http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/sears/ en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 21:34:59 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3023171/posts Sears Holdings Corp. reported a steeper-than-expected loss for its first quarter with the beleaguered retailer, blaming a cooler spring for falling sales.The operator of Sears and Kmart stores also said it’s considering strategic options for its service-agreement business, such as selling it off, to raise cash. Service agreements are when customers pay an extra fee when buying an appliance and the company agrees to fix or replace it if it breaks within a certain time. The steep loss drove Sears’ shares down more than 11 percent in after-hours trading. … Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3023171/posts#comment Thu, 23 May 2013 21:34:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3004735/posts The digital age might have another victim: Sears has shut down its portrait studio, at least for now, after the photography company that has been snapping family portraits for the chain since 1959 abruptly closed up shop, reports the Wall Street Journal. CPI Corp. also ran studios at Walmart and Babies "R" Us, and all three retailers are scrambling to figure out next steps. Sears is "exploring all options" to resume portrait services, says the company. It was just a matter of time, writes Chris Gampat at the Phoblographer blog. People are taking their own photos with their own digital... Newser http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3004735/posts#comment Sat, 6 Apr 2013 03:51:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2984545/posts -Snip- And while successful retailers in 2012 may add stores this year, those that have performed very poorly may have to cut locations during 2013 to improve margins or reverse losses. For many retailers, the sales situation is so bad that it is not a question of whether they will cut stores, but when and how many. -Snip- Yahoo News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2984545/posts#comment Sat, 2 Feb 2013 15:00:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2972648/posts While 2013 will be a tough year for retailers due to the tepid economic recovery, a few in particular face a critical 12 months. Their experiences highlight the challenges facing store chains, from increasingly cautious consumers to fierce online competition. These unlucky retailers are going into the New Year with extra woes: slipping sales, questionable strategies and tight finances—which is why they are the ones to watch, and not in a good way. Best Buy Co. BBY -1.22% has been plagued by the retail phenomenon called "showrooming," where shoppers examine products in its stores but buy online through rivals. A... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2972648/posts#comment Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:46:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2937523/posts Two big employers are planning a radical change in the way they provide health benefits to their workers, giving employees a fixed sum of money and allowing them to choose their medical coverage and insurer from an online marketplace. Sears Holdings Corp. and Darden Restaurants Inc. say the change isn't designed to make workers pay a higher share of health-coverage costs. Instead they say it is supposed to put more control over health benefits in the hands of employees. The approach will be closely watched by firms around the U.S. If it eventually takes hold widely, it might parallel the... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2937523/posts#comment Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:24:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2907041/posts Retailers are becoming a lot less closeted. They are turning their attention to gays and lesbians, a group that wields substantial buying power but isn't fully integrated into mainstream advertising. Similar to other moves to attract different minority groups, the push comes with risks, as it could threaten the retailers' relationships with some of their longtime shoppers. Nonetheless, from J.C. Penney Co.'s (JCP) high-profile hiring of openly gay television personality Ellen DeGeneres as its spokeswoman to Target Corp.'s (TGT) selling of same-sex greeting cards, retailers are testing ways to cozy up to a community that by one estimate is as... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2907041/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jul 2012 15:12:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2901828/posts Sears in Toronto , CA displays pride flags Who Talking http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2901828/posts#comment Mon, 2 Jul 2012 11:04:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2859715/posts Sears Holdings (SHLD +4.34%) already said it would close as many as 120 Sears and Kmart stores this year in an effort to turn the business around. But that wasn't enough. The struggling retailer said Thursday it will have to tighten its belt even more. Sears is now planning to close 43 Hometown stores, 10 Sears Hardware stores and all nine stores in the Great Indoors chain. Hometown stores are independently operated, and sell hardware in mostly rural areas. Sears is also getting rid of clothing in 10 Sears stores -- perhaps in a test run for a chain-wide initiative... MSN Money http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2859715/posts#comment Fri, 16 Mar 2012 02:46:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2854983/posts The furor over Rush Limbaugh‘s controversial comments directed at Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke has lead to advertisers dropping his eponymous radio program. 12 advertisers, including Sleep Number, The Sleep Train, Quicken Loans, Legal Zoom, Citrix, Carbonite, ProFlowers, AOL, Bonobos, Sears, and Allstate Insurance have pulled ads from the program, and/or distanced themselves from the show, either permanently or temporarily, ThinkProgress’s Adam Peck reports. “Allstate’s advertising purchase strategy has not included the Rush Limbaugh Show,” the company wrote in a statement on their Facebook page. “Earlier today, we responded to inquiries about our advertising relationship with the show by... Mediaite http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2854983/posts#comment Tue, 6 Mar 2012 00:02:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2850651/posts FEBRUARY 24, 2012 In Retreat, Sears Set to Unload Stores [Subscriber Content Preview] BY MIGUEL BUSTILLO AND DANA MATTIOLI After seven years of trying to rebuild the iconic retailer Sears, hedge-fund manager Edward S. Lampert reversed course on Thursday, announcing that Sears Holdings Corp. will unload more than 1,200 stores in an effort to raise up to $770 million of much-needed cash. Many on Wall Street interpreted the move as the beginning of the breakup of the company. Sears on Thursday reported a loss of more than $3 billion for 2011, and same-store sales have fallen for six straight years.... Wall St. J http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2850651/posts#comment Fri, 24 Feb 2012 06:31:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2850446/posts Sears Holdings Corp. listed 16 more stores it will close, including five Sears and Kmart sites in Illinois. The closures include a full-line Sears store in downstate Alton; a Sears Grand store in northwest suburban McHenry; and three Kmart stores in west suburban Oak Lawn, north suburban Zion and Peru, in north central Illinois. The full list is available on Sears' website. The additional closings came hours after the money-losing retailer announced dismal fourth-quarter and full-year earnings, and about two months after the Hoffman Estates-based company first announced it would shutter 120 stores. So far, the Hoffman Estates-based company has... chicagobusiness.