Sears Hasn't Fared Better After Bankruptcy as Another 100 Stores Will Soon Close (wsj.com) 145
Sears's bankruptcy filing was supposed to give the troubled retailer a fresh start. But a year later, the chain is still struggling with many of the same problems it faced before it sought court protection. From a report: Roughly a quarter of the 425 Sears and Kmart stores that financier Edward Lampert bought out of bankruptcy have closed or are closing, according to people familiar with the situation, a retreat the chains haven't fully disclosed. The shelves at some remaining locations are bare of crucial products -- no lawn mowers in summer or garden supplies in spring, according to shoppers and a former executive. [...] The newly created company, Transform Holdco LLC, is on stronger financial footing. It didn't assume roughly $4 billion in debt and pension obligations owed by the Sears Holdings estate, the shell of the old company that remains in bankruptcy. In April, Transform refinanced $800 million in debt, giving it money to pay vendors and invest in the business.
The stores Mr. Lampert acquired were among the strongest in the fleet. About half of them were profitable at the time of the purchase, according to a person familiar with the situation. About 90 were owned, the rest were leased, according to court documents. But the stores' performance deteriorated faster than expected, according to one of the people. In August, the company said it would close 21 Sears and five Kmart stores this fall. In addition, nearly 100 stores are slated for closure by year-end, the majority of them Kmart locations, according to people familiar with the situation.
The stores Mr. Lampert acquired were among the strongest in the fleet. About half of them were profitable at the time of the purchase, according to a person familiar with the situation. About 90 were owned, the rest were leased, according to court documents. But the stores' performance deteriorated faster than expected, according to one of the people. In August, the company said it would close 21 Sears and five Kmart stores this fall. In addition, nearly 100 stores are slated for closure by year-end, the majority of them Kmart locations, according to people familiar with the situation.
Just Let It Die (Score:4, Interesting)
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Lampert wants the REAL ESTATE!!! (Score:3)
Lampert is not a fool - he knew that Sears missed the boat with the Internet [back circa 1995], and he's spent years working to seize all the prime Real Estate for himself.
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K-Mart near me is closing by the end of the year. I went in a few days ago- no real bargains despite the 10-50% markdowns.
The store will be torn down and large multi-story apartment building built.
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I have a dryer that I got from my dad (Sears brand). He got it from his parents. His parents bought it in the 70s. It still works. One day the belt broke and I thought I was screwed. But I called Sears and despite the fact that I could only find one number on the dryer, the Sears tech was able to find the replacement part (was actually a kit that replaced the rollers and a small ...thing) and the next day I had the exact part in my hands.
I don't know of any company that has a system that's capable of
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Unlike my LG refrigerator that was 6 years old and the sealed compressor system failed. Had to replace the whole damned thing because there are no serviceable parts...
Now that I think about it... maybe Sears would still be going strong if their products were shittier....
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Now that I think about it... maybe Sears would still be going strong if their products were shittier....
Bingo. Planned obsolescence not only results in a repeat customer, it is cheaper to make them. Lower cost materials can be used if the life span is not important. Decisions on materials can lead to better showroom appearance and improved sales. Without serviceable parts there is no need to produce service manuals in multiple languages. No need to package components and keep a parts stock. No need to run the distribution centers to accept parts orders, track inventory, and ship them out. Designs can use fewe
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Bingo. Planned obsolescence not only results in a repeat customer, it is cheaper to make them. Lower cost materials can be used if the life span is not important. Decisions on materials can lead to better showroom appearance and improved sales. Without serviceable parts there is no need to produce service manuals in multiple languages. No need to package components and keep a parts stock. No need to run the distribution centers to accept parts orders, track inventory, and ship them out. Designs can use fewer fasteners and more glue, which typically reduces assembly time and cuts labor costs further.
To a point, I think. At some point people want better quality, and reputation will hang in for a long time.
We'll never see those good old days again without some kind of system in place to offer a right to repair, guaranteed service lifetime, or non-bullshit warranty plans. The motivation to make a reliable appliance is no longer part of our culture. We've been in a race to the lowest price out-the-door for a very long time.
Sadly I have to agree. I think part of it is people love that word: "new". People think they're getting something better when they buy new.
