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It's kind of sad to see. My grandparents used to work for Sears back in the day and they used to be a great company to work for, my grandparents did pretty well with them. But yeah, they never did seem to get past the seventies and eighties with their mdse selection.
I don't even want to talk about how shocked I was to walk into a K-mart for the first time in six or seven years, the place was empty and cheap looking, worse than the tackiest dollar store.
This is my take on Sears - note, I worked there for many years on the salesfloor, in hs and college - in the glory years of the late 70s and early 80s. I think Sears should NOT be competing with Walmart - face it, no one can compete with Walmart. They should be competeing with a nicer department stores like the Bon-ton chains, the Carsons, maybe even the Macys etc.
Also, I think that they turning their back on their catalog was a big mistake, which is biting them now. They are trying to get back into Internet sales, however, the Sears website (in my opinion) is difficult to find the exact product you are looking for. (I tried to look for drapes online yesterday) Now, their Lands end online catalog: very nice indeed and easy to navigate... why is one so bad and the other so good. FIX this Sears or you are dead in the water.
Lambert did the typical buy out of Sears - and then strip it of all the stuff that was worth any money, sell it, not put any money back into the stores.... slash and burn corporate. Does not work. They need to make the stores look nice again, not dumpy and dreary. But that is NOT all they need to do. They need to bring back quality clothes, and tools, and appliances (I have heard quality slipped on those lately as well) and re-invent themselves and put some money back into that company.
I would like to see them find their way back. Quality is key, they will never compete with the-mart on price.
AND I really get tired of people bashing the fact that it is an "old persons" store. HELLO - not everyone who buys clothes is a 20 year old. I am a 40 yo+ woman and honestly the stores that are all coming into our area now I literally cannot buy clothes are: Aeropostle, abercrombie, forefver 21 ... ? come on guys.... the other ones are all these discount stores like tjmaxx and marshalls, ross - those are hit or miss I honestly do not have time in my life to continually shop to hopefully come acrross a bargain that will hopefully be available in my size.
There are literally 3 stores here that I can buy clothes at now. If those go out of business, I will have to drive 20 miles to get to the next area where they do have these shops as well. You know, the nicer department stores... with some career type clothes.
Over the years, I have gotten many nice looking clothes from Sears that have worn very well and are light years above what they offer at the-mart and tarjay for quality of fabric, construction, and non-shrinkage (BIG problem when buying clothes at cheaper stores). Esp, at their Lands end departments. Yes, I shop online with lands end now that our local sears is gone.
Recently they closed the Sears in our area, that was always a very weird, too small for the community sears that needed to close years ago as their departments did not carry hardly any merchandise.
They took the Kmarts out of our area decades ago, there is only 1 I can think of that is quite a drive away from here.
The reason they did not close Sears stores in IL is that our gov gave Sears corp a 150mil tax break. If they announced IL store closings after they got that tax break, there would have been a riot here. People are already not happy about what gov did.
Finally the last two Kmarts in my metro area will be gone. They should've been closed during the last time they closed down Kmarts in the area. They won't be missed.
The reason they did not close Sears stores in IL is that our gov gave Sears corp a 150mil tax break. If they announced IL store closings after they got that tax break, there would have been a riot here. People are already not happy about what gov did.
The way I see it, it was PR reasons why they didn't close any Illinois locations, for now. I suspect that some will be included, in a future round of closures. Let's of course not forget that they said 120 stores will be closed, and that only 80 of 120 closures have been announced. I knew I predicted correctly on a different message board, that Sears Holdings would hold back on announcing the second round of 40 stores that would close. LOL, my money is that more closures beyond the 40 yet to be announced, will happen in future years, unless they can find a way to compete better against other retailers. But I'm not holding my breath that they can find their way back...
This is my take on Sears - note, I worked there for many years on the salesfloor, in hs and college - in the glory years of the late 70s and early 80s. I think Sears should NOT be competing with Walmart - face it, no one can compete with Walmart. They should be competeing with a nicer department stores like the Bon-ton chains, the Carsons, maybe even the Macys etc.
Also, I think that they turning their back on their catalog was a big mistake, which is biting them now. They are trying to get back into Internet sales, however, the Sears website (in my opinion) is difficult to find the exact product you are looking for. (I tried to look for drapes online yesterday) Now, their Lands end online catalog: very nice indeed and easy to navigate... why is one so bad and the other so good. FIX this Sears or you are dead in the water..
Personally, every time I walk into a Sears store, I look to see if I am in the Twilight Zone and have been transported back into the Sixties.
They cannot compete with the upscale department stores as their soft lines (clothing) is so low quality AND their merchandising is so bad.
When you NEED help at their store (i.e., for exercise equipment), there is never an employee who knows the product. However, on your way out of the store, you will have two cheesy salesmen trying to sell you a washer/ dryer combo.
Even their better merchandise - Lands End - has deteriorated in quality. I bought three pairs of trousers in October and they are already on the mend pile as the buttons fell off in the first three wearings.
Had the CEO hired quality merchandisers and brought them in to fix Sears and Kmart, they would have been in a lot better shape.
They ended up closing some Illinois Sears and Kmart stores, one Sears Essentials store(basically a rebadged Kmart), and finally a Great Indoors store(though all remaining ones are closing), in their 2nd round of closures. I keep thinking this company won't last for many more years, if it does at all, short of a major new strategy to truly better compete w/other retailers:
Does anyone know what Sears was thinking when they bought K-Mart?
There was a K-Mart near me. Did so-so OK for years. Then a Wal-Mart opened down the road. The K-Mart closed a year latter. Building was empty for over two years and is now Burlington. In the same shopping center was a Sweet Bay [food] Wal-Mart expanded their building to become a super Wal-Mart. A year latter Sweet Bay closed.
Not too far in the major mall is a Sears but across the road was a K-Mart. We thought it would become a Sears outlet/bargain store. There were so few customers at that store, I didn't know how they even paid their electric bill. Word has it that Home Depot may take the property.
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