Sears is now a penny stock

[Mr._Graybeard]

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Originally Posted by jazz4cash I don’t think anyone understands what happened to Sears. They tried a lot of things but none of them worked. They created brands that live on as the parent company dies. I remember the popcorn and hotdogs (before Costco). What I remember most was the donut maker like Kristy Kreme has. Being able to drop your car off and shop while the work is done.

I think part of the problem is that the quality of their merchandise declined. Several posts have mentioned broken ratchet wrenches; I recall when they took a PR beating over their DieHard batteries after they started selling a junky (IIRC) Exide product. Their lawn mowers have had a lackluster reputation for years.

Several years ago we bought a small Kenmore chest freezer. Immediately it started acting up, so the store sent over a technician. He said the unit was worthless out of the box because of a serious design flaw! He slapped an orange sticker on it and ordered a pickup; we got a refund and bought a different freezer from Home Depot.

[Bestwifeever]

This Sears store in a booming Chicago area shopping center was just rebuilt and will reopen thus week. The Sears portion will be much smaller and the parking lot’s auto center was razed fir a Lifetime Fitness health club, but perhaps it will be a model for future Sears stores. And Jackyn Smith will be there too. https://www.google.com/amp/s/patch.c...rand-reopening

[kcowan]

Here is an article about Sears turnaround in 1990:

Does the action go far enough?
We know the answer now!

[Mr._Graybeard]

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Originally Posted by Bestwifeever This Sears store in a booming Chicago area shopping center was just rebuilt and will reopen thus week. The Sears portion will be much smaller and the parking lot’s auto center was razed fir a Lifetime Fitness health club, but perhaps it will be a model for future Sears stores. And Jackyn Smith will be there too. https://www.google.com/amp/s/patch.c...rand-reopening

Jaclyn Smith! They had better beef up their crowd control.

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by Mr._Graybeard Jaclyn Smith! They had better beef up their crowd control.

The millennial today -> Jaclyn who? Now if they were carrying Kanye West line.....

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by kcowan Here is an article about Sears turnaround in 1990: Does the action go far enough? We know the answer now!

Yeah, and this caught my eye ->

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* Sears has brought in outsiders for some important positions and is using more consultants. These newcomers are attempting to update Sears's private-label merchandise and store design, and helping the company develop stand-alone specialty stores.

Outsiders and consultants who have no skin in the game, way to grow your business. I've seen enough of consultants and their quick fix solutions. Get paid huge fees for "great ideas" and then "poof" gone before the stuff hits the fan.

[UnrealizedPotential]

I don't know what made Eddie Lampert think he could go from being a hedge fund manager to being CEO of Sears. What made him think he could make that leap? He's done terrible. Sears should have shown him the door years ago.

[EvrClrx311]

Cycle of life...

I'm sure in 2068, when Amazon goes down to some (insert crazy technology that scares the crap out of us)... because why do you need to order anything online, when it can just be printed on a molecular level in your house from the Molecular Print Anything You Want Machine (MoPAYWaM for short).

I'm sure my daughters will reminisce over the lost days of perusing the Amazon Cyber Monday deals...

They'll think: those were the days, when capitalism thrived, and money (the pride and joy in hard work to collect it) mattered...

times change... and that scares us in magnitude as a direct correlation to age <--- humanities path through history

RIP Sears :\

[kcowan]

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Originally Posted by UnrealizedPotential I don't know what made Eddie Lampert think he could go from being a hedge fund manager to being CEO of Sears. What made him think he could make that leap? He's done terrible. Sears should have shown him the door years ago.

It is amazing how a big salary and getting off the treadmill can appeal. It is the Board to blame.

[UnrealizedPotential]

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Originally Posted by kcowan It is amazing how a big salary and getting off the treadmill can appeal. It is the Board to blame.

Yes, where is the independence? Where is the accountability? It's like Eddie Lampert is holding all of Sears hostage and taking and doing what he wants with no oversight whatsoever.

[jazz4cash]

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Originally Posted by UnrealizedPotential I don't know what made Eddie Lampert think he could go from being a hedge fund manager to being CEO of Sears. What made him think he could make that leap? He's done terrible. Sears should have shown him the door years ago.

Actually I think he’s done extremely well. His objectives just aren’t what you may think they should be. No one else wanted the business so he’s milking all the value out for the benefit of the hedge fund. If they happen to regain their mojo in the process it’s a plus but that’s not the primary goal.