An example of what I don't like about new, and my list is very long: most new refrigerators suck DIRTY air in at the bottom for the condenser. I've cleaned several. Very difficult! They don't make it easy to do. Some I've literally pushed outside, hit it firs
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An example of what I don't like about new, and my list is very long: most new refrigerators suck DIRTY air in at the bottom for the condenser. I've cleaned several. Very difficult! They don't make it easy to do. Some I've literally pushed outside, hit it first with a leaf blower (after removing cardboard covers), then hit it with pressure washer.
I jury rigged a 3/4" pvc hose to a shopvac, then snake it under my fridge a bunch of times and it seems to fit better in all the crannies. Now my fridge isn't running near constantly and getting super hot.
The energy star rating looks great, and is great when new, but a clogged condenser will cost you a bundle, and I wish there was a rating system for ease of maintenance.
Some of that energy star stuff is getting lifted, I think next year we'll see some dishwashers that actually clean dishes and take less than 2 hours to run.
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I jury rigged a 3/4" pvc hose to a shopvac, then snake it under my fridge a bunch of times and it seems to fit better in all the crannies. Now my fridge isn't running near constantly and getting super hot.
Yes, that's better than nothing, and I've done many similar things, but I discovered in most cases a very very sticky film from grease frying, coating the coils and keeping the dust stuck on. In one case I couldn't take the fridge outside so I tipped it 30 degrees or so (the ONLY way to get at this particular one) and used commercial coil cleaner, which worked very well. It was still a lot of work, and I wish they'd somehow be forced to make it easy, or protect it somehow, or something different from what
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Sears is still a great store, not much alternative to them. I seriously support visiting your local stores instead of ruining your economy by only shopping at Amazon. Even if you dont go to Sears, at least try to shop at a local store. Wonder why there are so many homeless people these days despite the government crowing about how awesome the conomy is? It's because the economic growth is centering around mega businesses, with a few outliers licking up the scraps (uber eats for those too amazingly lazy to
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I seriously support visiting your local stores instead of ruining your economy by only shopping at Amazon. Even if you dont go to Sears, at least try to shop at a local store.
I do shop at my local stores. If I'm looking for tools though I go to Harbor Freight, Lowe's, Home Depot, or Menard's. 15 years ago there were 6 full-service Sears stores within 20 miles of where I live. Now the closest one is over 12 times that distance. Sears doesn't get money from me any more.
The only people I feel bad for in the Sears collapse are the employees who worked the sales floor. I put in 2 years of retail when I was younger and it's hard work, even where I was. It's gotten even wors
Re:Just Let It Die (Score:5, Insightful)
Sears was a mega business. They were the store that came into town and put the mom and pop shops under. Further, they were one of the businesses that started the whole "order and receive it at home or pick it up at the store" craze. At one point you could even buy houses from Sears - via catalog of course. They were the Amazon/Walmart of their day and I don't feel the need to shed any tears for them. They may have provided insight and value to customers via educated and helpful staff at some point, but that was long before my day and I'm 41.
"Local" stores need to learn that they need to provide some value beyond a storefront. When I walk into my local auto parts store and ask where I can find banjo bolts only be greeted with a blank stare it says to me that I should be shopping elsewhere. Sure, I like that they are employing folk in my area, but those delivery drivers need work too. It blows me away that stores are so willing to throw away their one competitive advantage in favor of employing the absolute cheapest labor. Remember the good old days when you could walk into RadioShack and get some useful advice?
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No, there's a new wave of homeless, especially in large cities. People who got pushed out of their jobs, had too many medical bills, got divorced, etc. Can't afford the local rent, even if they have jobs. Many are living in their cars, some are living in RVs. These are not the stereotypical slightly-crazy guys mumbling to themselves.
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Five years? You should be so lucky.
My last Black-And-Decker tool (a battery-powered jigsaw) was so bad that I filed a CPSC complaint because I burned out two of them (complete with batteries shooting sparks), both within the first two weeks of ownership. I'm pretty sure the Craftsman version is the same hardware, with only minor cosmetic differences.
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Five years? You should be so lucky.
My last Black-And-Decker tool (a battery-powered jigsaw) was so bad that I filed a CPSC complaint because I burned out two of them (complete with batteries shooting sparks), both within the first two weeks of ownership. I'm pretty sure the Craftsman version is the same hardware, with only minor cosmetic differences.
