Posted on 04/05/2019 10:37:34 AM PDT by Red Badger
Key Points
Sears will open three “Sears Home & Life” stores in May, in Anchorage, Alaska; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Overland Park, Kansas.
That’s after the department store chain has shut hundreds of Sears and Kmart locations over the years and filed for bankruptcy protection in October.
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Sears is opening stores again.
The embattled department store chain, which has shut hundreds of Sears and Kmart locations over the years and recently got another shot at life after filing for bankruptcy protection in October, still sees a chance to be a shopping destination for hard-line goods like appliances, tools and mattresses.
Sears announced this week it will open three “Sears Home & Life” stores in May, in Anchorage, Alaska; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Overland Park, Kansas.
These shops will be smaller in size — spanning only up to 15,000 square feet, while the average Sears store can be larger than 100,000 square feet.
“We are here to serve these communities and this is part of our strategy to maintain a presence in markets where we have right-sized our footprint,” Peter Boutros, chief brand officer for Sears and Kmart, said in a statement. “Sears Home & Life supports our strategic plan to become a stronger, more profitable business and these test stores will enable us to learn and improve as we move forward.”
They won’t include apparel, something other department store chains are increasingly struggling with selling today. And clothing hasn’t ever been much of a draw for shoppers to Sears locations, though the retailer tried to make a push into that category in the 1990s. That’s when it debuted a marketing campaign called “The Softer Side of Sears” in an attempt to reach more women with button-down tops and dresses.
Sears also said it will be expanding its DieHard automotive brand into new categories, including lawn and garden equipment, to put in the Home & Life shops.
It will additionally be working more closely with Amazon, Sears said, to make more products from the Kenmore appliance brand available on Amazon Dash’s reorder platform. Sears partnered with Amazon in the summer of 2017 to sell Alexa-enabled appliances, and later to offer full-service tire installation for orders from all tire brands on Amazon.
After filing for bankruptcy, Sears is now referred to as “Transform Holdco,” until it announces a new name for the company, and it has 220 Sears and 205 Kmart stores remaining open. Eddie Lampert no longer holds the CEO role but has remained on as chairman, after his $5.2 billion deal to save Sears using his hedge fund, ESL Investments, was approved.
Earlier this year, Lampert said he thought Sears could one day be a public company again. As the company emerged from bankruptcy protection, he said he wanted to focus on smaller-format locations and the company’s “Shop Your Way” loyalty program. It remains to be seen if his efforts will prove successful.
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Correction: Sears said it will be expanding its DieHard automotive brand into new categories. An earlier version mischaracterized the brand.
I just want batteries
for My Craftsman Tools!
Lowes has them now......................
Their creditors, pleased, will not be.
Another reason to wear my Sunday best.
They’d probably get a better response if they just called them Home & Life stores. Drop the Sears name period. But then I didn’t major in marketing and get paid millions to come up with stuff. Lol
Their tools were once premier. I noticed they declined a bit in quality. They need to maintain top quality, whether tools, batteries, appliances, home goods.
craftsman tools were once highly regarded!
now that the stores don’t back them up like they used to, and since so many of them are now made in communist China (many with obviously less quality)... they are commonly referred to as Crapman tools
a fine (and good quality) brand...almost completely destroyed....alas...
I don’t see anything compelling about the new Sears plan.
Bargains? Uniqueness? Interesting shopping experience?
Nope. Nope. Nope.
I’m rooting for them, but I just don’t see it working.
Maybe 20 years ago, after the big Sears store in the mall closed like many others, they opened a franchise store that sounds exactly like this, only they also carried major appliances and such. I know my new fridge, washer and dryer, and a treadmill all came from there in the 2000’s. It was locally owned and people seemed to support it. I don’t know why a franchise model would not work.
Might look cheap but I love their mens department for clothes, especially some of their store brands. I can get basic blue dress/work shirts for 15 and better made tshrts for 7. So I can easily buy multiples and make it sort of my uniform
We had a Sears Home Store in Maryland. It was great. They had quick delivery.
It’s odd to walk into Lowes and see the tool dept full of Craftsman stuff. They spent a lot of money building up the Kobalt name but must feel Craftsman has some name power still.
Every amateur car repair I’ve done for the last 39 years has been with craftsman tools. What a shame. Well, at least the tools I have will last beyond my children’s lifetime. I’m not sure who’s brand I’ll buy now, and it sure isn’t going to that shit from Harbor Freight.
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The Craftsman brand is now alive and well and prominently marketed in Lowe’s stores. I haven’t made the plunge yet, but may make a small purchase and check out the quality.
Harbor Freight stuff is surprisingly good and astoundingly cheap. They obviously have put the spurs to the Chinese on quality. I’ve got 3 go karts that I’ve repowered with their 99 dollar Honda clone engine and they are excellent.
Yes I think the name still has some “legacy” draw. Like maybe Cadillac or Buick
IIRC once upon a time there was a competitor to Home Depot called Home Base. They went bankrupt sometime in the mid to late nineties I think. They then reopened as a home, and lifestyle type of store, but didn’t last a year as the products they were selling were in every other store, and swap meet around. Hopefully Sears will not do the same insanity as the Home Base proprietors accomplished.
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