Looks like the end for them is near: http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-failing-stores-closing-edward-lampert-bankruptcy-chances-2017-1

Personally, I'm surprised the stores near me have lasted as long as they have.

Sears hasn't even been an official "retail" business for several years now. Technically it is a real estate holding company that just happens to have a retail division.


Sears, Kmart and Radio Shack. All of these should have gone through liquidation years ago. JC Penney was quickly going down the same path but they made some big changes and are holding on for now.

is Macy's still in business ?

....quick search .... looks like it they're closing 68 stores

Yes but they are also on a downward spiral. They need to make the same big tough changes that JC Penney did.

I have not visited either store in at lest 8-10 years. Probably the last time I was in Sears was to get a Craftsman tool.

Now they do not even own the brand.

Last time I was in Sears was to get my car battery replaced. That was about 11 years ago. I haven't been to KMart since about 2000.

I have not seen a Kmart in years. If I recall, they were even lower end than Walmart. Sears, there is one in the local mall. But it is essentially an elongated entrance. It is an entrance on the only side of the mall with a covered parking garage, meaning it is the ideal place to park during rain. Despite this no one actually stop there to shop. It doesn't help that the walkway is well designated and goes directly through the store, but you have to be doing something very wrong as practically no one stops to buy anything.

No, Kmart was between Walmart and Target. I remember getting some stuff there as a kid, but they closed all the ones near where I lived when I was a teen. When I moved to this area 15 years ago, there was one located about 20 miles away that I never bothered to visit (because there were closer Targets and Walmarts). It closed about 2 years ago I think.

There is a Sears around here, I think I bought some appliances and stuff there pre-2005, but nothing since.

I think their poor financial status is hurting them and pushing them into a spiral. They do badly, they close stores, the remaining stores don't warrant driving farther to use them, so you stop going altogether.



The Jedi Master

I used to get really good kids' clothes at Sears. For real. Last two years? Pointless. Now I spend 80 bucks on a sweater for a 7 years old? Oh, my head.

When I worked for Sears in '88 I couldn't see how they could stay in business. I'm shocked it has taken this long. You'd think that their catalog sales would have been a nice segue into online sales, but somehow that didn't work.

Amazon, the great killer of brick and morter stores.

And in a bit of irony:

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/ecommerce/sd-fi-amazonbooks-utc-20160914-story.html

Good points and a very serious management failure.....which I am sure management ridiculously overpaid themselves for.

Why are officers of failed public companies still allowed to bonus themselves into the Kardasian's hood?

The K-Mart by me closed a few years ago. It was built in the 1970's. My Mom worked there for years. The last 15 years the place was a ghost town. Empty shelves, one cashier line open (usually with some who moved like a snail). No employees around if you needed help with something. It was a strange place. They leveled the place rather quickly after it closed. Now it is a strip mall with a clinic, a Bigbee coffee, and other stuff.

All stores die.

I don't know how, but my local Ace Hardware store lives on. And thank God, cuz I go there often.

Same here piper. Our local ACE used to also have a U.S. Post Office in the back, not anymore but I remember it as a kid along with mounted dear heads around every wall. Its had a really good manager and a great guy running it for years. I haven't checked in awhile to see how our local Sears is doing. Its always been kind of quiet but lately it has felt like its on its last legs. I always liked the store as the building I think was built in the '60s, its been around a long time and I like the way the architecture looks.

I don't like the way the world's going and I lament many of its changes but I know it has to happen for the end to come. I wish as a whole that we could divorce intrusive technology and reclaim certain things being lost everyday.

Macy`s downtown store in Minneapolis just closed. Was the largest retail store
to close in MSP in years.

We had a K-mart that closed 6 years ago. Target closed 2 years ago. Our Ace True Value
store closed this past summer. The only giants of the retail industry holding their own
around here is Walmart and Menard`s. Running`s is our Mills Fleet Farm and holding their
own. The prices in there I wonder how long it will be before they go down to. Love looking
around there Guns and safes. They sell a line guns safes that start at $2800 all they way
up 12K. And you would need to build it into the house you are building. They are only moved
by heavy forklift in store. Built like a Tank.

Oh yes, we had a Pamida that closed 10 years ago. To many clearance and used stores taking
over those empty places. Not to sure if our Sears outlet store will close right away or not.
You know those mini Sears stores in outlet malls.

