Sears is now a penny stock

[mickeyd]

It's been around a long time, but Sears seems to be on it's last legs.

<H2 class=speakable>Sears stock has fallen into the bargain bin.

In the latest indignity for a once-grand retailer, the share price fell below $1 on Friday for the first time in the company's history, dropping as much as 15% to 85 cents in midday trading.

</H2>
https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/28/news/companies/sears-penny-stock/index.html

 

[Walt34]

Sad. When I was growing up the Sears Christmas catalog was one all three of us kids drooled over. Later on the tool catalog was the one I wanted to order "one of everything" from.

I suppose I can throw out my Craftsman Club card...

 

[mamadogmamacat]

have never owned the stock and it has been ten yrs since I bought anything there (a washing machine which still works but the delivery story was a nightmare), so if it does go away, will only be a sad memory for me.

However, would not necessarily throw away that card, as the co must still have some "book" value and may well be bought up and they keep the name but with fewer brick and mortar stores. Isn't that essentially what happened with Macy's? There is still a Macy's at the mall near me.

 

[Lakewood90712]

IIRC Sears got out of the catalog order business about the same time Amazon was a tiny start up.

New offer this fall , with every purchase over $ 10, you get a free share of Sears Holdings. That should shore up the business.

 

[Helena]

.

How the mighty have fallen.

Btw... in my early 20s, I worked for awhile at the Craftsman hand tool factory in Springdale, Arkansas [now they are made in China.] Springdale is the same town where my "richest person I have personally known" lived [my cousin, Harvey Jones - JTL Truck Lines.] My parent's farm was nearby.

.

 

[Cessna152]

Sad. When I was growing up the Sears Christmas catalog was one all three of us kids drooled over. Later on the tool catalog was the one I wanted to order "one of everything" from.

I suppose I can throw out my Craftsman Club card...

Don’t know anything about the Craftsman Club card, but Stanley Black and Decker bought the Craftsman brand last year, so it will continue on.

 

[Walt34]

Don’t know anything about the Craftsman Club card, but Stanley Black and Decker bought the Craftsman brand last year, so it will continue on.

Ah, okay. At the age of 68 I'm not buying new tools, and in fact should be looking at selling/giving away some. All are between 20 - 40 years old, back when Sears sold good quality tools.

 

[Fedup]

I just bought a new fridge from Sears. The last one last 15 years.

 

[Red Badger]

Don’t know anything about the Craftsman Club card, but Stanley Black and Decker bought the Craftsman brand last year, so it will continue on.

Yep. Lowe's store here has lots of Craftsman products. Showed up a few months ago.

Don't buy a lot of tools these days, but occasionally, the Spirit moves me.

 

[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.

In 2015, Sears sold 235 stores, along with its stake in joint ventures involving 31 more properties, to real estate investment trust spinoff Seritage Growth Properties. Lampert is both a stakeholder in Seritage and its chairman.

To avoid bankruptcy, Sears CEO proposes selling off real estate. The retailer has tried that move before. - Chicago Tribune

And

Through a series of transactions over the last several years, Lampert has extracted significant value from Sears and may secure additional assets if the company goes belly up, according to public filings and interviews.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/03/22/sears-holdings-ceo-eddie-lampert/99487518/

 

[bobandsherry]

And then there is this...

CEO’s Plan to Save Sears Would Hand His Hedge Fund $1 Billion

 

[brucethebroker]

.

How the mighty have fallen.

Btw... in my early 20s, I worked for awhile at the Craftsman hand tool factory in Springdale, Arkansas [now they are made in China.]
.

Used Craftsman tools are a big seller on ebay. But only the "made in USA" older stuff. Word is that the American steel/alloys are much better/stronger than the newer tools made in China.

 

[pjigar]

Used Craftsman tools are a big seller on ebay. But only the "made in USA" older stuff. Word is that the American steel/alloys are much better/stronger than the newer tools made in China.

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

 

[Jerry1]

So, is there any thought that the stock could return any benefit? Nowhere to go but up? Or, sure to die and leave nothing for stockholders.

 

[brett]

Not surprising if you have been in one of their stores lately. Or looked at their on line presence.

 

[aja8888]

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

Mine is still going after 40 years. I did break an 18" breaker bar one year standing on a 4' "helper" pipe trying to remove a frozen flywheel bolt. Sears gave me a new one and said they never saw a broken 18" bar before!


