My Sears is looking really sad

[SGKent]

Well, it shouldn't be! Neither should a Lesbian be called gay!... unless they are feeling gay. But that's just me, I'm an ol' fart resistant to change. Don't even get me started on "my bad" instead of my mistake or my error.

Now you dudes get off my lawn!

I also miss the Sears of my youth. The sporting goods section with Ted Williams picture everywhere, the Sears Craftsman router crafter, the candy counter where you could by candy in bulk by the pound or in my case a fraction there of.
Sorry..carry on...dudes 'n' gals.

The Sears of my youth and early teen years.

Yeah - Ted Williams was quite a fellow. My late father flew with him in WWII, they were pals of sorts. Got to meet him twice in my life - once as a 5 year old at a game where dad and he got together, and once when he was back at Hoover in San Diego walking the halls. I was 18. He remembered me as a 5 year old. Never could figure why until years later dad let it slip they were in flight school together, and that they were drinking buddies at that time. Dad was the high school QB where he went to school, and Ted a baseball guru from San Diego. Both were top pilots in their class. Anyway, to this day he is still one of my heroes.

 

[sk farmer]

"Dude" is unisex, and has been for almost 20 years, dude.

well....according to the dictionary a dude is a man or guy.

if you want to go urban dictionary the number 1 response is stoner or surfer which i don't think apply. the 2nd most popular response is referring to someone as dude when you don't know their name. since he quoted her i think he knew the name was lassen forge. i suppose if you scrolled down you may find some usisex reference but it surely is not a popular use.

so.....i stand by my statement, lassen forge is not "dude".


on optional use for the word dude according to the dictionary is another word for someone who is a dandy.........but that is a whole nother can of worms that i do not think describe lassen forge.

 

[coleman10]

I also miss the Sears of my youth. The sporting goods section with Ted Williams picture everywhere, the Sears Craftsman router crafter, the candy counter where you could by candy in bulk by the pound or in my case a fraction there of.

Sorry..carry on...dudes 'n' gals.

The Sears of my youth and early teen years.

I really miss the candy counter. I’d always get a bag of snow caps and my dad would get cashews. Ah, the smell of rubber in the air. I’d wander around and look at all the sporting goods and the tools. I had some some great times going there with my dad. All gone.

 

[The Fall]

As someone who was using 35mm film well into the 2010s, how do you transition to a format that doesn't use film anymore? I get Leica being able to transition to digital with a digital rangefinder. Kodak to me was strictly film and prints.

I run a record label. We sell anywhere between 300-500 LPs. Mid-'80s, you could move 2,000 of the same type of records. Even better, you could move similar amounts for cassettes with more robust profit margins. Streaming largely killed the business model.

Sears was financialized. Like all of these other companies crashing and burning who off-shored production and figured their business model wasn't building quality products (like planes) but juicing stock or moving money around (Jack Welch style, baby!). The problem is you can only loot a company once.

Amazon had the fire and the drive. Sears could've remained the top dog had they kept their eye on the ball and had competent leadership. The infrastructure was there with their distribution centers. It's a real shame that same sort of talent that got them through the Depression wasn't there in the 2000s.

I liked Sears a lot. I was always the youngest person in there. Wards went out when I was still a teenager. Long-live Powr-Kraft!

 

[jgromada]

Pretty ironic that a company back in the day pioneered the use of Mail Order to expand their business completely missed the mark in today's online business.

Look at retail today and the myriad malls and retail is for the most part dying.

Sears unfortunately has been horrendously mismanaged and dare i say exploited by their owners. It is sad. The current crises will put it out of its misery.

 

[Parrothead]

...Sears unfortunately has been horrendously mismanaged and dare i say exploited by their owners. It is sad. The current crises will put it out of its misery.

Yep, this current crisis should be the final nail. Eddie Lampert will walk away claiming in his own head, and to his financial backers, that if not for COVID-19 he’d have turned it all around. lol. On some level I’d love to know what goes on in that head of his, because he’s part genius and part *****. Then again, maybe I don’t want to know.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Dude, WTF is wrong with you?
Get a grip, Sears is a CORPORATION. Always was.
They are not a religion or family that did anything to YOU.
Businesses fail. Times evolve.
Drop the victim ****.
You bought stuff.
They stopped selling stuff.
You went and got SO tools
Get over yourself.
Your'e not the center of the universe.

well....according to the dictionary a dude is a man or guy...

so.....i stand by my statement, lassen forge is not "dude".

Yeppers, I can kinda sorta condfirm that also... "dude-ette", maybe. But yeah, Kinda sorta lacking the "dude" parts to be one. I do have other parts, but not too sure if he's the kind of "Dude" that'd be interested...