Craftsman power tools (made by SBD, the stuff in Sears is made by someone else) are re-badged Porter Cable and Dewalt designs, a few steps up from the B&D line of crap. B&D these days is low budget home owner stuff, falling below house brands like Kobalt and even Ryobi at this point. Better off getting NoCry from Amazon if you want a cheap powertool. Or go to HF.
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The Craftsman 20V jigsaw appears to be a rebadged Porter Cable jigsaw. Unfortunately, the Black and Decker version also appears to be a slightly cost-reduced version of that same tool. The plastic case is different and the speed slider is removed, but the outwardly visible portions of the mechanism itself (which is what failed on mine) look identical.
I mean, it's certainly possible that their cost reductions caused the premature failure, but I still wouldn't touch any of those three jigsaws with a ten-
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They used to be quality (I have my dads old set and they're still going strong), but now they're typical Chinese trash that won't last 5 years.
This is why I buy my Chinese trash at Harbor Freight. They have the same warranty as Craftsman, but the tools are half the price (or cheaper.) And actually, they're much better tools, too. You can literally feel the quality difference.
And speaking of warranty, I have a Craftsman torque wrench that failed in a way that has nothing to do with calibration, the fucking handle that has the windows you spot the torque setting through came loose. But they refused to replace it anyway even though the failure has no
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his is why I buy my Chinese trash at Harbor Freight. They have the same warranty as Craftsman, but the tools are half the price (or cheaper.) And actually, they're much better tools, too.
Personal experience on quality from HF is definitely "it depends". I bought a half-inch drive breaker bar that I could literally feel flexing, and I managed to break the head of it. No cheater bars, not standing on it. I was definitely giving it hell, but nothing beyond what I'd expect it to take. Threw it in the trash and went and found one on clearance at Sears, it was definitely a superior tool.
That being said, I do like a lot of what HF is doing. If I'm buying hand tools I avoid the "bottom line"
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https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-hand-tools-usa-factory-news-052019/
what's there to buy at sears? (Score:3)
seems like every other store has better products and selection of every category they sell
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Costco or pep boys
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Costco will fuck your balance and alignment every time. There's a big fucking sign in the tire center outright stating that. They fucking tell you to go get an alignment because they outright don't do it and your shit will be fucked after they replace your tires.
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Re:what's there to buy at sears? (Score:5, Informative)
seems like every other store has better products and selection of every category they sell
It used to be an awesome store. For 2/3 of my life almost everything I owned came from Sears. Clothes. Tools. Shoes. Home stuff. If I bought something elsewhere it was only because Sears didn't carry it.
Then K-Mart bought it. The clothes became K-Mart clothes. No thanks. Then I went in to buy a wrench and it was a cheap sandcast piece of garbage from China. It just felt cheap. Previously their tools were made in the U.S. and good enough quality to make a living with (which I did).
I walked out that day and never set foot in a Sears again.
Re:what's there to buy at sears? (Score:5, Insightful)
This exactly.
Sears used to be truly awesome. I needed a part for a 20 year old dehumidifier, and Sears had it. Another old item, was easily serviced by them at their service center.
Sears had two choices when Wal-Mart was gaining steam: Try to compete on price, or compete on quality. Sears went the cheap way, which was something that their stores were never designed to do. They were designed for fewer, more expensive items with a sterling reputation for quality. However, by going the K-Mart route, they sullied their good name... and just didn't have the company DNA to compete with Wal-Mart and Target in their arena.
Had Sears took the opposite route and remained upscale, selling only brands that didn't suck, not whatever came off the boat the cheapest, yes, they would still have had to downsize... but they would still have a niche, people would still head to their stores, and they would still be around. Especially if they kept their service and parts departments up like their auto shop.
However, the K-Mart way of doing things is what killed Sears. Those two companies should have never merged. Instead, Sears should have moved into online sales and delivery which was their mainstay for many years, and seized share which Amazon has now.
Sears and parts. (Score:3)
Sears was great for parts of things they sold. They had a decent infrastructure for parts distribution pre-Internet. They were perfectly situated for domination and missed it. Poor management.
Re:what's there to buy at sears? (Score:4, Insightful)
> Sears should have moved into online sales and delivery which was their mainstay for many years, and seized share which Amazon has now.
