It’s a sad irony that Sears was a pioneer of shop at home, (Sears catalog), and shop at home, (internet), is doing them in.
This is more of a business model and image issue. Sears is seen by younger shoppers as being Grandma’s store. And Kmart is seen as Walmart without the low prices.
Wonder if there is a list of stores yet?
Hopey Changey.
Why don’t they just copy the WalMart business model?
It seems to work well............
Did Sears contribute to the Democrat campaign in 2008?
Now a days, Sears carry sub standard , overpriced stuff. If you want to over price, atleast provide quality.
Millions upon millions of "unemployed" (no job, no longer looking for a job, underemployed, temp, contractor) exist.
The unemployed buy nothing or far less than normal.
As a result, sales drop at retail stores.
The retail stores layoff (or fire, if you prefer) employees.
Unemployment rises.
The unemployed buy nothing or far less than normal.
Sales drop further at retail stores.
More stores close, forcing more layoffs (or firings, if you prefer).
The unemployed buy nothing or far less than normal.
And so it goes....
The other side of "the coin" is this.
The unemployed rely on state monetary support.
The unemployed rely on fed welfare programs.
Therefore, the unemployed depend on govt largesse.
The unemployed cause govt. to grow to support their increasing numbers.
Govt must collect more money to support growing welfare state.
Governments (both state and federal) must either raise taxes or borrow money.
"The Rich" begin to protect their assets (eg: move assets out of the country, or move physically to a lower tax area).
Govts borrows more money to "feed" the welfare system ruining its already damaged credit rating, for lenders know that neither the US nor many of the states therein cannot pay what it owes now much less meet its obligations in the future.
Meanwhile.....
The unemployed begin to default on debt (credit card, medical, and housing to name a few).
Lending institutions wind up with worthless "assets" on their books and dwindling cash reserves; they must cut overhead to remain solvent.
They then "lay off" (or fire if you prefer) employees.
This increases the unemployed.
The government falsifys the "unemployment" count by saying that 2.5 million jobs that have left the country no longer exist and therefore can no longer be counted.
The unemployed - ever increasing - buy nothing or far less than normal.
Factories manufacture less product causing factory closures; resulting in more unemployed.
The govt mounts a "spin" campaign damning "the rich" and demanding an increasing amount of money from them.
The unions join the campaign screaming for "workers rights" and raising the dues of the few employed members they have left; for they need money to retain their "lifestyles".
"The rich" protect their assets by moving them out of the country; shutting down factories, and physically moving to lower tax areas.
Need more???
Read "Atlas Shrugged" if you've not already. Enjoy the story....but look for the lessons.
Your biggest fear is this - in answer to the question, "Who is John Galt?"
There isn't one - we're on our own.
This can’t be true....the economy is seeing steady increase in activity. Job numbers are fantastic; more employers are hiring and less and less are applying for unemployment. Each day the DOW rises a couple hundred points, it is a boom town economy.......how can this be true? It can’t all just be because the Muslim Obama is running for re-election, can it?
Sears and K Mart needs to go back to what made them the stores. Sears needs to go back to their catalouge, back to American made Craftmen tools and to get Whirlpool to make their Kenmore appliances. KMart needs to be the anti-WalMart, by being an slightly upscale discount store. They needto be between WalMart and Target.
Rainman said it best ...
IMO, Sears went downhill shortly after they became the “softer side of Sears”.
The demise of Sears was foreseen long ago. It started when Sears stopped being a consumer oriented business and wanted to become a huge conglomerate.
They did this by building dependency among their suppliers, then threatening to cut them off unless they slashed their prices, and then, after hurting them, to buy them out at a discount. Then while keeping the good reputation and status of that brand name, to ruin it by slashing quality.
Many good American businesses were destroyed this way, and Sears made a lot of enemies.
At the same time, Sears ended its long held a hire-to-retire policy that created strong loyalty among its employees, instead firing those with seniority and hiring cheaper replacements. So their service quality withered.
Then, much to their surprise, this started to hurt their business. Granted, those responsible had either been promoted to upper management or moved on to ruin other corporations.
But Sears was ready to blame everybody but themselves for their decline. The big merger with KMart, of a failing business bought up by another failing business, was just the icing on the cake.
Yet it is a long, slow, terminal illness that afflicts Sears and will eventually kill it. A tragedy, really, but that’s what you get when you hold management vipers to your breast.
I’m sure we will lose 1 at least since in this city of 28,000 we have 2 Kmart stores and a Sears too.
The demise of Sears was foreseen long ago. It started when Sears stopped being a consumer oriented business and wanted to become a huge conglomerate.
They did this by building dependency among their suppliers, then threatening to cut them off unless they slashed their prices, and then, after hurting them, to buy them out at a discount. Then while keeping the good reputation and status of that brand name, to ruin it by slashing quality.
Many good American businesses were destroyed this way, and Sears made a lot of enemies.
At the same time, Sears ended its long held a hire-to-retire policy that created strong loyalty among its employees, instead firing those with seniority and hiring cheaper replacements. So their service quality withered.
Then, much to their surprise, this started to hurt their business. Granted, those responsible had either been promoted to upper management or moved on to ruin other corporations.
But Sears was ready to blame everybody but themselves for their decline. The big merger with KMart, of a failing business bought up by another failing business, was just the icing on the cake.
Yet it is a long, slow, terminal illness that afflicts Sears and will eventually kill it. A tragedy, really, but that’s what you get when you hold management vipers to your breast.
Here’s a little-known fact for ya, Sammy: At one time (early 1950s), Sears sold it’s own brand of automobilie in it’s stores, called the “Sears Allstate.” (It was really a rebadged Henry J produced by the Kaiser-Fraser automobile company.)
The place I used to draw my pay slammed the door on me today
And told me just to stay away and no come back again
I went back home to bring the news my woman saw that I had the blues
But she said the babies need new shoes and I’m a worried man
Well there is no way that I can see that I can feed my family
Cause I don’t own no money tree and very little lam
But I said mama don’t you cry I’ll get a job up fore the day’s gone by
I don’t know where though and that is why I’m a worried man
Worried man worried man...
Worried man worried man...
Yes we can...create more vacant retail space!
Yes we can...create jobs repairing smashed windows!
Oh, goodie! Another K-Mart / Sears thread!
This one is more about a very bad merger than the economy. K-Mart was going down and Sears decided to jump on their sinking boat. It was a bad idea 7 years ago when they announced it, and nothing that’s happened since then made it any better.