Actually, he seems like the sort who really wants to affirm that someone like me, who raised a family, working full time, working as a wrench wench, and having ****, really gives him issues... I don't know, but I've known an awful lot of those kind of "dudes" and yeah.

And, um, wouldn't you feel foolish if it turned out I WAS the center of the universe? At least I am to my awesome other half... Which means... um... you'll never know.

on optional use for the word dude according to the dictionary is another word for someone who is a dandy.........but that is a whole nother can of worms that i do not think describe lassen forge.

Thank you, my friend. Hold on, let me check...

(Lifts up top... looks down jeans...)

Nope. Not a dude.

I also miss the Sears of my youth. The sporting goods section with Ted Williams picture everywhere, the Sears Craftsman router crafter, the candy counter where you could by candy in bulk by the pound or in my case a fraction there of.

Sorry..carry on...dudes 'n' gals.

And popcorn! Walked into Sears as a little kid, and that smell hit me every time. Being their popcorn machine was smack in the middle of the aisle next to the tools... I think that helped corrupt me at an early and impressionable age... The folks would let me wander, and told me to meet them at the popcorn stand...

It was kismet, or karma, or just fate...

Pretty ironic that a company back in the day pioneered the use of Mail Order to expand their business completely missed the mark in today's online business... Sears unfortunately has been horrendously mismanaged and dare i say exploited by their owners. It is sad. The current crises will put it out of its misery.

I met a woman who ran their IT department, and mismanaged is barely scratching the surface... When I knew her, she was busy tanking her then current position as well. No great loss, but it told me WHY SR&Co went from one of the greats to one of the lates.

Now, if y'all'll pardon me, I need to go back to being the center of the universe!

 

[OMMP]

Got to put my particle of steam - universe is, presumably, spheric, or roundly shaped, infinite and indefinite, without start and end, unimanigable and endless... So, any part/icle wholeheartedly makes for its center...
And, did we miss out Lassen Forge, as for lass, scots lassie for a girl?

 

[sk farmer]

Yeppers, I can kinda sorta condfirm that also... "dude-ette", maybe. But yeah, Kinda sorta lacking the "dude" parts to be one. I do have other parts, but not too sure if he's the kind of "Dude" that'd be interested...

Actually, he seems like the sort who really wants to affirm that someone like me, who raised a family, working full time, working as a wrench wench, and having ****, really gives him issues... I don't know, but I've known an awful lot of those kind of "dudes" and yeah.

And, um, wouldn't you feel foolish if it turned out I WAS the center of the universe? At least I am to my awesome other half... Which means... um... you'll never know.



Thank you, my friend. Hold on, let me check...

(Lifts up top... looks down jeans...)

Nope. Not a dude.



And popcorn! Walked into Sears as a little kid, and that smell hit me every time. Being their popcorn machine was smack in the middle of the aisle next to the tools... I think that helped corrupt me at an early and impressionable age... The folks would let me wander, and told me to meet them at the popcorn stand...

It was kismet, or karma, or just fate...



I met a woman who ran their IT department, and mismanaged is barely scratching the surface... When I knew her, she was busy tanking her then current position as well. No great loss, but it told me WHY SR&Co went from one of the greats to one of the lates.

Now, if y'all'll pardon me, I need to go back to being the center of the universe!

oh i just have to........

 

[Sgtboz]

Whenever a business is taken over by a hedge fund...kiss it goodbye. Greedy people with no real vision. A club of sociopaths.:

 

[coleman10]

Finally got around to visiting the last Sears in our area, which also happens to be the last SearsTown in the US. The entire plaza is totally run down. They only staffed two employees on the floor: one in tools and one for the rest of the store. That’s about all they needed because my son and I were the only shoppers in the entire store for quite some time. The tool dept is obviously not getting anymore product in and what’s left is marked down. They haven’t been given a closing date, but I read awhile back that the place will soon be razed to make room for a condo high-rise. A sad ending for a store that’s been there since 1955. The next closest store is an hour away, so I guess that’s the last Sears visit for me.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

That's pathetic.

You can blame management if you want, bad as it was,, but shopping habits have changed. In Canada, Sears wasn't held up like in the States. T.E. Eatons was the iconic department store. . When it closed, it was said there wasn't enough middle class shoppers any more. They were in a '60s time warp. With the loss of good paying factory jobs, working stiffs were working class Walmart type shoppers.

 

[M6erfan]

Sad.

 

[anndel]

Pretty ironic that a company back in the day pioneered the use of Mail Order to expand their business completely missed the mark in today's online business.

