Sears is now a penny stock

[Bestwifeever]

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Originally Posted by bobandsherry I don't think Starbucks could be as ambitious if they had to work with the significantly small margins that Sears does.

Of course, but it might be fun to see what Starbucks could do with Sears—buy at a firesale price and recreate it. If/when it failed, SB wouldn’t be out much. Like Amazon is doing with Whole Foods.

[JoeWras]

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Originally Posted by Bestwifeever I remember when most retailers had their own store charge and didn’t accept major credit cards so Sears was not unusual in that. My first eyeglasses were from the Sears optical department in 1960 and I bet my parents charged them on a Sears card.

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Originally Posted by braumeister Back when credit cards were just getting going in the 60s, the Sears card was considered the crème de la crème, because it was not easy to get. Once you had a Sears card your credit rating was golden.

The above are both very true.

Problem was, by 1990, the landscape had changed significantly. Sears management was still running their store credit like it was 1965.

The last thing I bought on my Sears card was a dishwasher in 1996. So, yeah, I did hang on a bit longer. They gave a nice discount for using their card. Home Depot wasn't significantly in the appliance game yet. Sears was still pretty good in that area. Lowes was well established in appliances and putting pressure on both. HD got into the appliance game big time shortly after.

Circuit City burned out and you'd think Sears could take up the slack. Nope. Best Buy had that groove.

[brett]

The bottom line is that Sears had bad management for an extended period of time. And still does. Why on earth would creditor have confidence in a restructure with the same management team that has them going down the drain today?

They deserve to be bankrupt. The commercial world is tough, retail is especially tough. Sears lacked the vision, the financial management, and the merchandising strategy to be successful. There is a tendency to look elsewhere for blame. Sears only needs to look in the mirror.

Anyone who happened into a Sears store in the last ten years could probably guess where it was going to end. And it did. No surprise whatsoever.

No doubt Sears will not be the only large retail chain to fold over the next year or two.

[Texas Proud]

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Originally Posted by brett The bottom line is that Sears had bad management for an extended period of time. And still does. Why on earth would creditor have confidence in a restructure with the same management team that has them going down the drain today? They deserve to be bankrupt. The commercial world is tough, retail is especially tough. Sears lacked the vision, the financial management, and the merchandising strategy to be successful. There is a tendency to look elsewhere for blame. Sears only needs to look in the mirror. Anyone who happened into a Sears store in the last ten years could probably guess where it was going to end. And it did. No surprise whatsoever. No doubt Sears will not be the only large retail chain to fold over the next year or two.

They said Lampert has resigned.... he was the main driver of them going under as he was sucking all the cash he could out of it...


Maybe with him leaving they can get someone in who might help... but it is probably so far gone it will die...


I was surprised that Toys R Us went completely under... I thought someone would buy that...


As an aside... saw that Gander Mountain was bought by Marcus Lemonis and he is going to combine it with his Camping World... if he wants to make it he will have to lower the prices as Gander was WAY overpriced.... heck, when they had their going out of business sale and had everything 50% off you could still buy some thing cheaper at a different store...

[braumeister]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud They said Lampert has resigned.

I read that he resigned as CEO, but remains Chairman.

[JoeWras]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud As an aside... saw that Gander Mountain was bought by Marcus Lemonis and he is going to combine it with his Camping World... if he wants to make it he will have to lower the prices as Gander was WAY overpriced.... heck, when they had their going out of business sale and had everything 50% off you could still buy some thing cheaper at a different store...

Not sure, I haven't been in one yet. However, Lemonis is moving fast. In the time it took for you to hear about this, he has changed the name. It is now Gander Outdoors. New logo that meshes with Camping World too.

Sears needed a serious change too. It really never did.

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by braumeister I read that he resigned as CEO, but remains Chairman.

Yeah, and he'll continue to loan money and purchase stores - which is how he's been sucking money out of Sears for years.

[Walt34]

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Originally Posted by braumeister Back when credit cards were just getting going in the 60s, the Sears card was considered the crème de la crème, because it was not easy to get. Once you had a Sears card your credit rating was golden.

A Sears card was my first cc back in 1972. At the urging of my older sister to establish a credit rating I applied when I was working for Sears in the service department on heating & refrigeration stuff. I remember the credit office called at work and wanted to know why I had applied, what I wanted to buy, etc. and I told them I just wanted to establish credit. So they issued the card with a $400 limit, which was fine by me.