That's the sad thing about their story. They practically invented mail-order catalogs, and when phones became popular, you could order by phone from their catalog. They should have added online sales when it first became a thing, but their management was incompetent. My roommate worked for Sears around 2000, and they were already starting to fall apart. They couldn't manage inventory, so stuff was ending up in the dumpster, or really cheap on clearance. I got a lot of nice items that way.
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This exactly.
Sears used to be truly awesome. I needed a part for a 20 year old dehumidifier, and Sears had it....<snip/>
I could not agree with you more---my own anecdotes:
Back when Sears and Craftsman were not a running joke, my father had a craftsman torque wrench that ended up breaking on him. The wrench itself was over 10+ years old, but he took it in, and they gave him the components needed to fix it (and offered to do it for him).
Secondly, my family and I had a Kennmore branded refrigerator that was at least 45+ years old and still functioning without issue--the only reason why we got rid of it was given its a
Re:what's there to buy at sears? (Score:4, Insightful)
You make a good point about quality. I have known several people who worked with tools and used Craftsman because of the incredible warranty. The DieHard battery was legendary as well. And they, along with Montgomery Ward, invented the mail order business. Building brick-and-mortar stores ended up costing too much for both of them.
I don't necessary agree, however, that a quality niche would work, because people are so used to cheap crap, and as some have said, Harbor Freight is good enough and cheap enough for the casual DIY-er. I would like to live in a world where a niche for quality could thrive, but don't trust that to be the case.
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Then I went in to buy a wrench and it was a cheap sandcast piece of garbage from China. It just felt cheap. Previously their tools were made in the U.S. and good enough quality to make a living with (which I did).
Sears used to be great. It was Amazon before Amazon. I have a tool chest full of real Craftsman and hope they never break because even if Sears honors the warranty I’ll get a cheap replacement that is nowhere as good as the broken one. At least Snap-on is still a quality tool.
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I bought my Craftsman set around 1991, still use it today. The only thing that gave me problems was my 1/4" socket wrench. Took it into Sears about 5 years ago to get it replaced, they gave me a rebuilt one. It broke again on first use. Took that back, got another rebuilt... it broke after a couple of uses. Third time was the charm. Haven't had any problems with it since, but I don't expect it to last.
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They stopped deburring the parts. If you take the socket wrenches apart and clean the edges of the stamped parts inside with a deburring tool, they work much better. As it is, the ratchety bits (yeah that's a technical term) get stuck partially engaged and then when you put torque on it they aren't in the right place so they break.
Or just buy better stuff from Harbor Freight for half the money, in the future. But I realize that doesn't help with the tools you have already.
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I buy some things at HF, but usually as 2nd or 3rd options. I had an angle grinder for several years from there, and put it through hell. Actually had to repair it twice (burned out wires) before it gave up the ghost. I wanted to find a good German/Japan/USA made one to replace it, but most companies manufacture their consumer line in China. I ended up getting a Makita open-box for pretty cheap and it is soooo much better than the HF one and better than my old Dewalt. Still made in China, but to much h
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Yeah, I either buy cheap stuff knowing it's going to break (and maybe buy 2), or find good older solid used stuff.
I'm keeping my 12 and 18V DeWalt stuff forever. You can buy much better NiMH or Li-ion batteries for the older ones, which I will do when I need batteries.
Friend bought brand new DeWalt 20V Li-ion stuff. The circular saw cut crooked! We measured it- blade is not parallel to the edges, by more than 1/8"! We did not see any adjustment or screws you could loosen and adjust it. He took it back.
got rid of the sears catalog too soon (Score:3)
They should keep it and moved it online with slow draw down of the printed one.
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... Previously their tools were made in the U.S. and good enough quality to make a living with (which I did). ...
The Sears exclusive Craftsman brand tools were indeed a premium offering, at one time. The Wikipedia article [wikipedia.org] on that topic discusses the Black and Decker buyout, and makes reference to some of the changes that took place as a result, including the watering down of the original Sears warranty; it's an interesting read.
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It really is too bad. When I was a
Re:what's there to buy at sears? (Score:4, Interesting)
Some of those Sears and K-Mart stand-alone stores should be bought by Amazon, and turned into regional distribution nodes to expand Amazon's one-day delivery trajectory.
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Amazon did just that with our local K-Mart a few years ago.
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Last time I went to K-Mart, around 2012, I found some software marked half-price.
For the Commodore Vic-20.
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The key problem that hit Sears, Toy R Us and a lot of the big box stores. Was the recent low interest rates on loans.