I got a "new"1/2 drive Craftsman Ratchet wrench for Xmas a couple of years back. It didn't work out if the box. I brought it back to Sears and the associate said to just drop it in the broken tool barrel next to the counter and go get another. Junk

 

[pb4uski]

When I got out of college in 1977 I lived in a small city of about 30,000 people.... for shopping, Sears was the best thing going in terms of variety and price... I had a Sears card from then until a couple years ago. Too bad.

 

[sheehs1]

Very sad. As a child, I loved the Christmas Sears Catalog. Bought many things from them thru the years. Not so much the last 10 or so.

 

[Willers]

Sad. When I was growing up the Sears Christmas catalog was one all three of us kids drooled over. Later on the tool catalog was the one I wanted to order "one of everything" from.

I suppose I can throw out my Craftsman Club card...

My exact experience. Change is inevitable, but still sad.

Used to own FAIRX and Berkowitz was so bullish on Sears because of the real estate holdings. I guess he miscalculated and should have invested in Seritage instead. I think Lampert is the only winner here...

 

[braumeister]

I think Lampert is the only winner here...

Not necessarily.

Lampert’s turnaround plan for Sears has so far not only failed to bring the struggling retailer back to health, but it has also been a personal disaster for the investor’s net worth. Lampert’s fund held $3.8 billion when he became CEO at the beginning of 2013, but those assets have dropped 84% since then, a Fortune analysis found—even greater than Sears’ 74% drop in the same period.

Sears Cost Eddie Lampert's Hedge Fund and Net Worth Billions | Fortune

 

[Willers]

Not necessarily.


Sears Cost Eddie Lampert's Hedge Fund and Net Worth Billions | Fortune

Maybe, but he may more than make up for it with the Seritage opportunities. Buffett certainly thinks it has promise.

 

[marko]

Many years ago I had an old(er) Craftsman socket wrench; a really good one. The ratchet broke. I brought it back to Sears expecting their lifetime guarantee to give me a new one.

The guy there gave me so much crap I couldn't believe it. "No, way! I'll give you one of these cheaper ones but if you want a one-for-one replacement for this expensive one, you're dreaming!". Then he walked away from me!

Last time I went to Sears.

 

[jazz4cash]

When I got out of college in 1977 I lived in a small city of about 30,000 people.... for shopping, Sears was the best thing going in terms of variety and price... I had a Sears card from then until a couple years ago. Too bad.

When I was driving around the countryside for work I loved to take the backroads and drive through towns such as yours. Driving down main street it was common too see a once grand but now dilapidated Sears in a prominent location right near the courthouse and the county offices. A glimpse of the past. You could easily imagine it was once the proud hub of retail business for the town.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I stumbled across this story from last summer reporting that Sears was closing its "Six Corners" store, its last store in Chicago.

I remember visiting that store occasionally as a boy with my DM. Some distinct recollections include the Hellman's deli in the basement and the rooftop parking lot. It was certainly the dominant retail feature in a bustling commercial area.

One summer in the early '60s my DD's affluent uncle visited Chicago with his family and took me along shopping at the Big Store downtown. The store clerks, including some (to me) middle-aged men, were dressed like bank tellers.

Another adult relative worked for Sears; the general attitude I absorbed was that his job all but guaranteed him a stable middle-class life. I have no idea what he did -- he was probably a clerk of some sort -- but I know that working for Sears back then was something special.

 

[bobandsherry]

Remember when Sears planned to be a major financial services firm owned Allstate and then in the 80's expanded by acquiring Dean Witter, Coldwell Banker and starting up the new Discover card? They also did joint venture and founded Prodigy (how many recall that?). Along the way accumulated huge real estate holdings, including Sears Tower in Chicago.

Sears was truly the "Amazon" of that time with many stores to either buy direct and with huge catalog sales for pickup and then offering a wide array of services. They created Kenmore, Diehard and Craftsman brand, that used to stand for quality. I recall that many thought that Sears would be able to own a relationship from birth to death, going to crush everyone and everything.

So how do you go from that to the embarrassment they are today? Actually, they were dead back in the 90's, so their flame burned out in just over a few decades. Soon after KMart acquired them in 2004 (that was truly the embarrassment). Hard to believe that KMart after being BK could acquire a company like Sears that used to be the powerhouse of the of the 80's.

RIP