Look at retail today and the myriad malls and retail is for the most part dying.

Sears unfortunately has been horrendously mismanaged and dare i say exploited by their owners. It is sad. The current crises will put it out of its misery.

Precisely! Amazon probably based their model on Sears Mail Order Catalog system.

 

[lafester]

I thought they did the online side TOO well, taking sales away from the stores.
All the deals were online, instore pickup actually kept you out of the store and was really convenient with the kiosk and parking. The ever cheapening of the tools, and the terrible bloated upper management was too much to overcome. Craftsman still has a huge following but it is not the same coming from Lowes.

 

[zendriver]

Precisely! Amazon probably based their model on Sears Mail Order Catalog system.

Doesn't seem likely, since Amazon has been very successful.

 

[xjfish]

I have a Sears Hometown store locally. They have changed locations/downsized and, to be honest, new store doesn't look great. Dimly lit and not super appealing display-wise I guess. I DID get good customer service out of a younger guy working there. Highly likely that I will spend $1K plus tomorrow with them on a new refrigerator. I am not expecting them to be around forever. Local owner seems dedicated, wish him all the best. If I were in the retail business, i think i would shy away and go independent. It seems there is still some business structure intact.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I lost my Sears last October it’s so sad. I miss getting to get the tools I needed or wanted there but when they closed I bought a bunch of stuff there and my parents bought me a bunch too from there. The next closest one left near me is around 150 miles away and it’s in a city that’s not too good to be in so I probably won’t ever get to go in Sears again.


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[southerncomfort]

The last Sears mall store in San Antonio closed a few months ago. There are a few of their Hometown stores still open in the outlying areas.

About 6 years ago I went to the nearest Hometown store to find "Made in USA" Craftsman tools, seeing the handwriting on the wall, and bought what I could find. Glad I did, because good luck finding any new ones today. By that way, that Hometown store is also closed now.

 

[The Fall]

Thanks for the photo updates.

There were four Sears locations within 20 minutes of me three years ago. Now: zero.

Sears was purposely dismantled. Sure, shopping habits have changed and retail's a tough game (before COVID). But reviving Sears was never in the cards when Lampert got it. A true Barbarian at the Gate.

We need to bring back Wards and Powr-Kraft.

 

[anndel]

Can't believe following stores are still open: Hilo, Hawaii; Kahalui Maui; Kailua Kona and Pearlridge Oahu. I thought these would be closed by now.

 

[dmftoy1]

Can't believe following stores are still open: Hilo, Hawaii; Kahalui Maui; Kailua Kona and Pearlridge Oahu. I thought these would be closed by now.

Gives execs a “business” reason to have company paid trip to the islands. My company has an office in Grand Cayman with one employee (company of 19k employees0



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[rayik]

I stopped going to Sears years ago when they started selling Craftsman tools at K-Mart. Tool quality went really downhill. So soured on the brand that I won't look at any of the new Craftsman brand today

 

[nh_yota]

That's pathetic.

You can blame management if you want, bad as it was,, but shopping habits have changed.

It was all management's fault because they had the infrastructure in place to be Amazon before it was Amazon and they could have changed to meet the needs of new shopping habits.

 

[zendriver]

It was all management's fault because they had the infrastructure in place to be Amazon before it was Amazon and they could have changed to meet the needs of new shopping habits.

Amazon has never sold tools, in a physical retail store.

FWIW the “new shopping habits “ are buying everything on line”. Might be one reason there is less interest in stocking retail shelves.

Sears has a huge online store.

All’s people have to do is shop there.


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[ianguilly]

I'm honestly surprised that any sears is still open. I haven't been in one since probably 2017? And that was only once or twice a year. I dont think these is a single one left in ohio.

 

[bigenos]

They failed because, partly, they had a pension obligation that many of their competitors did not. That's not the only thing, but it's a part of it.

 

[coleman10]

They failed because, partly, they had a pension obligation that many of their competitors did not. That's not the only thing, but it's a part of it.

I think the factors have been hashed out multiple times here and in other threads. No investment in their stores (stuck in the ‘70’s), hiring lazy employees not focused on customer service, outdated point-of-sale systems, alienating a large part of their customer base with the move to overseas suppliers, not keeping themselves relevant, not enough marketing to the next generation of shoppers, pension payments, and Eddie Lampert. I think Lampert was the final straw. They had already failed miserably and that’s 100% management’s fault.