With interest rates really low, there isn't a better time to borrow money. However if you are a business and you are going to borrow money for expansion, your growth will need to exceed the price of the loan, so you can pay it off.
The like of Amazon, Target and Walmart as competitors were not enough to kill of Sears, but because Sears collected a lot of debt and these big competition slowed
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I always used to buy tools, clothes, automotive batteries, tires and shoes at Sears.
By the end, I was only buying shoes.
Now I don't by anything there.
I still buy all of those things at local stores though, mostly Target and L.L Bean
Not shocking at all (Score:4, Insightful)
I think they're just trying to wind the company down in an orderly fashion and try to get as much money out of it as they can. As far as I can tell, our local Sears and Kmart locations have invested nothing into improving their situation since the bankruptcy.
The only thing that can save them at this point is closing all the Kmarts and focusing all the resources on fixing up the remaining few Sears locations. There's zero differentiation at the low end of retail; Walmart and the dollar stores own the low end and Target/Costco and similar are in the mid-end. If Sears could be turned into a retailer with better customer service that people would be willing to pay a little extra for, that would be the winning strategy. Kmart can't invest in their stores or customer service caliber...there's not enough money left over after selling products with such a low markup. If Sears focused in merchandise quality and making it pleasant to shop there, they'd eek out a larger margin.
I'm somewhat older and can remember a time where Sears was basically _the_ place for normal everyday consumers to buy basic goods like clothes, home stuff, tools and electronics. Their success from previous times was due to the fact that there weren't hundreds of online retailers willing to sell goods for pennies more than they pay for them. Focusing on hiring knowledgeable salespeople and stocking higher quality stuff might give people a reason to go there...because they're not the only game in town like they used to be.
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Now that their good brand names are sold off like Craftsman and LL Bean, there isn't much that Sears can offer, that JC Penney's, Target, Wally World, or even Amazon can't.
If they were to rebuild, it would have to be from scratch. Close all stores, and rebuild the franchise as a high end place. Think the old Sharper Image, but instead of expensive gewgaws, have good quality kitchen/laundry appliances, a custom brand name with stuff made in the US, a good service department that can go anywhere, no matter
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LL Bean was always a separate company. The sold thru Sears, Sears never owned them. Bean remains one of the biggest employers in Maine and still makes a lot (though not all) of their stuff domestically.
Yes they have finally gone back on their lifetime warranties sadly but they are still good American company making quality stuff.
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Like reboots of the Titanic, the ending is a spoiler.
The structure of Sears is outdated and will never be the same again.
I remember when I was a kid, I'd go to a dedicated shoe store, sit down and a man in a suit would measure my feet with that footometer thingy and go get three styles in three different colours.
The shoes were expensive. Now, I pass shoes on shelves at every freaking store I go to and measuring (guessing and trying on) is all self-serve. The shoes are low quality and disposable. We had cobb
Re: Not shocking at all (Score:2)
I remember when I was a kid, I'd go to a dedicated shoe store, sit down and a man in a suit would measure my feet with that footometer thingy and go get three styles in three different colours.
They're called Brannock Devices.
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They were **to early** to jump on online shopping, with Prodigy.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wik... [wikipedia.org]
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People aren't willing to pay a little extra for customer service though, that's a myth.
Sure, some people are, but not enough. If enough people were we wouldn't have seen the race to the bottom and low service.
The successful retailers are more and more self service because the internet allows for buyers to be informed and they don't want to pay 10% extra to deal with people.
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Some people will pay 10% extra not to have to deal with people [pinimg.com].
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It's beyond self-service vs. more intensive customer service.
Wayyy back in the '70s, if your Sears appliance broke down, they would send someone out in a van to repair it in place. No cost to you if it was under warranty, reasonable cost otherwise. They would (GASP) actually have the needed parts on the truck so they didn't have to come back in 2 weeks.
The LAST thing I bought from Sears was a TV (back when CRT was still a thing). It failed under warranty and they insisted I take it to them (damned thing wei
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But that adds far more than 10% to the price.
I'm not saying nobody would do it, just that it seems most people aren't willing to pay, and those willing to pay can hire a company to do it anyway.
Stocking parts is expensive, making serviceable items costs more AND makes them less aesthetically pleasing. Having people trained to service is expensive.
