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Originally Posted by Serious Conversation
Definitely. I went to a Sears Saturday - first time in several years. I had a battery put on, an oil change, and tire rotation. They're cheaper than local shops (closest Sears closed recently), but are always a bit slow. It took four hours. Probably half the store had bare shelves or merchandise on blowout prices.
If this is the direction all Sears have moved to, no wonder they're on their way out.
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Kmart and Sears have been dying for YEARS. A sign of how much that company(Sears Holdings, though I jokingly call them K-Sears) has struggled, is when you go into their stores in recent years and see more barren shelves, than you used to years ago. I also noticed when video games got eliminated at all Sears and Kmart stores, a few years back.
If it wasn't for certain categories keeping this company alive(i.e. their long reputation with appliances and tools, and the fact the vast majority of Sears have convenient auto centers outside the store), they'd probably cease to exist. Kmart does have a few things going for them, such as that many of their stores have Little Caesar's Pizza inside, and I know a few friends who like the Joe Boxer clothing line.
As it is, they barely are treading water as a company, and I'm extremely amazed they've stayed out of bankruptcy for now. You know it's extremely bad for them if they're having to sell off side businesses they own(Land's End, Craftsman, Kenmore), doing subleasing of Kmart and Sears spaces(and sometimes closing that respective store, if another retailer will pay them a greater rent/lease than how much money a Sears or Kmart store is making in that space), and shutting down store operations they used to do(i.e. The Great Indoors, Sears Grand) to keep open. They did once try to convert some Kmart stores to Sears Essentials, but that didn't last long, and to my knowledge all those remaining stores the company hasn't shut down are back to being Kmart again.
My prediction, is that they probably will go bankrupt in a year or 2. I just can't see how they'll continue to survive as a company, when the vast majority of people(myself included) just prefer shopping at other stores vs. Kmart and Sears. And wow, I nearly forget to admit the fact that most Kmarts and Sears stores look old and dated as crap, inside!
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