Sears - RIP

[dw1]

Very sad. Not surprising, just very, very sad. When they did the deal with Kmart, the writing was on the wall.

Like others here I have fond childhood memories of the Christmas Wishbook arriving at our home.

Most of my tools (both hand tools and power tools) are Craftsman as well, because of my own purchases and the tools I inherited from my dad and my in-laws.

Not 10 feet away from me and working just fine is a Coldspot chest freezer that was purchased at Sears at least least 60 (!!!!) years ago and has only ever needed a replacement thermostat. My parents purchased it used around the time I was born , transported it cross-country, and gave it to me and my family when my parents sold their house to become full-time Florida residents.

The future doesn't belong to Target or Walmart either - more likely they will all be replaced with Amazon (or equivalent) warehouses and fulfillment centers. Sure, some specialty stores will still exist; hardware stores and home centers still likely have a future because it is awkward to ship 4x8 sheets of plywood via UPS.

Oil spout content: As a pump jockey at age 16 ay my local Esso (later Exxon), we had a guy who used to put the spout into the hole in the filler neck, then slam the cans down perfectly on the spout. Poetry in motion when he hit it, messy when he missed.

Sears content: My next job, also during high school, was as a small appliance (Division 34) salesman at the Sears in Montgomery Mall, Bethesda, MD.

[wdfifteen]

[QUOTE=dw1;10215731

Like others here I have fond childhood memories of the Christmas Wishbook arriving at our home. .[/QUOTE]

Boy Howdy! I can remember the smell of the ink and the feel of the paper as I looked at all the cool toys I would never have. As I recall toys were farther back in the catalog from the pages and pages of pictures of bras and panties. Somehow when you randomly opened the book it always fell open to the lingerie pages.

[winders]

RIP? Sears filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which protects them from their creditors temporarily. When they file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you can say "RIP".

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by winders

RIP? Sears filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy which protects them from their creditors temporarily. When they file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, you can say "RIP".

DEAD is dead....I don't need a death certificate, nor do I need to see the body either . It's big ol' pitchfork time....stick 'em and get it over with....they are DONE

[LEAKYSEALS951]

If I could hop in the time delorian and go back and change history, I would have sears adopt the amazon model before amazon had the chance.

Imagine that, a 21st century sears thriving as " amazon. " It would be unstoppable, and would be redefining shopping in the same way they did 100 years ago.

Oh well...

[legion]

Originally Posted by LEAKYSEALS951

If I could hop in the time delorian and go back and change history, I would have sears adopt the amazon model before amazon had the chance.

I think you'd have a lot of trouble convincing management at Sears to do that right up until it's too late.

[fastfredracing]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

Oil spout content: As a pump jockey at age 16 ay my local Esso (later Exxon), we had a guy who used to put the spout into the hole in the filler neck, then slam the cans down perfectly on the spout. Poetry in motion when he hit it, messy when he missed.

Sears content: My next job, also during high school, was as a small appliance (Division 34) salesman at the Sears in Montgomery Mall, Bethesda, MD.

Me also, I took a part time job there when I was 19 in the evenings, slinging tires. Sears tire and auto did everything back then, head gaskets, transmissions etc. I quickly moved up the ladder there, and quit my day job in the transmission shop, because I made way more money at Sears, and had a flexible schedule, which allowed me to go to college, while working nearly full time.
I almost made a career of it . You could back then. They paid well, had good bennies, and it was a decent place to work.
Glad I chose otherwise .
One of my old bosses there , is still a friend, and a Sears Lifer, he as been closing down stores for the last few years .
Sad

[sammyg2]

Store come and go, natural selection.
I figure if sears was worth having around, then I would have actually bought something from them in the past two decades.

[sammyg2]

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by Noah930

I'm not a finance guy, but I think we are all missing the financial point. The guy who owns the place doesn't care if the chain goes down the tubes. That's why there has been no innovation or attempt to keep up with the times. The value has been in the brands that have been sold off, the properties/real estate, and the names/information from customer lists that have been sold to third parties. The parts are worth more than the whole. Lampert's taken a car (albeit a formerly running one), and parted it out.

Yep! Allstate Insurance, Craftsman, Die Hard, Kenmore, JC Higgens, Cold Spot just to name of few.

[dw1]

Originally Posted by legion

His best bet would have been to revive the catalog business online, put money into Sears' backend systems (where everything requires a follow-up phone call or two to complete and which haven't been changed since the 1980s), and invest in the stores by transforming them into hybrid retail locations/order fulfillment centers/order pickup centers.

I strongly agree. The last time I bought something from Sears, I ordered it on-line and picked it up at the brick-and-mortar store.

It struck me then that the best bet for Sears was for them to return to their roots (and the roots of retailers like Montgomery Ward) as a catalog retailer, albeit an on-line one. They are likely too far gone for that and have too much debt tied up in their brick-and-mortar stores and owed their creditors, but it would be nice to see them survive in some form.

Btw, another indication that the end is near is that Craftsman tools are sold on Amazon.com.

[sammyg2]

Maybe they can go back to selling fire-arms and ammo.
That was a big part of their biddness back in the day.

[sammyg2]

[sammyg2]

[Rtrorkt]

Sears Homes 1908-1914

[stevej37]

My friend in the late 60's bought a 250cc bike from Sears. I think it was a Puch..re-badged.
It was about half the price of others. Great bike..until it broke and had to find parts.

[vash]

haha..i didnt realize; i just got this!! at least my future looks bright!

[drcoastline]

Originally Posted by legion

Sears owned most of its locations prior to Eddie Lampert taking over. He sold the locations to his REIT. I've long thought that Eddie Lampert's bet was that even if Sears went out of business, he'd make money on the real estate that he forced them to sell. Well, guess what? Most malls are not doing well and finding replacement tenants is difficult.

His best bet would have been to revive the catalog business online, put money into Sears' backend systems (where everything requires a follow-up phone call or two to complete and which haven't been changed since the 1980s), and invest in the stores by transforming them into hybrid retail locations/order fulfillment centers/order pickup centers.

NBC Nightly News just did a report on Sears closing. At the very end they said this year Amazon will be mailing out a toy catalog.

[Hugh R]

Originally Posted by Jims5543

They sold a pretty good house back in the day. If you find one for sale now people actually fight over them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home


If you ever want to stay overnight in one of their houses we have one locally that is part of a mom and pop hotel in Downtown Stuart Florida.

Hotel in Stuart Florida Blue House (3 Bedrooms: 1 King, 1 Queen, 1 Full, 2 Singles/2 Bathrooms) - Hotel in Stuart Florida

My wife and I actually tore down a Sears shotgun house about 30 years ago to build a spec. house. We didn't make much, if any, money on the deal.