Sears, JC Pennys, Woolworths, Montgomery Wards, Carson's, Marshall Fields. the list goes on.
To me its less about competition and management, I know rationally speaking it is about those things, but to me its about the end of the broad American middle class. When I was growing up, every one of those stores were packed.

Nowadays unless you are rather well off, shopping in a proper department store with knowledgeable staff and customer amenities is pretty much out of the question. There just is not the market to keep proper retail around for the working family.

Heck I'm so old I remember "sales ladies" and shoe sales men.

Our local Kmart closed about 4-5 years ago. Walmart is about half a mile away and is still doing very well since they took everyone away from Kmart...lol.

Our local small Sears store is in the process of going out of business. I need to get in there to see if they have any deals yet. In the past 6 years I bought two big riding lawn tractors, a garage door opener, some tools, and a few months ago I bought a big air compressor from them. I always liked Sears. Who's going to sell the Craftsman trade marked things now (Kmart sold Craftsman stuff for a few years too)?

What I can't understand is Bob Evans restaurants are also closing every where. Ours was always pretty busy but it shut down a couple years ago too.

I think Bob Evans is in trouble because the quality of their food is not worth what they charge. IMHO. Bob Evans after church on Sundays was a regular thing years ago. I just find the Mom and Pop diner is a better deal.

Tarnsman you are right about 'proper department store'. I remember going with my Mom to get school shoes and there was always a guy in a suit who was there to measure your shoe size. They would go in the back and come out with what you wanted. Then they would try to sell you laces, shoes polish, etc.. Remember Kinney's Shoes ? I guess there are no more Al Bundys. No you just grab it off a shelf.

Stanley bought Black & Decker a couple of years ago to become Stanley Black & Decker

They also own Proto, Porter Cable, Vidmar, CribMaster, DeWalt, Bostitch, Mac Tools, Irwin, and some others.

3 days ago Stanley Black & Decker made a deal to pay $525 million when the transaction closes, which is expected to occur by year-end, and an additional $250 million at the end of the third year after closing. Sears will also collect a percentage of new Craftsman sales for 15 years after the deal closes. The transaction is now valued at $900 million.

Just watching the 10 o'clock news, Macy's downtown is having their clearance sale now. They still have the Mall of America, Southdale, and Ridgedale stores.

Haven't thought about Pamida in years. googled my home town of Detroit Lakes... Closed. Alexandria MN, where I proprosed to my first wife when she worked there, Open.. lol

Still go to the Minneapolis Kmart for their Pharmacy. Still cheaper than Target/CVS and Walmart and Walgreens and the Regular CVS stores.

KMART screwed up with Antonini back in 89 90. He stopped doing whatever KMART was successful at doing for better stocks. Some of their best money makers were the deli and the cafeterias. After 1992? Gone. They lost the war with Walmart regarding American made. Walmart had that SMILEY faced wrapped in the red white and blue, proclaiming American made only. KMART couldn't keep up with exported goods and their stock plummeted. They then were bought out by Sears. That has only extended the death of both entities. Once internet purchasing became reliable the death knell for KMART SEARS was rung.

Sadly, even Walmart stopped selling American made only.

I really miss the old days, eating at Woolworths and Walgreens

Definitely not Apple stores. At least not yet.

I think that's a perfectly normal visceral reaction. The irony is that many of these retailers have gone under not because of globalization but because other US-based retailers ate their lunch. Walmart and Target are really wiping the floor of the competition.

And of course you can't discount e-commerce. There's no doubt that many consumers have largely stopped shopping at brick and mortar stores because of the convenience of online shopping. I'm one of those consumers.

Lately I've been buying from Amazon. Amazon prime membership - the boys order books from them for their studies and i order things plus stream whatever movies look interesting from their selection.

Sure beats the crowds & traffic at the mall around Christmas time

2 hour Amazon delivery on some items. Amazing

Sears was killed by its stupid CEO

The man has sold off one of the most important brands sears held, the craftsman tool brand. Those tools don't cost a lot of money to make yet they have huge brand power and recognition, they could have kept it in the "consumer monopoly" zone. The CEO is an idiot.

Perhaps he is not an idiot, but just evil, as it is likely that he is driving it into the ground for his own personal gain - I wouldn't be surprised if he is shorting or will short his stock just before the company goes under, or some other kind of scheme that will profit only him and a few cronies.

