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 ...
craftsman power tools are worthless garbage that are unfit to plug in let alone use imho of course.
Ed Lampert is one of the genuine smart guys of the hedge fund crowd. If Sears, K-Mart etc. are taking a beating, then something big is going on.
THANKS!!
The Sears in Cool Springs in Franklin, TN does a good business. They have a good tire and auto center.
But most people just use it because it’s more convienent to park outside Sears and go into the mall.
The manufactures do make their products for other retailers, i.e. Sears, but with the retailers specifications. In some cases the parts may be less quality than their own brand name.
You’re probably right about that. KMart was partly their own undoing, and Wal-Mart was partly their undoing as well.
Good, obscure reference. I saw that movie the other day. Was really, really dumb. (And a whole lot of fun. Enjoyed every minute of it.)
That's what I think when I see the Zales diamond and Lexus new car for Christmas commercials. If it's going to impact the budget, some purchases need to be discussed with your spouse.
Sears finally got smart and is offering the same deal now but for closer to $275.00
I feel the same way about it.
Janome has made Sear Kenmore sewing machines for years and the machines are first quality but less pricey than the higher end Janome....
Your experience is surely the exception. When I am on jobsites all I generally see is Makita and DeWalt.
A lot of the problem is they’ve completely mismanaged the merger with K-Mart. And done so in a way that leads to confused costumers and lost sales. Over the summer I needed a new bike (finally ran mine into the ground), poking around on the web I found a selection at sears.com ( http://www.sears.com/shc/s/c_10153_12605_Fitness+%26+Sports_Bicycling ), I go to Sears to look at the bikes (I don’t buy things like that without at least touching it first), they don’t have bikes at Sears, bikes are sold at K-Mart, go to K-Mart and there’s the bikes, none of the models I saw on the Sears website but they have bikes, look some more realize there are no mens bikes only womens, find a person, turns out they only put bikes together on Mondays and by Saturday around noon (when I’m there) they’re out of mens bikes, seems to me like people might be buying bikes on Saturday. So I go to Target, where I find bikes, mens bikes, the same ones that were no the website.
And now Sears isn’t making any money. Color me not surprised, and not willing to consider them a good company anymore.
I've owned many Craftsman power tools and have had good luck with some and bad luck with others.
I own a Craftsman 16 gallon, 6.25/horsepower, Wet/Dry vacuum that may be the single most "worth the money" tool I've ever owned. I've beaten that thing to death, and sucked up things that go beyond even mentioning in polite society, and yet it still works like a champ.
But then on the other hand, I've owned a Craftsman random orbit sander that died in just a few months, and a cordless drill that lasted about six months. (Craftsman power tools are all made in China now)
I bought a Makita 633D, 1/2" chuck cordless drill after that Craftsman one died and have absolutely loved it, though I've had to replace the batteries after 5-6 years.
Two things come to mind to describe purchasing a power tool, and to some degree they are conflicting.
1) You get what you pay for.
2) It's all a crapshoot. :)
I just hope Sears stays in business. I'd hate to lose the Craftsman guarantee I've been paying for all these years. I'd bet that even if Sears goes belly up the Craftsman tool brand would continue.
KMarts around here were always horribly run, and seems to attract the least motivated and friendly employees as well.
Their shelves were a mess. If there was a price on the shelf, it was more likely to be for a different product, or be outdated than it was to be the correct price.
They had the slowest moving checkout lines I have ever seen. They put in self checkout lines, but had to quit using them because their customer base tended to be on the less honest side, and their employees watching the self checkout lanes were oblivious to everything.
KMart was poorly run for a very long time. Wal-Mart gave KMart more competition than they could handle by being more efficient, and seemingly at least marginally better at just about everything.
Why shop at KMart when you can buy the same kind of crap cheaper at Wal-Mart and have at least a marginally better shopping experience at the same time?
You have Lowes and Home Depot with their lifetime warranty on their tools.
Lowes now is selling a line of Mechanics Tools called Kobalt which is made by Snap-On. They are good tools.
Home Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).
Home Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.