Why does my Sears not have tools other Sears do?

[Eric Commarato]

I live near Jackson MS. We have one Sears here that has been at the same location for close to 35 years. It is a full service Sears with the typical tool/garden/automotive sections. I've bought many tools there over the years. Recently I started visiting this store to add to my general tool collection. There never seems to ever be anything on sale in this particular store, and the stock seems very thin.

HERE IS THE KICKER

I go to the Sears in Tupelo MS a few weekends ago. The size of the Craftsman tool department was twice the size of the one in Jackson, with tons more stuff, and they had sale prices on a good number of items.

What is the deal with this? Is it a managment problem with my local store? A supply/demand problem? Do smaller towns need more tool type stuff than larger towns because of farmers with tractors, more working folk than professionals?

I don't get it.What happened to Roebuck???

 

[comedyman809]

3 sears by me **** too.
i would also like to see more gearwrench stuff, as all they seem to ever have is the combo ratcheting wrenches and x-beams.

never any of the gearwrench sockets or ratchets.

 

[mrholeshot]

It's probably a management issue. The sears here Myrtle Beach SC has a killer tool department. As does our HD, Lowes and HF stores.

 

[comedyman809]

Sears = ****** store.

 

[comedyman809]

I totally understand why it is empty all the time. What a dump.

 

[kythri]

I totally understand why it is empty all the time. What a dump.

Thanks for your contribution.

 

[kythri]

Retail space planning is weird voodoo science.

It takes into considerations all kinds of weird factors. The local (to me) Sears has a pretty good tool selection, and is layed out really well. Town of about 50K people, and serves as the retail "hub" for a couple neighboring towns (15K, 50K, 10K populations).

The Sears 25 miles north, in the state capital (population 150K, neighboring communities/towns probably add another 100K) has a department that's about the same size, but a horrible layout, worse selection, and everything is locked down (open stock is behind a cage).

One would think the larger store in the larger town would have a larger tool department with a larger selection, but they don't.

What sells great in one store may not sell well in another, and may get shoplifted a lot in a third (while not in the first two).

I really wouldn't blame it on the store's management - they don't typically get to control the store layout - there's other people outside of the local store who do that, and dictate changes based on their marketing modeling.

 

[Hank McMauser]

Our local sears is a catalog store with at most 2 12 ft tool aisles think of it as an independant tool dealer without a truck (they have to pay for all of the merchandise on hand)
Most folks around here buy their tools from home depot,the auto parts store, or the tool truck(I think most will stop by the farm if you call them and tell em you need something)

 

[mrholeshot]

Sears = ****** store.

Our Sears is so nice I put on my Sunday Go To Meetin Overalls and my teeth before I head down to my local store. Great store, nice people and 25 cent draft on Sat Night.

 

[kythri]

Our local sears is a catalog store with at most 2 12 ft tool aisles think of it as an independant tool dealer without a truck (they have to pay for all of the merchandise on hand)
Most folks around here buy their tools from home depot,the auto parts store, or the tool truck(I think most will stop by the farm if you call them and tell em you need something)

Sounds like a "Hometown" store - an independently owned franchise.

Corporate store rules don't apply to Hometowns. We have a Hometown about 3 miles away, but I rarely go there (and don't think of it when I think of Sears in general).

It's funny - we have an Ace Hardware (**** tool selection), a NAPA (expensive, compared to the competition), an Autozone (decent selection, but it's all "Duralast") and Walmart (Stanley, limited selection) for hand tools in this town of 15K. You'd think a decent selection of Craftsman would sell, given the competition, but the Hometown has maybe 6-8 feet of shelf for the stuff.

Conversely, they have about 20-30 riding lawnmowers that they wheel out and display every day. I don't see that many at the corporate stores.

It's weird.

 

[comedyman809]

must be franchised.

because the ones by me look like you just walked into a marshalls, or kohls 2 days before christmas- stuff everywhere but on the shelves.

 

[Hank McMauser]

Yeah we are in a small town appx 5000,the 2 neighboring towns are little larger and I see a mac,cornwell, or snap-on truck go by nearly everyday.
It sounds like our sears are ran by the same family,or at least the same ideas/principles.
While I agree that NAPA is expensive, I've started supporting them when I can afford it. I work in a Lumber yard so I can sometimes find good deals on tools, but for the most part they are imported,or very expensive.