Regarding my Sears that was down the street, I can’t recall the last time I had a pleasurable shopping experience there, mostly because of the ignorant, lazy employees they kept. I’d see frustrated shoppers there every time I’d go. It would take forever to check out. I almost walked out more than once. It seemed like no one had training on their systems and couldn’t ring up even the simplest of transactions. Managers were never around for overrides or approvals and customers were kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting. How long does checkout take at Home Depot? Less than a minute at a self-service register?

The left door of the tool entrance had a horrible, loud, ear piercing, spine wrenching screech when opened. I hated that door. It remained that way for years. Years. Could no one simply lubricate the door? The fact is, no one cared. Overall, they just didn’t care about their customers. Once that happens, you’re doomed and you invite in an Eddie Lampert. Sears wrote the book on how to fail as a company.

 

[jonesg]

good riddance.

 

[zendriver]

Hmmm

Wander around an empty store, with no pesky customers to interrupt your daydreaming or smart phone surfing.

Sounds like a great part-time job.

Glass half full.

Nothing against Sears, but sometimes one has to realize that life goes on.




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[Jtels85]

In 2016, we had 8 or 9 locations (including two Hometown stores) in and around the Cincinnati/NKY/SE Indiana area. By the end of 2019, all of them were gone.

The Eastgate Mall Sears on the east side of Cincinnati was the final nail in the coffin.

I think there’s still a Hometown store about 40 miles away in Connersville, IN... but I’m afraid that would likely turn out to be a worthless trip. They couldn’t have much and nobody wants the “Ultimate” Craftsman garbage and we’ve all had our fill of Extreme Grip screwdrivers to last a lifetime.

Eddie Lampert will likely burn in hell for all of eternity and that’s completely fine with me.

 

[menkarran]

That's so sad looking it almost makes me not mind so much that there are no sears stores left to walk through around here.

 

[nh_yota]

Amazon has never sold tools, in a physical retail store.

FWIW the “new shopping habits “ are buying everything on line”. Might be one reason there is less interest in stocking retail shelves.

Sears has a huge online store.

All’s people have to do is shop there.


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I was talking about the Sears catalog and all the logistics required to support their home delivery, not just retail stores. 100 years ago you could order an entire house from Sears and assemble it yourself.

Sears management thought the Internet was a passing fad and by the time they invested in e-commerce they had already missed the boat. They tried to catch up but Amazon had already cornered the market.

Sears could have offered what Amazon Prime offers now because they already had all the warehouses and stores in place. Hell there used to be a Sears warehouse 25 minutes away from me and I would go there to pick up appliances.

 

[coleman10]

I was talking about the Sears catalog and all the logistics required to support their home delivery, not just retail stores. 100 years ago you could order an entire house from Sears and assemble it yourself.



Sears management thought the Internet was a passing fad and by the time they invested in e-commerce they had already missed the boat. They tried to catch up but Amazon had already cornered the market.



Sears could have offered what Amazon Prime offers now because they already had all the warehouses and stores in place. Hell there used to be a Sears warehouse 25 minutes away from me and I would go there to pick up appliances.

True, but they missed many other things. I stopped making it my go-to store many years ago. One time my wife mentioned she wanted to buy a particular item and I suggested she try Sears. She mentioned that she should, but that she no longer even thinks of Sears so didn’t even consider it. Even as far back as 15 years ago, I’d walk through the store around the holidays and it had very few customers. Leave Sears and walk into Penney’s - crowded with customers. They didn’t do anything to remind people that they were there. Even Coke still spends money on adverting for that very purpose. I think perhaps 5 years ago it was news that Sears was going to have holiday tv spots. I guess they hadn’t done that in some time. Stupid not to. I’d you don’t remind people that you’re there, they forget about you and go elsewhere.

 

[Lassen Forge]

When Sears locally closed, they (literally) tore out where the store was, rebuilt the end of the mall into a yuppie greengrocer, a discount furniture store, and (apparently opening soon) a Chik-Fil-A. Sadly, it didn't matter, as their appliance department had already gone to hell, the tool section was like the one above, outdoors was out of everything but junk, and clothes were closed out.

Whats sad is everything else is following in its footsteps, from Macys to Penneys... Guess if it's not the Chinese imports via Amazon, it's not worth buying.

 

[nh_yota]

True, but they missed many other things. I stopped making it my go-to store many years ago. One time my wife mentioned she wanted to buy a particular item and I suggested she try Sears. She mentioned that she should, but that she no longer even thinks of Sears so didn’t even consider it. Even as far back as 15 years ago, I’d walk through the store around the holidays and it had very few customers. Leave Sears and walk into Penney’s - crowded with customers. They didn’t do anything to remind people that they were there. Even Coke still spends money on adverting for that very purpose. I think perhaps 5 years ago it was news that Sears was going to have holiday tv spots. I guess they hadn’t done that in some time. Stupid not to. I’d you don’t remind people that you’re there, they forget about you and go elsewhere.

