. They each believe the brand was enough regardless of what management chose to do. WRONG

 

They each believe the brand is enough regardless of what management chose to do.....sounds like the GOP establishment the last 18years.

I think Ford is making a big mistake by only making trucks and the Mustang.It will be interesting to watch the next time fuel prices are speculated up a few bucks. I would at the very least continue to invest in some hybrid or electric tech so they could be ready to put something on the sales floor when fuel prices put the skids on truck sales.

Economic downturn coupled with $5 gal gas and a house sized payment on a 70-80 thousand dollar truck. Won't be fun to be Ford.

And yes, the era of big box retail is dead.

 

If it's Chapter 11 that means someone agreed to help them restructure their debt. In this case the chairman, Lampert.

Chapter 7 is closing the doors and selling everything for what you can get.
That's next I'm afraid.

 

Yes I know, that's why I implied the chapter 11 was doomed to fail that they would be liquidating under a chapter 7 very soon. Kapich? :thumb:

 

Yup. If Sears couldn't find a winning strategy in the last 30 yrs , starting from a position of total dominance, they sure ain't gonna make it happen now. They are done.

it's a shame.

 

K-Mart bought Sears.

 

Yep, a couple years ago. Have you been in a K-mart lately? Worse than the ghost town at Sears and prices that are ridiculous and stores that even a bum would be embarrassed to shop in. Filthy, dirty and unorganized.

 

The one in my town closed this spring, I had a craftsman screwdriver kit that one of the screwdrivers had been broke for years, but I had more than enough to justify driving all the way across town for it. Once I found out they were closing & I knew the wife was heading that way, I told her to take the whole kit in, cause they always have some lame excuse of why they can't give you a new tool, even though they are supposed to have a lifetime warranty. They didn't have that screwdriver or kit in stock, gave us a number. Well after a few weeks of back & forth with the store & their phone support, I just went online to let people know to get their stuff replaced sooner rather than later. An online support person came on & wanted to "help" me. After trying to explain to them my local store WAS CLOSED & I had TRIED working it with their phone support, she said they would deposit a $5 gift card for me at Kmart. How I'm supposed to get it, I have no clue, not to mention that kit cost around $40 or $50 when I bought it almost 20 years ago & I've never seen the screwdrivers that were in that set sold individually. I used to try & always get craftsmen when I was younger cause you could take a broken one in & get a new one, yeah you had to argue & fight, but eventually you usually got the identical replacement or something very similar. They always said craftsmen tools were made in the USA too, which I liked, maybe at one time they were or a few tools were now, but most of it the last 20 years or so was made in china crap. I say good riddance to sears.

 

I love how you have to fight to make them honor their "lifetime" warranty. By the way, I'm pretty sure they stopped replacing tools a couple years ago at least.

However, Lowes Cobalt brand tools and equipment have a lifetime no questions asked warranty, I have used it, so I now buy cobalt tools when I need something.

 

I had a wrench replaced last week at an Ace Hardware. Craftsman was sold to Stanley Black and Decker last year.

 

The rise and fall of an American icon. It’s a case study of what to do and what not to do. I stopped caring a long time ago when they decided to sell cheep Chinese made stuff.

The Christmas catalogs from the 60s/70s were awesome. I’ll give them that. I still have the shotgun my dad got for me back in the early 1970s.

 

Some celebrate it's demise, some don't even care. I see it as yet another example of what was once part of Great America, being destroyed and soon forgotten. While it may have been dying for quite some time, there is still history there that will always make me smile and mourn it's passing...

 

Sears Holdings, Inc. is closing 142 Sears and K Mart stores, not including franchise locations, and this is on top of the 46 store closings announced back in August. All Sears stores in Canada, f/k/a Simpsons, closed this past January.

Its quite possible that all SHI and franchise stores could end up closing, unless the Chapter 11 restructuring is successful.

Sears is still heavily in debt to Lampert Hedge Fund group, and is paying money for that heavy debt regularly. Eddie Lampert, by the way, is the Chairman (and former CEO) of Sears Holdings that coincidentally owes his Hedge fund group $2B. Go figure.

As both K Mart and Sears have been steadily failing since the 2004 acquisition, my guess is that all the Sears and K Mart brick and mortar stores will fail, though its brand patents (not Craftsman...That was sold to Stanley Black and Decker in 2017) will continue to bring in revenue from both internet and retail operations outside of Sears Holdings, unless those too are sold off...and I'm guessing that they will.

 

......(not Craftsman...That was sold to Stanley Black and Decker in 2017)

I had a wrench replaced last week at an Ace Hardware. Craftsman was sold to Stanley Black and Decker last year.

I saw a PILE of Craftsman branded tools and kits in the aisles of the Lowe's store this weekend, apparently it's their new line. Guess the name goes on, though it's made in China, and I don't know if they'll honor the same warranty

 

Went to Sears last night looking for work boots. Found a pair I liked but they didnt have my size on display. Asked a kid working there if they had any size 13 in the back. He says "oh, that brand doesnt come in 13". Went home, jumped online and found the same boot in size 13 from someone other than Sears.

This is why Sears is going belly up.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

I worked for Sears Auto as a mechanic in the '80's. The whole culture was to get as much from the customer as possible. This was encouraged from management all the way down the line. Even as the mechanic there was incentives paid for "finding" things wrong and billing for it, such a scam. I flipped it on them in my own way and would look for broken stuff and then fix it for free. I ended up leaving over that whole mess. About a decade later they got busted for these practices but as I understand it they simply shuffled the deck and started it all over again.

Regarding their tools...they were decent quality for many years..... but I bought 2 ratchets in late '90s that were total garbage. Home use after just a few years had the gears stripped out. I went back to the store to exchange them and didn't bother after seeing how much play and wiggle the ones on the shelf had. I threw them both in the garbage when I walked outside. I knew right then and there that Sears was dead.

I sure loved them as kid though, that Christmas catalog was something else!

My folks had all Kenmore appliances and Craftsman equipment and all that stuff lasted for years and years. They did sell good stuff at one time. They just screwed the pooch at all the right times and here they are going Chapter 11. I don't see them coming back from this regardless of what they want people to think.

 

I worked for Sears Auto as a mechanic in the '80's. The whole culture was to get as much from the customer as possible. This was encouraged from management all the way down the line. Even as the mechanic there was incentives paid for "finding" things wrong and billing for it, such a scam.

That has been how dealerships have worked for years and continues today.

 

I don't know how any brick and mortar store survives, to be honest.

 

Some things are needed ASAP and if they have a business that has what you need in stock, they will survive. My wife works at a locally owned hardware store and they are doing just fine.

As a matter of fact, they carry Craftsman tools and honor the lifetime warranty through the manufacturer, no questions asked.