[UnrealizedPotential]

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Originally Posted by jazz4cash Actually I think he’s done extremely well. His objectives just aren’t what you may think they should be. No one else wanted the business so he’s milking all the value out for the benefit of the hedge fund. If they happen to regain their mojo in the process it’s a plus but that’s not the primary goal.

I realize that. What I'm saying is, it isn't right. If there were any sense between right and wrong Mr. Lampert would have been thrown out on his ear. The only thing he's done well is bleed Sears dry. I hate to see that, especially for a company that was down and out when he took over but still had a chance at recovery.





I feel for former employees of Sears who jobs were in jeopardy to begin with. Where is consideration for them? Where is consideration for the few customers that Sears had? What about the shareholders? Who was looking out for them? Apparently no one. That is wrong.


We will have to agree to disagree on this.

[RobbieB]

Yup, the Sears where I grew up was a first class store. They had a "nut and candy" bar where you could buy fresh roasted (watch the machines actually roast them) nuts of all sorts, peanuts, cashews, filberts, mixed, brazils and almonds right at the counter. You ordered they weighed and filled bags and you munched fresh hot roasted nuts!

They were really good -

Alas -

[Hermit]

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Originally Posted by pjigar I still have my old craftsman tool set and it is holding up after 20 years.

I still have my old craftsman tool set and it is holding up after 20 50years.

[Helena]

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Originally Posted by bobandsherry When the Chairman of Sears has a vested interest in buying the Sears properties at a bargain price, there's more incentive for him to drive the company into the hole and to work to salvage it. To avoid bankruptcy, Sears CEO proposes selling off real estate. The retailer has tried that move before. - Chicago Tribune And https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...pert/99487518/

That's what "oligarchs" did after the dissolution of the USSR, they bought up former state-owned companies pennies on the dollar, sold off anything of value and ran them into the ground leaving the workers without jobs to suffer. According to his Wiki bio he's an "avid follower of Ayn Rand"... and that meshes too.

.

[bobandsherry]

Interesting to read all the memories of how great Sears was, so interesting how they went from superstar greatness to a pile of dog doo. Too much horizontal integration without the right management team to have a clear vision on how to integrate and grow? Or thinking they were too big to fail (again blame put on management)? Or just change in consumer taste and Sears failed to adopt? Clearly now a Board that lacks any oversight and let's Lampert just suck all the assets out of the company, but why? Just interesting reflecting on how Goliath slayed itself.

[MichaelB]

I think the news here is not the imminent demise of Sears, it's that it survived for so many years. The history of US retail is an ongoing story of growth and collapse. The success of businesses like Walmart mean the failure of many others. In general, US retailers with lots of real estate are continually under siege and always need to innovate to continue as viable businesses.

[Independent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobandsherry Interesting to read all the memories of how great Sears was, so interesting how they went from superstar greatness to a pile of dog doo. Too much horizontal integration without the right management team to have a clear vision on how to integrate and grow? Or thinking they were too big to fail (again blame put on management)? Or just change in consumer taste and Sears failed to adopt? Clearly now a Board that lacks any oversight and let's Lampert just suck all the assets out of the company, but why? Just interesting reflecting on how Goliath slayed itself.

Back in the 1970's, my dad thought they were missing the big box shift.

He saw Kresge starting K-Mart and Dayton starting Target. He thought Sears should do the same.

It would have given them another 30 years before online retail arrived.

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by MichaelB I think the news here is not the imminent demise of Sears, it's that it survived for so many years. The history of US retail is an ongoing story of growth and collapse. The success of businesses like Walmart mean the failure of many others. In general, US retailers with lots of real estate are continually under siege and always need to innovate to continue as viable businesses.

Actually "Sears" didn't survive. It was acquired by KMart who basically bought for the name and real estate. And since then the new "Sears" has only survived by selling off assets. Thankfully they had lots of real estate as that's been their only true value.

Guess it's kind of like me in retirement, I continue to peel off assets to "survive" knowing that within a period of time I'll be 6 foot under, same place we'll find Sears (at current burn rate that will be long before me).

[bobandsherry]

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Originally Posted by kcowan It is amazing how a big salary and getting off the treadmill can appeal. It is the Board to blame.

Yes, Sears is likely to collapse, but its biggest stakeholder will be just fine

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The twist in the tale is that Lampert, the company’s chief executive, main shareholder and a key lender through his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc., is unlikely to lose much money, even as other shareholders are wiped out. That’s because Lampert, again and again, has positioned himself to benefit from the moves required to keep Sears in business while shielding him from potential downside.