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(99 Percent) Profit Plunge Slams Sears
The Street.com ^ | November 29, 2007 | Nat Worden

Posted on 11/29/2007 11:24:18 AM PST by Zakeet

Shares of Sears Holdings dropped below the $100 mark on Thursday for the first time in their two-and-a-half year existence after the company reported disastrous third-quarter results that suggest its days as a retailer could be numbered.

Fans of the company's chairman, Greenwich, Conn., hedge fund manager Ed Lampert, say that Sears may be a dying retailer, but it's cash can be invested elsewhere by a value-investing genius. Others say the path to riches at Sears lies in the hidden value of its real estate, which guarantees upside in the stock -- even in the event of a liquidation.

With shares of Sears down nearly 50% from their April all-time highs, such convictions are looking increasingly precarious as the U.S. housing bust threatens to plunge the economy into a recession. The company's cash flow is dwindling as its profitability sinks, and real estate values are mired in a cloud of uncertainty.

(Excerpt) Read more at thestreet.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: economy; retail; sears
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To: HamiltonJay

Amen! Screw the chicoms!!!

LLS


41 posted on 11/29/2007 12:10:19 PM PST by LibLieSlayer (Support America, Kill terrorists, Destroy dims!)
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To: Zakeet

The ‘new’ K-Mart isn’t a retailer, it is a real estate liquidation outfit. After they ran through the cream of the K-Mart inventory, they bought Sears to start liquidating that real estate. Here’s the real problem, “real estate values are mired in a cloud of uncertainty”.


42 posted on 11/29/2007 12:11:47 PM PST by PAR35
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To: Teflonic
My Sears story.

I went into the local store looking for a bed frame. They didn’t have the size in needed in stock but said they could order one for me. I said I wanted to check some other stores first to see if anyone had a frame in stock.

Sear’s employee: “No problem, just give us a call if you want to order one and then pick it up.”

A few days later I called to have one ordered. After being put on terminal hold several times I finally got someone to take my order.

“Do you have a Sears credit card?”

“No, I have a regular credit card.”

“I’m sorry, we can only accept phone orders using a Sears’ credit card. You can order one on-line”

“I checked on-line and they want $65 for shipping a $80 dollar item.”

“If you come to the store you can order one using a regular credit card.”

“So you want me to come to the store (one hour round trip) just to show you my credit card? Then I have to come back (another hour round trip) to pick up the item?”

“I’m sorry, that’s our policy.”

I then asked to speak to the manager, who never called back.

Good riddance to a lousy company. They deserve to go broke.

43 posted on 11/29/2007 12:16:37 PM PST by BigBobber
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To: Ann Archy

Not LL Bean, they bought Lands End.

Soon afterward, they did away with my favorite Chino jeans.


44 posted on 11/29/2007 12:20:34 PM PST by bert (K.E. N.P. +12 . Moveon is not us...... Moveon is the enemy)
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To: Zakeet

This is a damned shame. This is one of the very few companies that whole-heartedly supports the troops called up and their families.

IIRC, when a Sears employee is called up, if his military pay is less than what he makes at Sears, Sears will pay the difference. The employee will continue to get any raises and bonuses he would be entitled to during his or her deployment. And all benefits, including insurance continue. All this for up to TWO YEARS!

I make a point of trying to shop at Sears when I need to buy something.

It may not be the best business sense, but they need to be lauded for their policy.

Mark


45 posted on 11/29/2007 12:21:31 PM PST by MarkL (Listen, Strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government)
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To: Zakeet

Sears where the prices are high, the “service” is surely or non-existent, and the stuff is crap? That Sears? OK, Craftsman tools are still good, but not as good as they once were...


46 posted on 11/29/2007 12:22:23 PM PST by GOPJ ("Imagine the Outrage if FOX had Fixed a “debate” like this??" Freeper bray -- "CNN Sucks" - GOPJ)
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To: BigBobber

Have you seen the women’s clothes at Sears! They’re horrible, cheap, old-fashioned things. I haven’t been in a Sears for years and then only to buy paint. The stores are ugly, dreary places.


47 posted on 11/29/2007 12:23:40 PM PST by californianmom
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To: pabianice
Craftsman Tools really are the best.

They're not always (or even usually) the best available, but they're the best deal as long as Sears stays solvent. I've probably bought over $50,000.00 worth of hand tools over my lifetime, and over 90% of them are Craftsman, because when one of them breaks it's pretty easy to find a Sears store. They have always replaced any hand tools I have returned on the spot, no questions asked. Even if it's something as simple as a phillips head screwdriver where the tip is getting worn. They replace it. Period.