Their business model was eroded by the niche box stores in the 90's and they were never able to differentiate themselves. Walmart and Kmart aimed for the low-price market in everyday goods while Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Target, Kohls, etc. focused on their particular market segments.

 

[zendriver]

I was talking about the Sears catalog and all the logistics required to support their home delivery, not just retail stores. 100 years ago you could order an entire house from Sears and assemble it yourself.



Sears management thought the Internet was a passing fad and by the time they invested in e-commerce they had already missed the boat. They tried to catch up but Amazon had already cornered the market.



Sears could have offered what Amazon Prime offers now because they already had all the warehouses and stores in place. Hell there used to be a Sears warehouse 25 minutes away from me and I would go there to pick up appliances.

Sears catalog was already nearly DOA about the time Amazon started.

Why?

Because people had discovered that they can get in their car and drive to a retail stores Sears or someone else and buy whatever they needed versus sending in a mail order and wait for it to show up in their mailbox, which made perfect sense in a country that was becoming less and less rural

This whole thing about Sears being ruined by management just seems silly especially since many other similar departments stores were starting to struggling as well

Why?

Because discounters like Walmart Kmart h.h. gregg Circuit City good guys Best Buy dozens of discount fashion Clothing and sporting good chains and big box stores had starting eating their lunch.

It’s customers that decided to put Sears in the crapper

Sears is not Amazon or Walmart. It never was.




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[Mechanical Noise]

Their business model was eroded by the niche box stores in the 90's and they were never able to differentiate themselves. Walmart and Kmart aimed for the low-price market in everyday goods while Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Target, Kohls, etc. focused on their particular market segments.

Yeah, the Big Box Stores were a kick to the Sears business model. The Sears house brands were becoming increasingly anachronistic through the 50s to the 80s. The house brands (not just for Sears) were a workaround to Depression price control laws which allowed manufacturers, not retailers, to control retail prices.

And the Big Box stores were more efficient -- essentially a showroom connected to the warehouse. Selling maybe three name brands to every one house brand. And generally offering lower prices.

In the Chicago area, an early Big Box store, Polk Brothers was kicking Sears' *** in furniture and appliances by 1970. I think it wasn't until about 1985 that this sort of thing was reaching lower population density parts of the country.

The Department store model is simply less efficient than the Big Box model. I'm sure the Sears way of doing things cost them billions in profits once they were pressed by the Big Boxes. But I can't think of any tweak that would have fixed that.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Sears catalog was already nearly DOA about the time Amazon started.

Why?

Because people had discovered that they can get in their car and drive to a retail stores Sears or someone else and buy whatever they needed versus sending in a mail order and wait for it to show up in their mailbox, which made perfect sense in a country that was becoming less and less rural

I used to order from the catalog all the time. I'd phone the order in and pick it up in a day or two. Once, I ordered a water heater in the morning and picked it in the afternoon.

Maybe that's one of the advantages of living in a major metropolitan area.

This whole thing about Sears being ruined by management just seems silly especially since many other similar departments stores were starting to struggling as well

Why?

Because discounters like Walmart Kmart h.h. gregg Circuit City good guys Best Buy dozens of discount fashion Clothing and sporting good chains and big box stores had starting eating their lunch.

It’s customers that decided to put Sears in the crapper

Sears is not Amazon or Walmart. It never was.




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Until the mid 80s, Sears sales territories were divided into 5 parts. I don't recall the exact names but geographically it was the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest and Northwest. The fifth was the catalog division. The catalog division was direct competitor with the other four divisions.

Under this system, I don't know where the Catalog division was going to find allies in Sears management.

 

[428PI]

Our Sears in the bigger city closed up but locally owned (20k pop town) is still going. They actually opened it in the old Ford and Chevy dealership. Where I used to work on vehicles on a lift is where the tools are! They built a wooden floor above the cement floor. Used to buy all of our appliances at Sears. Always Kenmore brand as it seemed we got more for our money. Our fridge (17 years old) went out the other weekend on a Saturday night. They opened at Sunday morning at 11:00 but found out fridge's must have been getting hard to come by. Called the old Sears outlet (called something American now) for damaged goods and they only had one dorm size fridge in stock. Home depot had nothing in stock, Nothing at BestBuy, ended up going to Lowe's and they had exactly what we needed in stock. Got there Sunday morning and loaded her up. I doubt the local Sears had anything in stock. (haven't been there in a year). So long Kenmore, you've been good to me but time marches on.