Goodbye Sears?

[Aerides]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigadventure I think the government should help out Sears. Just like they did the auto makers.

The car industry bailout in recession was due to fears that their demise would ripple across a far worse economy, which was already hemorrhaging hundreds of thousands of jobs each month, and was seen as a short term fix to a specific economic problem. The car industry wasn't inherently broken, and new car sales returned to normal relatively quickly during the recovery.

Sears is fatally flawed, the writing has been on the wall for a long time. They have a broken business model and have failed to adapt. I'd no sooner want a tax-funded bail out for them than for Blockbuster. Of course I feel sorry for anyone that is going to lose their job, but this isn't like car plants going under, which decimates entire regions.

[Ready]

I thought that comment was an attempt at some sarcastic humor, but I could be wrong...

[GlennN]

Also too bad they took over Lands End clothing; we used to buy a lot of stuff from Lands End due to the reasonable prices and exceptional quality. Once Sears took over the company, the quality went south in a hurry and we no longer bought any clothes there.

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennN Once Sears took over the company, the quality went south in a hurry

Agreed. But I think Lands End has come back somewhat since they got spun off from Sears. Not what it once was, but a lot better than when Sears owned it.

[scrabbler1]

I'd put Land's End in the same category as Omaha Steaks: good stuff but still overpriced.

[Lakewood90712]

Liquidation.

[HFWR]

Not that I’ve paid much attention, but it was bemusing to me that Eddie Lampert was somehow trying to borrow even more money to save Sears...

[imoldernu]

One big step closer.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/busin...106-story.html

[zinger1457]

Stopped into the local Sears the other day hoping to grab some tools but no luck, only scraps left from the liquidation sale. Store closes for good this week.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennN Also too bad they took over Lands End clothing; we used to buy a lot of stuff from Lands End due to the reasonable prices and exceptional quality. Once Sears took over the company, the quality went south in a hurry and we no longer bought any clothes there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Agreed. But I think Lands End has come back somewhat since they got spun off from Sears. Not what it once was, but a lot better than when Sears owned it.

Oh!! I didn't know about Lands End being taken over by Sears. I am glad to read your post about Sears no longer owning it because I would hate to see them go out of business. I love their ladies' t-shirts, so comfy and durable, and in fact just ordered 4 more tonight in pretty colors, on sale. $15+tax each which is cheap enough for me though maybe not everyone. Great retiree wear for warmer days IMO.

[Lakewood90712]

Another company Sears holdings ruined was Orchard Supply Hardware.

Sears holdings purchased the company , sucked out every nickel ,then spun it off. That spinoff promptly went Bk, and was then bought by Lowes. Now Lowes killed off the remains.

[38Chevy454]

When I lived in CA years ago, OSH was a great hardware store as an independent. It did go down when Sears took over, and then now they don't exist.


Saw on news that Sears asking bankruptcy courts to go to liquidation. So looks like no more Sears at all. Except Eddie Lampert (current majority shareholder) has submitted a bid to keep the name and some rights; so he may try to resurrect something in the future. Many people think Eddie Lampert is a big reason why Sears has continued to go down in recent years.

[dtbach]

They should have died 10 years ago. Stopped even visiting their stores in the 90's.

[Lakewood90712]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKCN1P218J

The "credit bid " by Lampert had no cash in the offer.

[MrsHaloFIRE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Oh!! I didn't know about Lands End being taken over by Sears. I am glad to read your post about Sears no longer owning it because I would hate to see them go out of business. I love their ladies' t-shirts, so comfy and durable, and in fact just ordered 4 more tonight in pretty colors, on sale. $15+tax each which is cheap enough for me though maybe not everyone. Great retiree wear for warmer days IMO.

I wear almost exclusively lands end due to comfort, quality and warranty. Agree there was a quality hiccup, tgen a more avant garde design direction, and now I think they've steered back in the right direction. In fact my favorite shorts were ordered for my niece but due to a sizing defect fit me amazingly well I love that if I call them I get a real person.

[mamadogmamacat]

Visited the local mall Sears for the first time in eleven years yesterday. As of the fall, before the latest Sears news, it was not yet on the closure list but was curious anyway and had some time after running other errands.

Parked at the closet mall entrance as the direct into Sears door did not have more than a couple cars near it, so wondered if it was already closed. I went at about 4 pm, so expected to see some crowds in the mall. But it was virtually empty save for the hair dresser near the entrance. In Sears, there were no customers save for a couple at the Lands End, which had a closing sale. Most of the items were already picked over for the more common sizes, but I did find a nice pullover for 10 dollars. The Lands End employee at checkout told me Sears was not closing yet as far as she knew.

I wandered about a bit after that purchase, but there was nothing of interest and no big sales yet, and the escalator up (only two floors at this store) was broken and no employee in sight to tell me where the elevator was, assuming it was working. As i was heading for the exit, i did see a very pregnant and very young employee, who was clearly pleased to see me with a bag, until I got closer and she saw it was Lands End.
Felt bad for her. Hopefully she will have coverage via COBRA or ACA if the store closes prior to the birth. Really not sure its worth it to return once the store is closing. Sad, but Sears really no longer has much of interest for me, i guess that was true of so many consumers for so long that this end was inevitable.

What was interesting is that of the somewhat larger number of shoppers who were in the mall when I left at about 4:30 pm, all were at least 20 yrs younger than me, and most were just wandering and socializing. i saw almost none in any of the stores.

[imoldernu]

This Washington Post article, looks at Sears and GE as a wider part of corporations that were built on a structure that has changed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opini...=.699d9eb2a427

Quote:

General Electric and Sears have fallen on hard times, and that tells us a lot about U.S capitalism. Both were once great enterprises — symbols of American ingenuity and imagination. The temptation will be to blame their troubles on mismanagement. The real lesson is starker. It is that no business, no matter how historically innovative or powerful, is guaranteed immortality.

Much to consider in the times of mergers and consolidations. In most cases, decline is previewed by stock prices. The DEW line.

[Breedlove]

Sad but we have not been into a Sears in years . I remember as a kid the big Sears catalogs. Father in law bought everything from Sears from a Craftsman lawn mower to all of his work uni's.


As far as GE go's I have no love for GE . I worked for a company GE took over and they were the most arrogant disrespectful managers I ever experienced in my career . Pound their chest all day long about being GE as everyone including customers passed them by and most laughed at them .

[ncbill]

If you miss Sears just head south of the border...you'll find Sears stores well-staffed with eager-to-help employees (most seem to be middle-aged men.)

[Another Reader]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breedlove Sad but we have not been into a Sears in years . I remember as a kid the big Sears catalogs. Father in law bought everything from Sears from a Craftsman lawn mower to all of his work uni's. As far as GE go's I have no love for GE . I worked for a company GE took over and they were the most arrogant disrespectful managers I ever experienced in my career . Pound their chest all day long about being GE as everyone including customers passed them by and most laughed at them .

My GE refrigerator is having all kinds of problems at six years. Will probably have to replace it soon. So much for six sigmas or whatever that was...