It's not always so easy to locate a Snap-On truck. :)

Power tools are another matter entirely. Craftsman power tools are usually on the lower end of quality, and they don't have that gorgeous warranty that the hand tools have. I gravitate towards other brands of power tools.

48 posted on 11/29/2007 12:24:12 PM PST by MarineBrat (My wife and I took an AIDS vaccination that the Church offers.)
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To: Zakeet

Sears was bailed out once by Discover, they have been just dying a slow death. Maybe if there signs were in English we’d shop there more.


49 posted on 11/29/2007 12:28:14 PM PST by ThisLittleLightofMine
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To: DungeonMaster

I bought one of their most expensive cloths washers, and also bought a “Lifetime” waranty...well they had a classaction lawsuit ( which i did not need) and they canceled my “lifetime” waranty, but did not refund my money.

screw Sears...Ill never buy another thing from them.


50 posted on 11/29/2007 12:31:16 PM PST by LtKerst (Lt Kerst)
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To: zek157

The thing that kills me about Sears is they sell a “quality” product and then do the strong sale on the extended warrenty.

and then they do not honor the waranty.


51 posted on 11/29/2007 12:33:08 PM PST by LtKerst (Lt Kerst)
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To: zek157

The thing that kills me about Sears is they sell a “quality” product and then do the strong sale on the extended warrenty.

and then they do not honor the waranty.


52 posted on 11/29/2007 12:33:25 PM PST by LtKerst (Lt Kerst)
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To: Zakeet
"Sears" just isn't fashionable any more. They need to rename it "Justin's", retrofit all the stores with a Justin Timberlake theme, and sell clothes to teenage girls. ;)

I think their primary California customer base today is comprised of illegals...

53 posted on 11/29/2007 12:37:39 PM PST by Mr. Jeeves ("Wise men don't need to debate; men who need to debate are not wise." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: Bushman2
I have heard, now this might be a urban legend, that appliance manufacturers make special versions of their brand name products with cheaper components specially for the deep discounters. Is this true?
54 posted on 11/29/2007 12:44:16 PM PST by DManA
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To: Ann Archy

” Do they own LL BEAN? “

No. Land’s End.


55 posted on 11/29/2007 12:46:13 PM PST by Humble Servant (Keep it simple - do what's right.)
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To: LtKerst
I bought one of their most expensive cloths washers, and also bought a “Lifetime” waranty...well they had a classaction lawsuit ( which i did not need) and they canceled my “lifetime” waranty, but did not refund my money.

screw Sears...Ill never buy another thing from them.

I bought the most expensive refigerator in my life, a maytag. It has a freezer on the bottom and an ice maker and double doors on top. It seldom made enough ice in and the freezer slide drawer froze up all the time. They replaced the ice maker and the slide after 3 months but it didn't help.

So the freezer door is so hard to open I have to yell at the whole family not to use the handle because it will pull off after a while. After 15 months the refrigerator section quit working and we had to put all of our food in coolers. There was a stupid little fan the size of a microprocessor cooling fan that stopped. The repair cost me $250 bucks. So I went to Sears and wanted my money back and wanted them to haul the thing away due to the "satisfaction guaranteed or your money back" thing. I was all but laughed out of the show room.

56 posted on 11/29/2007 12:47:24 PM PST by DungeonMaster (WELL I SPEAK LOUD, AND I CARRY A BIGGER STICK, AND I USE IT TOO!)
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To: Zakeet
Any body remember the old J C Higgins brand, was my first bicycle back in the mid 50’s. That brand went out when Sears started usiing the Ted Williams brand of sporting goods.
57 posted on 11/29/2007 12:49:51 PM PST by longhorn too
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To: cuz_it_aint_their_money

I had an utterly horrible experience with their Sears-issued Master Card people..long, nasty story. My sister works there, but isn’t holding onto much of her company stock since the K-Martians took over.


58 posted on 11/29/2007 12:50:11 PM PST by Humble Servant (Keep it simple - do what's right.)
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To: pabianice

If the Craftsman hand tools go, what are the alternatives?


59 posted on 11/29/2007 12:55:23 PM PST by US_MilitaryRules (All my bullets are dipped in PIG fat. How about yours?)
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To: aroundabout

I’m getting ready to buy $3800 worth of appliances from them.
********************************
You are in the minority ,, their current deep discounts on appliances (especially multiple appliance purchases) are in response to the real estate slowdown ... appliances and soft goods are Sears lifeblood and appliances ain’t cutting it right now.


60 posted on 11/29/2007 12:58:18 PM PST by Neidermeyer
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