 

[supertooljunkie]

There are two large Malls near where I live. Northlake Mall in DeKalb Co. and Gwinnett Place Mall in, well, Gwinnett Co. Northlake was the first large mall in the area and conversely had the largest tool section. As the Northlake store became older, the tool selection dropped somewhat. When Gwinnett Place Mall opened 6-7 years after NL, it became the large tool retailer. They had more tools, boxes, selection, better help, but as other malls have been built out farther up the interstate, those stores are lagging now. There have been no new Sears stores, the mall stores have, alas, like Sears, gone downhill, and with the PRC stuff, sink ever faster.

 

[Givl Reggin]

In addition to the Sears mall store there is a Sears Hardware store about 2 miles away - the 'Sears Hardware' sets their own prices - it's usually only 1-2 dollars more than what the mall charges on all items, but they will not honor sales or match catalog prices.

The only advantage to the Sears Hardware store is that many of the catalog items you have to special order at the mall store they carry in stock.

 

[Marty256]

I have the same problem where I live. At m local Sears, Lawrenceville, NJ, the tool department looks like the old photographs of the Soviet Union food stores back during the cold war, empty shelves, very little stock and sales people who don’t have a clue when it comes to tools. What is there is not in any sort of sensible order, which I attribute to poor management. I can drive about twenty miles to the Oxford Valley, PA store which is always well stocked with knowledgeable sales associates eager to help. I've expressed my concerns at the customer service department at my local Sears and they don't seem too interested in doing anything about it.

 

[Cameronl]

In addition to the Sears mall store there is a Sears Hardware store about 2 miles away - the 'Sears Hardware' sets their own prices - it's usually only 1-2 dollars more than what the mall charges on all items, but they will not honor sales or match catalog prices.

The only advantage to the Sears Hardware store is that many of the catalog items you have to special order at the mall store they carry in stock.

I can buy online and pick up at my local Sears Hardware, so I get the catalog price that way.

 

[NUTTSGT]

The only advantage to the Sears Hardware store is that many of the catalog items you have to special order at the mall store they carry in stock.

There is 2 other advantages to the Hometown stores, you can go there and make a payment on your Sears card and you can get Gift Cards there too.

 

[knobby]

Be happy you're not dealing with sears Canada I bet your store is far better than the very best Canadian sears tool department. sears Canada seems to not care about selling tools and their customer service is the pits anyway if they went out of business tomorrow no one would care.

 

[Cumminst100]

My Sears is a Sears grand, its huge takes me almost 2 hours to now it. But as for tools, I probably have more in my truck box than they do in the store. That's exaggerating a bit, but you would think a store that size would have a huge tool section

 

[woody 73]

Hi ,not sure if this will help but I asked the store (lowes not sears),why it had less merchandise then the other store some 4 miles away. The manager explained that they had a "different clientele" (as in poor working men),then the other store in a wealthy area of town,that had very wealthy contractors and wealthy men & women.

Not sure if this helps but his answer took me by surprise.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Sears has what are known as "Class A" and "Class B" stores. One of the classes is in general, larger and better stocked. In South Atlanta, there is the old Shannon Mall, now known as Union Mall or something like that (its in Union City) and Southlake Mall in Morrow. One is a Class A, the other a Class B. The Southlake store has a huge, well stocked tool section, while Shannon/Union, has a crappy, poorly stocked tool section. Same goes for most of the rest of the store, and yes, it does have to do with clientele and location.

Charles

 

[Coach James]

Thanks for your contribution.

A+ for that one!!

Coach

 

[kythri]

Hi ,not sure if this will help but I asked the store (lowes not sears),why it had less merchandise then the other store some 4 miles away. The manager explained that they had a "different clientele" (as in poor working men),then the other store in a wealthy area of town,that had very wealthy contractors and wealthy men & women.

Not sure if this helps but his answer took me by surprise.

I'm quite sure that the marketing data used in determining the store's layout and stock takes this information into consideration. It makes sense - there's no point stocking higher-end expensive stuff if the less wealthy clientele isn't buying it, and there's no point stocking the low-end stuff if the more wealthy clientele isn't buying it.

I've seen this at other stores, such as Walmart and Costco. My local Walmart carries a nicer line of Vizio LCD TVs than the one 20 miles away. Local Costco does the same, compared to the one 20 miles away.

Crime factors in, too - items with a greater propensity for shoplifting will not be stocked if they can't be caged, and become a catalog-only deal.