There isn't a cultural place for a company that charges 50% (made up number) more but handles these things. I agree that it's frustrating, but I doubt I'd pay the
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Be careful of false economy. If something costs twice as much but lasts 3 times as long, it is actually cheaper per year.
It's actually quite hard (or impossible) to hire a company to do that kind of service now. You can get someone to come out, but they won't have parts of the truck, and often they're incompetent and sometimes can't even manage to speak intelligible English or remember the actual name of their employer.
The time before last someone came out under warranty to fix the washing machine, he did t
The only reasons ever to shop at Sears (Score:2)
was Craftsman tools, and some Kenmore appliances.
I did use their automotive services frequently, when a friend from school worked there.
Pretty much everything else was overpriced, or just slightly better than Walmart quality.
The stores were always crowded with merchandise, non-helpful employees, and always seemed to have a kind of gloom.
Most of the time I would park at the Sears end of the mall, since there was always plenty of room there.
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Your final comment: Most of the time I would park at the Sears end of the mall, since there was always plenty of room there.
I did the same thing. However, the Sears store closed and the mall tore down the building. They want to put something useful in it its place. It's so much easier to buy stuff online (a lot cheaper too)
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They are when you have to take half of the damn vehicle apart just to get at some of the places.
Cars used to be bigger and easier to reach around.
Hell, good luck getting a Technical in-depth Service Manual (if they even sell it to the public) that doesn't require proprietary equipment just to diagnose issues.
But no one has time to fix anything. It's simpler just to buy a new one. [slashdot.org] Society has become deposable with things, activities, and people.
--
Main St. built America
Wall St. robbed it.
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Turrible (Score:2)
Several years back, go to Sears in the evening before Christmas. Maybe 30 cars in the sparse giant parking lot.
These people (K-mart, too) have access to the same business principles as Walmart, but seem to be too stupid to do so.
When did you last enter a Sears or KMart? (Score:2)
For me it's at least 20 years, maybe longer.
Their survival given complete irrelevance is stunning actually.
I almost want to visit them as museums of retailer's past.
Both are an anachronism at this point. Decent in their time but completely incompatible with the current selling environment (I'm surprised Target does as well as it does).
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Its like Publix. A little more expensive but the stores are a lot nicer and cleaner.
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We all agree on Publix thou right?
Which is this? (Score:5, Funny)
Is this news for nerds, or stuff that matters?
Maybe there was a third category added: Things that were obviously going to happen.
Should had mentioned Fry's Electronics! (Score:2)
Fry's Electronics seems to be dying with lack of inventories in their retail stores. They used to be the place to shop for nerds and geeks like me. :(
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
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However, it occurs to me that he could have done that specifically so he could defend against the allegations described in the story you linked on CNBC.
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Deserved mod, but maybe Slashdot needs an "unhappy" to include in cases like this. Vulture capitalism versus "real capitalism", whatever that means. I've read similar things about McDonald's, by the way. They say that financial speculations around the land where the franchises stand determine most of "the corporation's value", again, whatever that means.
The original ideas of capitalism seem to have been mashed in the dirt under the single metric of profit über alles. There used to be something about sh
Vulture Capitalists (Score:2)
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It's just a holding company now (Score:5, Insightful)
If they wanted to help Sears and KMart return to profitability, they would put some capital into the stores and help them look like it is 2019 instead of 1995 inside. Most stores haven't even seen lighting upgrades since the dawn of the LED bulb. Lampert didn't help the situation either by taking another of his favorite works of fiction (namely Lord of the Flies, which falls somewhere slightly lower on his list than Atlas Shrugged) and using to to justify pitting his employees against each other at the same store.
It's no small wonder the stores can't get merchandise; why would vendors and middleman companies want to sell to a company that has a shit credit rating and a history of not fulfilling its promises?
The company could have been saved a decade ago, but that would have required extraordinary measures as Lampert (on his own and through his investment companies) already owned at least 51% of the Sears/KMart stock so he couldn't be voted off the board. He's no longer CEO now but that doesn't matter much; the ship is very nearly completely under.
Better? (Score:2)
Bankruptcy isn't a reset button. It's an ejector seat for the owners.
Expecting Sears to "fare better" after filing for bankruptcy is like expecting the plane not to crash after the pilots have jumped and fully deployed their chutes.