Every few months I'd go into a Sears store and buy something I was going to get anyway, like a shirt or pair of jeans, and charge it and pay off the bill when it arrived. Evidently that was enough because when I applied for my first apartment there was no difficulty.

[samclem]

I do remember the "customer accounts" area of the Sears store, what a depressing corner it was. A long counter with several windows, lines and screaming children, unhappy customers. It was the closest thing to the DMV that existed in the private sector. I guess the closest thing I see today is the "returns" desk at Walmart.

[JoeWras]

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Originally Posted by samclem I do remember the "customer accounts" area of the Sears store, what a depressing corner it was. A long counter with several windows, lines and screaming children, unhappy customers. It was the closest thing to the DMV that existed in the private sector. I guess the closest thing I see today is the "returns" desk at Walmart.

Wow, barely remember that, but you are right.

The only time I strayed there was to go to watch repair.

Now see, how cool was that? Watch repair right there in the Sears.

Oh, wait. Watch repair and shoe repair in the 2000s aren't exactly growing businesses. Nevermind.

[brett]

One has to really wonder if there is really any goodwill left in the Sears name.

So many people stopped shopping at Sears or even bothering with their stores. No on line presence either.

To me it represents understaffed, under stocked, poorly maintained stores with terrible displays

[jazz4cash]

Well from the tone of this thread it seems no one expects them to emerge successfully from chapter 11. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hang around for a long while.

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by jazz4cash Well from the tone of this thread it seems no one expects them to emerge successfully from chapter 11. I wouldn’t be surprised if they hang around for a long while.

How do you define "successfully"? And, this thing has been a pig since KMart acquired Sears in 2004, what do you think is going to change?

[Texas Proud]

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Originally Posted by bobandsherry How do you define "successfully"? And, this thing has been a pig since KMart acquired Sears in 2004, what do you think is going to change?

I have not looked at their financials, but they might be able to make a profit without any debt...


I am a bit surprised Toys R Us closed down... I would have thought THEY would be able to make it without debt...

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by Texas Proud I have not looked at their financials, but they might be able to make a profit without any debt... I am a bit surprised Toys R Us closed down... I would have thought THEY would be able to make it without debt...

Who's going to sell to them on credit? Sears creditors already burned twice, once by KMart and then by Sears (renamed from KMart). Any product will need to be paid for in advance or on delivery.

As for TRU, no one was going to the stores before, why would they go now? TRU sold their soul to Amazon when they PAID Amazon to sell their products on Amazon (how silly, eh)? People have "nostalgia" but don't pay for it.

[aja8888]

If you want to read about what happened to Toys, go here (PE firms greed):

https://wolfstreet.com/2018/06/25/in...hat-feed-them/

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PE firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), Vornado Realty Trust, and Bain Capital Partners acquired the publicly traded shares of Toys ‘R’ Us via a $6.6 billion LBO in 2005. They funded the acquisition in large part by loading up the acquired company with debt — hence “leveraged buyout.” In other words, the PE firm had little skin in the game, and over the years extracted $400 million in fees even as the retailer died. The 33,000 employees, when it is all said and done in a few days, will be out of a job.

[Texas Proud]

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Originally Posted by bobandsherry Who's going to sell to them on credit? Sears creditors already burned twice, once by KMart and then by Sears (renamed from KMart). Any product will need to be paid for in advance or on delivery. As for TRU, no one was going to the stores before, why would they go now? TRU sold their soul to Amazon when they PAID Amazon to sell their products on Amazon (how silly, eh)? People have "nostalgia" but don't pay for it.

Not saying the revenues were not going down, but having $11 billion in revenue is still pretty good... if run right I think someone could have made money...



Heck, they just had something on TV about where are the kids to go to check out the toys... Walmart and Target just do not have the selection and young kids like touching the stuff...

[Lakewood90712]

SHLD up 57 % today.

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by Lakewood90712 SHLD up 57 % today.

Not really unexpected.

https://www.investopedia.com/article...upt-stocks.asp

[jazz4cash]

I’ve been reminiscing the Glory Days of Sears. I’d forgotten about Allstate Insurance. The brand was also used for many auto related products including a Kaiser automobile sold by Sears.

http://www.searsarchives.com/brands/allstate.htm