More Sears/KMart closings

Don M.

Don M.

SF VIP
Location
central Missouri
Sears Holdings Corp. Just announced another 63 Sears and Kmart stores will be closing. It probably won't be that long before Sears and KMart cease to exist altogether. Here's a list of the stores they will be closing in January 2018.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/list-63-sears-kmart-stores-203545633.html

There are two KMarts on this list that we pass when going to the city...we may stop by to see if they have any worthwhile sales ....However, if this next round of closings is like the last, I doubt it. Last year, when they were closing some stores, I stopped at a Sears that was closing. I was in the market for a new riding lawn mower, and was rather disappointed to see that some of the Craftsman mowers that normally sold for around $2500, were listed with a closeout price of almost $3000. I guess Sears doesn't think anyone does any comparison shopping...which is probably one of the reasons they are floundering.
 

KMart always seemed like an exercise in how not to manage stores. I don't know about where you live, but many of the salespeople here were rude. The only thing I liked them for was computer stuff, like paper, blank disks, that kind of thing. Their prices on those things were better than anyone.

Don't know why Sears never established an online presence. I'm watching Walmart and Target push their online business and they seem to be doing well with it. I order from both of them because anything over $35 is free shipping. If it saves me a shopping trip, I'm in.
 
Sears has been on the downward slide since Eddie Lampert became CEO. He had no intention of selling merchandise just squeezing dry every last drop of profit until all the doors have closed.
 

Don M. said:
Sears Holdings Corp. Just announced another 63 Sears and Kmart stores will be closing. It probably won't be that long before Sears and KMart cease to exist altogether. Here's a list of the stores they will be closing in January 2018.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/list-63-sears-kmart-stores-203545633.html

There are two KMarts on this list that we pass when going to the city...we may stop by to see if they have any worthwhile sales ....However, if this next round of closings is like the last, I doubt it. Last year, when they were closing some stores, I stopped at a Sears that was closing. I was in the market for a new riding lawn mower, and was rather disappointed to see that some of the Craftsman mowers that normally sold for around $2500, were listed with a closeout price of almost $3000. I guess Sears doesn't think anyone does any comparison shopping...which is probably one of the reasons they are floundering.
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When companies are closing down the employees don't care any more to correct obvious errors. If a store closes they ship the inventory to another store that is open.

They want to declare bankruptcy and get out.
 
Honestly, I hardly ever go to KMart or Sears anymore, years ago we'd go to Sears for some tools or when we needed a new lawnmower or an appliance like Kenmore washer and dryer, but those purchases are few and far between. I don't think any other items like clothes in Sears is worth buying or a bargain, got some cheap Russell Athletic sweat pants and tee shirts at Sears some years back, but when I went to see if they had any more of those shirts, they didn't sell that brand at all....probably why I got a deal.

KMart just seems more expensive than Walmart, with less selection, never bought anything online from KMart at all for store delivery, for example, but Walmart has had good service with that too so far. I miss stores from the old days like Montgomery Wards, Mervyns, etc.
 
Smiling Jane said:
KMart always seemed like an exercise in how not to manage stores. I don't know about where you live, but many of the salespeople here were rude. The only thing I liked them for was computer stuff, like paper, blank disks, that kind of thing. Their prices on those things were better than anyone.
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They are here, too. Or, were. My nearest K-Mart closed last year. I know a guy who worked there until they closed, and asked him why the employees were so rude. He said it was because the district managers and HR treated them like criminals, scraped every penny they could off their paychecks, "forgot" to pay some of their time, then delayed those checks for weeks. He said most of the people who worked there looked for work elsewhere on their days off. Employers from hell, apparently.

I'm pretty sure Camper6 is right, the new CEOs and upper management will squeeze all the profit they can out of it until bankruptcy day.
 
Years ago we shopped at Sears but haven't been in one in years. Never cared for K mart. I had to buy a new fridge a couple of years ago and bought online from Lowes as Sears online was a joke. Had a friend who worked at Sears and it was a hellish place to work. She was finally able to retire and said she should have left years before hand.
 
What I read online is that no stores in NYS will be closing. I still go to the 1 KMart store still here in the city,have to go by bus,that's ok by me.
Its not the KMart I remember yrs ago,but I still buy my pants,winter boots,fleece jacket at a reasonable price. I avoid going there on MOndays because the last time I did that,there were only 2 checkout cashiers,the line was a bit long. I should of brought a book to read,that's how slow the line was LOL! Sue
 
I can't remember the last time I was in a Sears - maybe in the 70s. I liked K-Mart for some things and niece & nephew liked to look at all the toys they had (when they were really little), but that was back in the 90s. In my old neighborhood they tore down the K-Mart and built a Lowes. The remaining K-Marts here are most likely closed or closing.
 
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Summary of a WS Journal article. Lampert/Sears has rebutted in a press release, but it's all hot air. Sears has no chance of surviving his management mistakes:

Sears suppliers revolt, hastening its decline
Axios.com Nov 1, 2017

Shoppers at Sears can no longer find Whirlpool appliances or women's Levi Strauss jeans and now the Wall Street Journal reports they are low on one of the holiday season's hottest toys — the L.O.L. Surprise — because its manufacturer is questioning Sears' financial health.

Why it matters: Sales at Sears accounted for roughly 1% of U.S. GDP in the 1960s, but decades of competition with big-box retailers and online merchants, combined with recent mismanagement by CEO Eddie Lampert, have whittled down Sears' financial position thoroughly. Now suppliers are reducing shipments, tightening financing terms, or refusing to work with the retailer altogether out of fear of being stiffed if Sears is forced into bankruptcy, the WSJ reports.

"We see no viable path for Sears to succeed as a retailer," Bill Dreher, who covers Sears stock for Susquehanna Financial Group, tells WSJ. "I'm concerned that the vendors are starting to lose patience," he says, arguing that this is what put Sears subsidiary Kmart into bankruptcy in 2002, when it was an independent firm. Lampert took control of Kmart after its bankruptcy and then leveraged its stock to acquire Sears in 2005.

The fraying patience of vendors is obvious from the following moves, reported by the Journal:

  • LG Electronics and Samsung are demanding cash up front for delivery of certain goods.
  • Sears was forced to sue two longtime manufacturers of its Craftsman tools brand earlier this year to keep them shipping merchandise to stores, even though the Craftsman brand was sold off by Sears months prior.
  • Clorox is imposing tougher repayment terms for its popular household products.

Full article: https://www.axios.com/sears-suppliers-revolt-hastening-its-decline-2504915051.html
 

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