 

[olds394]

Our Sears is so nice I put on my Sunday Go To Meetin Overalls and my teeth before I head down to my local store. Great store, nice people and 25 cent draft on Sat Night.

I don't care who you are, that's some funny #8@%

 

[Red Green]

The Sears in Battle Creek has a decent selection of tools. I was in Mt Pleasant Mi. and blew a brake line on my truck. So I went to the Sears I was just going to buy the 3/8 line wrench I needed that day. I walked in and looked for a while I couldn't find the tools so I asked the employee said they are over there. I looked again it was like two socket sets. I am not exagerating to say I own more Craftsman tool then the store had in stock. They had no line wrenches and no vise grips. I had to buy chinese tools at Autozone to fix my truck.

 

[Hank McMauser]

I have a feeling in 10-15 years we'll all be saying "hey do you remember when Sears sold tools"
Much like J.C.Penny's today

 

[dieseldodge01]

I wish I could remember when JcPenney sold tools. The Sears near me has a large tool selection. I went to a mall in Cincinnati, I looked less stocked then my local Sears.

 

[Indy_500]

i have a feeling in 10-15 years we'll all be saying "hey do you remember when sears sold tools"
much like j.c.penny's today

 

[dankicksass]

The Sears Hardware I used to like going to recently downsized its tool department, they didn't clearance anything just sent stuff back to the warehouse, now they have the same amount of tools as the regular department store Sears a few miles away. It was better before they sold appliances at Sears Hardware...

 

[R-132 Fan]

I guess I'm spoiled, I live close to Austin Texas and have two good Sears stores that I shop at. The one in Hancock Center has a great selection of tools and helpful clerks who know what they are selling. I also shop at the one in Barton Square Mall and it has a really good selection of tools and helpful sales clerks also.

 

[southernfriedcj]

I have a feeling in 10-15 years we'll all be saying "hey do you remember when Sears sold tools"
Much like J.C.Penny's today

I still have a pair of JC Penny jack stands I bought in 1978!

 

[cheap bastard]

Even parts stores use demographic data determine stock. Sears does without doubt. It is surely simplified, but with the availability of special and online ordering, they will feel their customers are well covered at every location.

 

[Eric Commarato]

Even parts stores use demographic data determine stock. Sears does without doubt. It is surely simplified, but with the availability of special and online ordering, they will feel their customers are well covered at every location.

yes I agree with the demographics theory fully, however you would think a city with a metropolitan area population of over 400,000 and only one Sears would keep it stocked to the max.

 

[kythri]

yes I agree with the demographics theory fully, however you would think a city with a metropolitan area population of over 400,000 and only one Sears would keep it stocked to the max.

That would be the general thought, however, as an example:

If tools in general at that particular store have a high shrink rate, the marketing number crunchers may have determined that it's more cost effective and profitable to stock less and push towards the catalog more.

Another example:

Assume the store was stocked to the expected level for the store size, area population, etc. Tools aren't selling well. Marketing analysis shows that more catalog sales are happening in the associated zip codes than actually in the store. Marketing to drive people to the store is not as successful as hoped. Store then has tool stock reduced - nobody is buying them, non-moving stock is unwanted inventory, if it can be restocked to the catalog/mail-order warehouse and moved there, then, yay, profit.

 

[Wanna Ride]

A little off-topic... I've been in that Sear's store in Tupelo. It has a car rental department within the automotive department too. But then again, the airport in Tupelo does not. Go figure.

 

[mrholeshot]

A little off-topic... I've been in that Sear's store in Tupelo. It has a car rental department within the automotive department too. But then again, the airport in Tupelo does not. Go figure.

Our local Wal-Mart is about the only place I know where you can get and oil change and a set of tires, buy a shotgun,Fill your perscriptions, get a hair cut, pedicure, Groceries, clothes tampex,Duck decoys, a boat , TV, riding mower and rent a car without leaving the one building. They bring a new meaning to "The General Store"

 

[kythri]

Our local Wal-Mart is about the only place I know where you can get and oil change and a set of tires, buy a shotgun,Fill your perscriptions, get a hair cut, pedicure, Groceries, clothes tampex,Duck decoys, a boat , TV, riding mower and rent a car without leaving the one building. They bring a new meaning to "The General Store"

Now they just need to build multi-story Walmart stores with apartments on the upper stories. Get a job at the Walmart, and you'd never have to leave!