The long, hard, unprecedented fall of Sears: One of the most monumental collapses in business history

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

http://www.financialpost.com/m/wp/news/retail-marketing/blog.html?b=business.financialpost.com%2Fnews%2Fretail-marketing%2Fthe-long-hard-unprecedented-fall-of-sears-one-of-the-most-monumental-collapses-in-business-history

In 1994, Sears and Kmart raked in a combined $111.4 billion , compared with powerhouse discounter Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s haul of $111.9 billion . All three retailers ranked in the top 15 in revenue, among companies in all industries, in 1995. Since then, they’ve gone in different directions. Sears and Kmart have watched their customer bases shrink amid a never-ending string of store closures. Wal-Mart’s sales grew almost fourfold over the next decade, as the behemoth tripled its locations and embarked on mass international expansion. Sears and Kmart each chose to trudge along, with little change in strategy.

[Frank Cannon]

Eh, Wally's isn't doing so well either. They closed 300 stores last year while no one was looking and sales are way off.

[Fishrrman]

I guess it depends on where you are (regarding Walmart).

The Walmart here is pretty crowded whenever I go there, and that's not just on weekends.

[goodwithagun]

We were devoted Walmart shoppers until our store became trashy. I usually just avoided it on the first and 15th. Now I avoid it all costs. Since we switched to all organic it's actually cheaper to shop clearance organic, first thing in the morning, at our local Kroger. I get everything half price except produce. My freezer is packed because just about everything freezes well. Plus our kids' private school subscribes to the Kroger Plus Card donation option so a fraction of the money I spend is applied to my tuition bill. Win-win. We shop clearance at Kroger and then fill in the blanks at Aldi. Other than that I'm a devoted Amazon Prime member and I do really, really well shopping off season, on clearance at Kohls online. I can get our three kids taken care of for the school year for $100 bucks each that way.

[EC]

@goodwithagun   

Love it when people have their shit together. 

[Old Warrior in Exile]

Sears and Kmart each chose to trudge along, with little change in strategy.

I remember as a kid when nearly everything in our home came from Sears, including the clothes on our backs. But in those days there wasn't much competition for them in our area save J.C. Penny and low-end retailer K-Mart. Then came Walmart and Target and that began what was just a long funeral for Sears.

[goodwithagun]

@goodwithagun   

Love it when people have their shit together. 

 
Honestly, with the exception of fresh produce, I pay full price for nothing. My garden gets bigger each year and we started an orchard and berry patch last year. That's on .24 acres including what my house and driveway takes up. Lettuce and baby greens are up and I will start picking next week. From July on out my grocery list is limited to dairy, eggs, tp, and razors.

[Old Warrior in Exile]

ADDENDUM:

When Walmart started building those Super Centers where you could do your grocery and retail shopping all in one spot, that was the killer. It was a great idea, too, by the way.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Honestly, with the exception of fresh produce, I pay full price for nothing. My garden gets bigger each year and we started an orchard and berry patch last year. That's on .24 acres including what my house and driveway takes up. Lettuce and baby greens are up and I will start picking next week. From July on out my grocery list is limited to dairy, eggs, tp, and razors.

I, too, try to do my best with gardening in a very small space.

Wish we had a gardening thread for discussion.

@Free Vulcan

[Frank Cannon]

ADDENDUM:

When Walmart started building those Super Centers where you could do your grocery and retail shopping all in one spot, that was the killer. It was a great idea, too, by the way.

Let's all not forget that Wally's business model was to sell products to consumers. Sears had a business model selling customer information to outside outfits.

Ever wonder why it was a royal pain in the ass to check out from a Sears or K-Mart for just buying a pack of gum? It's because they are mining for your data and then turning around a selling it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-failing-stores-closing-edward-lampert-bankruptcy-chances-2017-1

[Free Vulcan]

I, too, try to do my best with gardening in a very small space.

Wish we had a gardening thread for discussion.

@Free Vulcan

Been thinking of starting it up again, topical maybe instead of weekly. Maybe after the season is over.

[Gefn]

I miss the old Sears catalog. I would look at it every August to figure out what back to school clothes I wanted.

[Applewood]

Let's all not forget that Wally's business model was to sell products to consumers. Sears had a business model selling customer information to outside outfits.

Ever wonder why it was a royal pain in the ass to check out from a Sears or K-Mart for just buying a pack of gum? It's because they are mining for your data and then turning around a selling it.

http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-failing-stores-closing-edward-lampert-bankruptcy-chances-2017-1

I didn't realize Sears sold personal information.  The last time I was in Sears was to purchase bags for my vacuum cleaner. I wanted to pay in cash, but the sales clerk wanted to know my phone number and zip code.  I asked why he needed this information -- especially since I was.paying cash -- but he wouldn't answer.  He continued to demand my information.  Finally, I told him if he wasn't going to ring up my purchase, I was leaving.   There was a line of customers behind  me wondering what was the hold up, and a couple of them became disgusted with the wait and left.  Realizing he was losing sales, the clerk finally relented and rang up the sale   

It's a dang shame.  As has been said here, my family bought almost everything at Sears when I was a kid, and the store's catalog was awesome. But then the merchandise became shoddy, the customer service became non-existent, and Sears did away with the catalog without a proper online website to replace it.  I often wonder what Mr. Sears and Mr. Roebuck would think of how their once venerable store chain has been allowed to go belly-up.

[Frank Cannon]

I didn't realize Sears sold personal information.  The last time I was in Sears was to purchase bags for my vacuum cleaner. I wanted to pay in cash, but the sales clerk wanted to know my phone number and zip code. 

The CEO of the company the last 10 years is some know nothing hedge funder who never worked in anything even related to retail before. He has been cannibalizing and destroying the company for short term gains for a while.

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

The CEO of the company the last 10 years is some know nothing hedge funder who never worked in anything even related to retail before. He has been cannibalizing and destroying the company for short term gains for a while.

Yeah, Eddie Lampbert.

Peter principle at work.