Could have been Amazon (Score:5, Insightful)
Sears parts had "online" access ... in 1988 (Score:3)
I remember being astonished when I went to the parts department of a Sears (to get a replacement controller/timer for my dryer) and watching the guy at the counter punch my model number into a green screen and get back a black-and-white exploded diagram, from which he got the part number I needed.
It was custom software running on their internal all-IBM network, but this was 1989 or so, well before the web took off in the mid 90's.
Until fairly recently, we had access to that catalog over the web at searspart
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I've had this exact thought myself, but I need to give Sears at least *some* level of defense...
1. *Nobody* was making money on the internet for the first decade. Sears had a bit more potential because they didn't necessarily need to go all-in on an internet presence, but it was far from a proven system for commerce at the time.
2. 1997 Amazon and 2019 Amazon are basically two different entities entirely. Amazon was a super cheap bookstore in 1997, and losing money quarter after quarter. Bezos did a fantasti
It should be obvious by now... (Score:2)
The Stock Certificates Still Work For Toilet Paper (Score:2)
But hey, those still holding onto shares can still use the stock certificates for toilet paper, just like the catalogs of yore.
Real companies vs. financial companies (Score:2)
There's the term "real property [investopedia.com]" - I think there should be a distinction drawn when thinking about financial companies and "real companies". Financial companies are focused on the creation and trading of financial constructs/products and currency (forex), and others engage in lending and associated activities.
One serious problem is when owners of financial companies - hedge funds, private equity - who have made a killing in some or all of the aforementioned activities, think they are suited to running a rea
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Re: gutted by senior management (Score:4, Insightful)
Eddie lambaret sold himself most of the physical property at discounted rates which he then leased back to Sears.
That is step one in knowing your product sucks and trying to milk everything you can. It also locks him into physical assets that can't be stripped by bankruptcy court.
Toyrus died the same way. A hedge fund bought the company then forced toyrus to payback the "loan' of the fund buying toyrus. It was to much debt and buried the company in the ground.
It happens every single time a hedge fund buys a company. Sears Kmart toyrus, it takes about 10-15 years and that company has nothing left.
Re: gutted by senior management (Score:5, Informative)
The term for this is "corporate raiders". They basically take a company - generally any company, and find a way to transfer the money into themselves and debt onto everything else and let the leftovers die out. Basically they buy companies to extract the money from them, leaving everyone else holding the bills.
It typically involves heavily leveraged buyouts, where a company takes on massive debts... buying itself out. Let's say you want to buy a company XYZ inc for $200M. A leveraged buyout means you go to the bank, and basically get a loan for $200M to buy the company, using the company as collateral. The company now is saddled with $200M in debt payments that didn't exist before. Meanwhile, any assets of value are quickly transferred out from under the company. THe company is then generally spun out, left to go bankrupt and all the creditors holding the leftovers.
Just like how modern day companies are often vessels for transferring investor money into founder's bank accounts (e.g., WeWork/We Company).
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Where's the fiduciary interest? (Score:4, Insightful)
It always amazes me that when corporations are evil bastards, their refrain to the public is "we have a legal obligation to act in our shareholder's best interest."
But when some management group or corporate hotshot has some scheme to enrich themselves by taking the company private or some other complex structure, it's OK for them to raise their personal financial interest above that of shareholders.
I mean, if you have a business plan that will improve the business, shouldn't you implement that for the benefit of the shareholders, rather than screwing them for your own profit?
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Re:gutted by senior management (Score:4, Insightful)
...but I wonder why anyone would allow them to do it more than once even if they could do it successfully at all.
It happens all the time. For some reason, corporate raiders tend to be darlings of Wall Street complete with gushing profile articles. "chainsaw" Al Dunlap was such a darling while he was slashing jobs left and right, up until the SEC briefly woke from it's slumber and noticed all the fraud.
Lampert's apparent losses are nothing more than converting (plundered) paper wealth into durable wealth at a discount, kinda like a burglar converting a $1000 stolen TV into $100 in untraceable cash. He just needs Sears to stay afloat long enough to finish transferring it's cargo to his yacht.
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Perhaps their are some corporate raiders out that that will come in and ruin a business in order to enrich themselves in the process, but I wonder why anyone would allow them to do it more than once even if they could do it successfully at all.
Why, exactly, would anyone stop them?
Also, you might wanna google "Bain Capital".