Not a good guy

It's all about the stock value now and not enough about what it will be in a few years.

Nowadays about the only thing made in America at Walmart is the food, and even there it's only about half. Grapes from Chile, bananas from Mexico, and so on and so on...

The reason why is easy...people valued cheap prices over quality. The stores that sold the items for less got the business, forcing the competition to either lower their prices (by getting cheaper goods) or fold.

Although Target and Walmart are the two busiest stores in my area, they're still not what they were. Both opened about 15 years ago to much fanfare with like 2 dozen checkout lines each. Not counting holiday sales, on average when you go in there now it's amazing to see more than 6 lines open, even on "busy" days. The massive parking lots are usually about 3/4 empty.

Now there are some mitigating circumstances. People can order stuff online very easily now, even from Target and Walmart (if you didn't know, both stores sell items online you can't get in their stores because of low volume). Also, while on the one hand people lament stuff being cheaper and not made to last, that doesn't really apply to everything.

How often do you buy furniture? How long do you keep it? How often are you buying a TV or computer or refrigerator or lamp or clothing? There isn't a lot of new features to drive us to keep buying these things if we have one that works.
True, repairmen are a dying breed as stuff is often tossed instead of fixed, but usually that stuff lasts longer before it breaks. Instead of getting your TV fixed every 3 or so years, you keep it 10 and then toss it.



The Jedi Master

Just look at what you can order from Walmart online. They use a re-seller.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ford-Performa...=aff#about-item

The advent of e-commerce is no doubt the number one factor behind the decline of the brick and mortar stores. That's why the brick & mortar retailers were pushing so hard for States to start levying sales tax on online sales so that they would have a better chance of competing.

there are plenty of american companies which did not whore themselves out or ship off their entire labor division overseas.

look at some of the big companies in warren buffett's portfolio

bad leadership kills companies

Here we don't have many e-shops, not even Amazon
The two main ones we have are Cool Blue and the other is Bol.com, Cool Blue has just started advertising physical retail shops as well as their online retail.

Most banks here do not have the bank debit cards enabled for online transactions, and we have to go through an online bank transfer system based on the paper system, these have been standardised across all banks and the forms are identical.

We are not allowed to make a cash transaction for more than �999 once you get to �1000 it has to be done with the bank card, this is to eliminate "black market" transactions

Yep, people may go to the brick and mortar store to look at an item but they will then go online to buy it for the cheaper price.


Wheels

They call that the "Best Buy Effect".

If it's something that has to be delivered anyway, why not?

If it's something I can carry home from the store with me, I won't bother unless the online price is significantly lower. By that I mean it has to be at least $10 on cheap items and $100+ on expensive stuff.
I've had too many instances of poor packaging/shipping resulting in something in less than stellar condition being delivered while I can see in the store the condition it's in.



The Jedi Master

Thanks for that! Wow, Stanley was always the crappiest tools so they just went out and bought all of the good tool companies...lol.

Yep, it's the American way. If you can't beat them, buy them, then liquidate them.


Wheels

Bill Gates became one of the world's richest men doing that.



The Jedi Master

From what I have read his tactics when he wanted to buy or destroy a company were pretty brutal too.


Wheels

Woolworth was the place to go for surplus bolt-action rifles. Mosin-Nagants used to go for $30-$40, Lee-Enfields for $100 (more for Savage mfr), P14s & P17s for the same or a little more, and a Swedish Mauser could set you back up to around $250.

come on guy's stop with the drool talk here would you

$30 mosin-nagant i really just don't know what to say to that. i'd fill my damned house with them from floor to roof.

I quit going to Kmart... same as I quit going to Walmart.. got pissed at seeing people spending my money.

I'm surprised you didn't call the police if you recognized the thieves standing right in front of you.



The Jedi Master

The police are spending his money, too.

Checks account balance...

Goes to Walmart...

Buys groceries and a new mug...

Checks account balance...

Those THIEVES!!

Well, best move to a country that doesn't collect taxes then!



The Jedi Master

I work for a trucking company that hauls a lot of freight for the big box stores, including K-Mart. Unlike ALL the others, 95% of K-Marts don't even have a loading/unloading dock, the truck sits in the alley while employees unload the trailer one item at a time. Usually takes 2-4 hours to get unloaded and the interior of the store then looks like a third world market or bazaar.

