Sears Third Quarter was nothing short of Terrifying
- Thread starter DJ Ricky B
- Start date
I've been in two Kmarts in my life and they were both pathetic. Walmart put in a store right across the street from one of them and took it out. The other is still there but I can't imagine a reason that I'd go inside it.
They simply chose not to innovate and remain competitive. I'm sure their corporate offices are filled with talk of "the good old days" too.
They simply chose not to innovate and remain competitive. I'm sure their corporate offices are filled with talk of "the good old days" too.
You'd be surprised to learn that Sears is the dog of the company. Kmart is what's keeping their whole organization afloat.
I walked into Sears last week. The loacal mall here has a JC Penneys and a Sears. JC Penneys on a weekday afternoon probably had over 100 customers shopping in the store. Cash registers had lines. They had a "Spend $25 or more, and get $10 off" coupon in the ad everybody was using. Plus 25% off on various departments...Shoes was one of them. I wanted Shoes, but found nothing I wanted to purchase.
Walked to Sears. I counted 16 customers in the entire store. Our Sears is only a 1 level Sears location so it was easy to count them up. No music was on the intercom system. The clothing department was less than organized. The tools department looked real skimpy. There was a customer with a sales rep in the Appliances department. My guess is Appliances, and stuff like Lawn Mowing equipment is stil sort of a strong point at Sears.
Their TV prices were nothing to write home about, and the TV department looked a bit bland compared to Best Buy or HH Greg, plus only maybe 20 TVs on display...Way less selection than their competitors. Jewelry department claimed up to 70% off sale, but that sale seems to be often advertised.
We had pictures taken at Sears years ago. I heard at the time, they were the number 2 store in the entire market for the photography department...that was like 6 years ago. Walked by there, and nothing was going on...at least on a weekday afternoon.
Walked to Sears. I counted 16 customers in the entire store. Our Sears is only a 1 level Sears location so it was easy to count them up. No music was on the intercom system. The clothing department was less than organized. The tools department looked real skimpy. There was a customer with a sales rep in the Appliances department. My guess is Appliances, and stuff like Lawn Mowing equipment is stil sort of a strong point at Sears.
Their TV prices were nothing to write home about, and the TV department looked a bit bland compared to Best Buy or HH Greg, plus only maybe 20 TVs on display...Way less selection than their competitors. Jewelry department claimed up to 70% off sale, but that sale seems to be often advertised.
We had pictures taken at Sears years ago. I heard at the time, they were the number 2 store in the entire market for the photography department...that was like 6 years ago. Walked by there, and nothing was going on...at least on a weekday afternoon.
It was actually K-Mart that bought Sears and changed to corporate name to sears holdings or something like that
Sears tried to be everything. I can see the hardware, and power equip. and appliances .. but to also be a destination for shoes, children's clothes, etc.? The all-in-one high-end department store died a long time ago.
Amazon is proof of that LOL
Or lowes/Home depot..christmas decorations, tools, lawn care, appliances..parts or you can get contractors there too.
How is a photobooth related to DJing? Not very directly.
A few places here tried, years ago of course, pizza and video delivery.
Many harley dealers have cafe's in them...i don't quite get that.
Or lowes/Home depot..christmas decorations, tools, lawn care, appliances..parts or you can get contractors there too.
How is a photobooth related to DJing? Not very directly.
A few places here tried, years ago of course, pizza and video delivery.
Many harley dealers have cafe's in them...i don't quite get that.
LOL..first sentence talks about 'best price'...service, knowledge, selection...nope, price.
And we wonder why consumers look for the cheapest DJ..
And we wonder why consumers look for the cheapest DJ..
If you were in charge of keeping both those stores a float, what would you do so they don't go under?
I'd stop throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks as they've been doing for years then cut any department that doesn't turn a profit on a yearly basis. Expand the departments that do. Run test pilots for new product offerings in a small subset of your markets like all the other large corporations do.
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Sears in my mind has always been an expensive Wal-Mart. Maybe it's a generational thing but Sears never had any clout in my mind. When I got my first car I stupidly bought new tires from Sears and realized a week later I could saved ~$200 by getting them at Wal-Mart. That left a very negative impression of Sears on my mind. The only positive memory I have of Sears is they were the only store that carried winter gloves big enough for me when I was a teenager. Nowadays Amazon does and I don't even have to put on pants!
.. Nowadays Amazon does and I don't even have to put on pants!
Thanks for that image.
