Eddie Lampert Wins!

[legion]

Time to discard the carcass now that it's been sucked dry...

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sears-hires-advisers-to-prepare-bankruptcy-filing-1539136189

Sears Holdings Corp. has hired M-III Partners LLC to prepare a bankruptcy filing that could come as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the situation, as the cash-strapped company that once dominated American retailing faces a debt payment deadline.

But not without one, final self-deal from the bottom of the deck...

But Mr. Lampert is pushing for a broader restructuring that would include shaving more than $1 billion from Sears’s $5.5 billion debt load, selling another $1.5 billion of real estate and divesting $1.75 billion of assets, including the Kenmore appliance brand, which he has offered $400 million to buy himself.

[GH85Carrera]

It is a sad end to a once mighty empire. I can remember spending hours in the tool department drooling on the tools. To break a tool, walk in and get a replacement with no questions asked, no paperwork, no time wasted was wonderful. The last time I tried they sent me to the catalog department and it took weeks and lots of paperwork to get a socket replaced. That was my last visit.

RIP Sears.

[flatbutt]

Browsing the Christmas catalog was always fun as a kid!

[sammyg2]

The business model was stuck in the 50's and their idea of customer service left a great deal to be desired. As in "Here, please apply for a sears credit card, it's free (except for all the fees and the 21% interest rate).

The dinosaurs die but we learn from the fossils.

[legion]

Things that might have actually helped Sears if done back in 2006:

-Revive the catalog business, online. (It's not like any other large retailers copied this model successfully.)
-Integrate the stores with the online catalog business.
-Up the POS terminal system from one developed in the 1980's.
-Invest in store appearance.
-Upgrade the customer service model. The floor people seem to be more interested in talking with each other than customers. Finding a cashier is often less fruitful than a quest for the Holy Grail.
-Make the servicing of Craftsman, Kenmore, etc. customer friendly. (When I had repair done work on my air compressor, they couldn't tell me how much it would cost or when I would have it back. Nope, I got a phone call two months later that it was "done". That person couldn't tell me how much it cost. It wasn't until I got to the store to pick it up that I discovered that the repair would set me back $150.)

[MBAtarga]

One major issue I've noticed with "sears.com" but I don't know when this change took place. At some point someone decided they need to be another Amazon - or offer a plethora of purchasing options. I believe it was more than just a few years ago - try to do a simple search for one item. You will end up with pages and pages and pages of items that their algorithm believes meet your criteria. I gave up every trying to go to their web site even for a Craftsman item because of this issue. It's much easier buying off Amazon.

As an example, I just searched for "screwdriver #2 phillips" and this is the result. Over 500 examples!



And then it gets even "better." Filter on the brand of Shorpioen that shows >500 results and what do you get? You get screws, yes screws - #2 in fact. And look at the first result on that brand. A cost of $1405.21, and when you select that, you find out that is for a qty of 10,000. Their search algorithm plain sucks.

[legion]

10,000 screws? Who do they think you are? Wilt Chamberlain?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Browsing the Christmas catalog was always fun as a kid!

And the ladies underwear section!

Every year when school started mom would load me into the station-wagon and cart me off to Sears to buy new school clothing.

And dad taking me to buy tools but somehow I always ended up in the electronics department looking at a sea of TV's.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

It is a sad end to a once mighty empire. I can remember spending hours in the tool department drooling on the tools. To break a tool, walk in and get a replacement with no questions asked, no paperwork, no time wasted was wonderful. The last time I tried they sent me to the catalog department and it took weeks and lots of paperwork to get a socket replaced. That was my last visit.

RIP Sears.

Ditto...While Cindy shopped, she knew where to find me when she was done...My rollaway is Craftsman, many of the tools in in Craftsman...marked "USA".

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by legion

Things that might have actually helped Sears if done back in 2006:

Not misleading (lying) to customers would help. I bought a lawnmower for my mother in about 2006. They sold it hard, based on a sale price and a $50 rebate.
What do you expect from a company that gives you a "rebate?" I think spendable cash.
The "rebate" turned out to be a gift card to some lawn care company. If I wanted them to come spray poison on my property I could save $50 on the "service."

[Por_sha911]

Sears, JC Penney, Monkeywards... Are all victims of changing times. The folk that don't look at the price shop at high end boutiques and places like Parisians, the mid class go to Kohls, Marshalls, TJ Max and other chains, the low budget go to Target, Wallyworld... Sears relied heavily on their catalog and didn't transition to online quick enough.
Also, brick and mortar locations are continuing to take a greater and greater hit from the into-web.