Other big boxes? Proper unloading docks and 1/2 hour to an hour to be unloaded.

To me, it just looks like K-Mart never reinvests in their properties, resulting in inefficiency. OTOH, their large distribution centers are fairly up to date, I will give them that.

Well, the death of K-Mart was long in the coming. Hell, back in the '80's they went to selling really poor quality goods - I swear they were Chinese knockoffs of Chinese goods. Lots of things had that knock off quality, and some of the clothes looked like factory mistakes that should have been sold at an outlet directly rather than at a retail store.

A ten dollar fishing reel isn't a deal if it only lasts half an hour.

It's been alluded to previously on this thread but what really killed KMart in my opinion is just how sloppy and unkempt the stores looked. Their stores really did look almost like indoor flea markets. I know in the late 90's they did that major redesign of their stores but by then it was too late.

Anyone remember Service Merchandise?

Kind of like Target in the days before Target...



The Jedi Master

ahh.. Service Merchandise - the place where'd you carry an item ticket to the register for purchase and out came the product on a conveyor belt. That was tad unusual compared to the other retailers.

Did anyone catch the official statement from the Sears board yesterday to the SEC?


It looks like Sears/Kmart will be going down before too long. Permanently.

Yes I saw that. And still in a bad way after selling off their major in-house brands over the last year or two.

I loved Service Merchandise, always browsing their white catalog and their store. Several items scattered around the house came from there, including my wife's jewelry box I gave her in HS. I bought my replacement wedding ring from them when they were liquidating, something like 70% off (lost that one after losing weight and it slipped off).

Also miss Montgomery Ward and I'll always have a soft spot for Kmart, gave me my first new wheels (the beauty to the left).

Service Merchandise will always have a special place in my heart because that's where I bought most of my Transformers toys and where I got my first electronic Casio music keyboard.

Never saw a Service Merchandise store, must have been a regional store chain. I do miss Montgomery Wards to.

I guess our new reality in big box stores will compare to the movie WALLY. Buy en Large, the get everything place.

Maybe a Southern thing? I remember the one opening in Baton Rouge in the early 80's, it was a big deal because BR isn't that large, especially back then. I bought my ring from one in Jacksonville.

Might be a way for CEO Eddie Lampert to buy more shares at a reduced price and restructure the company?


Wheels

Doubtful but not impossible. I think he's just going to cash out before it all collapses.

True but I think he is so far into the company now it is past him being able to cash out without substantial losses.


Wheels

It does seem like they having talking about these two going out of business for the last ten years.

Yep, Warren Buffet was talking about its inevitability in 2005.
Warren Buffett predicted the fall of Eddie Lampert and Sears over 10 years ago: http://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-predicted-fall-of-eddie-lampert-sears-in-2005-2016-12



Wheels

Sears/Kmart has had something like 18 straight quarters of losses. The only two reasons that company is still around are because of the massive cost cutting and because their real estate division has been able to offset the loses of the retail division to some extent.

We had a Service Merchandise in Rhode Island when i lived there 70's--80's not sure where it was ..

Nope, we had one in South Portland, ME, back in the mid-late 70s and maybe even into the 80s.

I just wish they had lasted long enough for "virtual fitting rooms" to come online.

We had a Service Merchandise or two here in Chicago until 2000.

v6,
boNes

Got my wedding ring there, too. That was 1998. Not sure when the stores disappeared, I moved out of that area in early 2001 and there was never one where I live now.



The Jedi Master

Both Service Merchandise and Luria's went out of business in South Florida roughly around the same time (around 2000-2002).

It's sad sometimes when I pass by the old buildings (the ones still standing, often in areas I'd only drive through in daylight hours) and think back. Fortunately, much of LSU and some surrounding areas (the good parts) have stayed the same. I guess college areas have tradition and don't encourage so much progress and change, at least with keeping some of the old established bars and theaters. I get a rush of nostalgia every time I'm in the LSU Library, even with LCD screens replacing microfiche and empty tables, and with disappearing book areas. When I finally do start school I plan to spend allot of time there, gives me good vibes as does much of the area. I'm missing Godfather's Pizza off campus though.

Forget Home Depot and Lowe's, I want my Gold Triangle back!!



The Jedi Master

LOL!! You thinking of the one that used to be across from Dadeland Mall? That one closed like in 1982.

Yes, that's it! It was convenient living down the street...


The Jedi Master