Anyone have one of those mind eraser flashy things from Men In Black?
I'd stop throwing crap at the wall and seeing what sticks as they've been doing for years then cut any department that doesn't turn a profit on a yearly basis. Expand the departments that do. Run test pilots for new product offerings in a small subset of your markets like all the other large corporations do.
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Sears in my mind has always been an expensive Wal-Mart. Maybe it's a generational thing but Sears never had any clout in my mind. When I got my first car I stupidly bought new tires from Sears and realized a week later I could saved ~$200 by getting them at Wal-Mart. That left a very negative impression of Sears on my mind. The only positive memory I have of Sears is they were the only store that carried winter gloves big enough for me when I was a teenager. Nowadays Amazon does and I don't even have to put on pants!
I always purchase tires from Tirerack.com. ...Shipped right to my door, and I take them to Mr. Tire, and they use to charge $23 per rim to mount and balance, BUT I heard their priced went up to like $30 per tire.
...IF I need a tire ASAP I just go to Mr. Tire...Mount and balance is free, and the tire price is "close" to what it would be if I ordered from tirerack then paid what they would charge me to put the tire on.
I will check out Costco before I go to Tirerack for my Traverse though. Before I purchased Z rated tires for a Cobalt SS...Costco isn't really the place for sport tires, BUT for SUV Tires, the prices may be the best from them. I have about 40% tread left after 2 years 3 months...I figure I can probably make it until the end of March before I really need to replace the tires (We go on vacation to Myrtle Beach in April for Spring Break...Will get new tires before then). I don't like getting the tires down to being "bald" ...I know plenty of people who will do that before buying new tires though.
Amazon is going Bricks and Mortar and letting people just walk out
Amazon Go store lets shoppers pick up goods and walk out
When I was a kid I grew up in a really small town and most of what we bought in the line of clothes and toys came mail order from Sears
Most Harley dealers make a much bigger percentage of their profits off of clothing, accessories and service than they do bikes, anything you can do to get a customer to stay longer will greatly increase the likely hood of that customer spending more money
I used to have a FFL and I sold guns/ammo/etc. Same there .. very little margin on guns .. almost all of it came from ammo and "accessories" (scopes, cleaning equipment, holsters, etc.).
JamminDownJD
Entertainment Director and Radio Consultant
How to save Kmart and Sears?
You can't. Sell off the real estate (they own many of the stores they occupy). Invest somewhere else.
Seriously, they are are way too late to make a decent turnaround. They passed the point of no return a decade ago. Their brick and mortar is crumbling. Kmart cannot compete against Walmart and Target, mostly because their stores are repulsive to today's shoppers due to disrepair, age, and incompetence. Sears is a dinosaur that has no relevancy to the millennials. Most Sears stores are attached to malls, and malls are dying very quickly. The buildings are old, the merchandise is not appealing, and it would cost them a lot more to remodel stores and reinvest in retail. They are done.
Their Kenmore and Craftsman brands meant something to my parents' generation, but not mine, and certainly not today's generation. Many Kenmore items were just rebadged from other brands (Maytag, for example). (Side note, I remember my neighbor had a Sears Video Game System-- a rebadged Atari!)
They tried to poke toward the Amazon route. ShopYourWay was DOA.
There is nothing they can do. This was something that has been foreseen since the 90s, and yet, they only put bandages on their brands and stores. The bleeding is hemorrhaging. Put them out of their misery.
You can't. Sell off the real estate (they own many of the stores they occupy). Invest somewhere else.
Seriously, they are are way too late to make a decent turnaround. They passed the point of no return a decade ago. Their brick and mortar is crumbling. Kmart cannot compete against Walmart and Target, mostly because their stores are repulsive to today's shoppers due to disrepair, age, and incompetence. Sears is a dinosaur that has no relevancy to the millennials. Most Sears stores are attached to malls, and malls are dying very quickly. The buildings are old, the merchandise is not appealing, and it would cost them a lot more to remodel stores and reinvest in retail. They are done.
Their Kenmore and Craftsman brands meant something to my parents' generation, but not mine, and certainly not today's generation. Many Kenmore items were just rebadged from other brands (Maytag, for example). (Side note, I remember my neighbor had a Sears Video Game System-- a rebadged Atari!)
They tried to poke toward the Amazon route. ShopYourWay was DOA.
There is nothing they can do. This was something that has been foreseen since the 90s, and yet, they only put bandages on their brands and stores. The bleeding is hemorrhaging. Put them out of their misery.