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2850446/posts#comment Thu, 23 Feb 2012 21:44:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2826776/posts Closings Announced in Dec. 27, 2011 Sears Holdings Update This list represents 79 of the 100 to 120 store closings that were announced in the December 27, 2011 Sears Holdings press release.Additional updates will be posted to www.searsmedia.com as they become available.Employment varies by store and format and at this time we cannot provide the total number of impacted associates. However, a typical store that is being closed employs between 40 and 80 associates. FORMAT STREET ADDRESS CITY STATE ZIP Sears Hardlines Only 1916 19th Ave Lewiston ID 83501 Sears Hardlines Only Us Hwy 25e - Ste B2 Middlesboro KY... Sears Holdings http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2826776/posts#comment Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:15:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2825453/posts Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday it will close 100 to 120 of its full-line Sears and Kmart stores as it struggles to attract shoppers. Sales for the fourth quarter are off a disappointing 5.2 percent compared with last year. “Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model. These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers and members through integrated retail – at the store, online and... ABC News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2825453/posts#comment Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:53:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2825447/posts Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores will be closed, Sears Holdings said Tuesday, after terrible holiday sales during what is the most crucial time of the year for retailers. Sears has yet to determine which stores will be closed, but there has been a clear shift in where the retailer will devote its resources. The company is moving away from its practice of propping up "marginally performing" stores in hopes of improving their performance. Sears said it will now concentrate on cash-generating stores. "Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to... CNBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2825447/posts#comment Tue, 27 Dec 2011 14:46:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2816948/posts Without a fresh round of tax incentives, two iconic Illinois companies might soon be on the move. The companies -- Sears Holdings and CME Group -- are the latest in a series of Illinois firms to threaten departure after the state temporarily raised corporate taxes earlier this year. Sears Holdings, which has 6,100 employees at its corporate headquarters and operates both K-Mart and Sears stores, is looking for its current package of tax incentives to be extended. ... The stakes are high. Earlier this year, Caterpillar threatened to leave Illinois, an announcement that sparked something of a relocation competition among... CNNMoney http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2816948/posts#comment Wed, 7 Dec 2011 01:47:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2788202/posts Alan Sears is the president, CEO, and general counsel of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), often called the conservative counterweight to the liberal American Civil Liberties Union. Since ADF's founding in 1994, he has been involved with thousands of cases dealing with freedom of religion, abortion, marriage, and family composition, and has led the training of more than 1,500 lawyers. World Magazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2788202/posts#comment Wed, 5 Oct 2011 15:06:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2766089/posts I haven’t been to the Wildflower Inn in Lyndonville, VT, but it sounds like a beautiful place. A glimpse at their website shows a near-definitive New England setting of clapboard buildings with panoramic views of rolling, tree-covered hills and blossoming meadows. And families. Wildflower Inn was voted Best Family Resort by Yankee magazine last year, and the word “family” pops up repeatedly on the website and in the Inn’s brochures. Clearly, that’s the favored clientele, although the Inn’s owners allow that their place is also ideal for romantic weekends. The Inn used to offer its facilities for weddings, too. Not... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2766089/posts#comment Fri, 19 Aug 2011 15:04:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2738562/posts Kellogg's Corn Pops The cereal business is not what is used to be, at least for products that are not considered "healthy." Among those is Kellogg's Corn Pops ready-to-eat cereal. Sales of the brand dropped 18% over the year that ended in April, down to $74 million. That puts it well behind brands like Cheerios and Frosted Flakes, each which have sales of over $200 million a year. Private label sales have also hurt sales of branded cereals. Revenues in this category were $637 million over the same April-end period. There is also profit margin pressure on Corn Pops because... Yahoo Finance http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2738562/posts#comment Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:45:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719050/posts Sears may leave Chicago John Gibson Show Fox News Radio http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719050/posts#comment Thu, 12 May 2011 21:25:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717615/posts Sears Holdings Corp. is researching a possible move of its headquarters and 6,200 jobs out of Illinois, a company spokesman said Monday. The retailer has had preliminary discussions with the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, where it is located, and has commissioned an economic impact study, said spokesman Chris Brathwaite. "We do owe it to our associates and shareholders to consider options and alternatives and intend to be very thoughtful and thorough in our deliberations," Brathwaite said. State and local incentives that Sears receives will expire in 2012, Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said. The town and company have been... ABC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717615/posts#comment Tue, 10 May 2011 10:49:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2716107/posts You won't believe what Sears is selling now "Hot & Exotic" is just one small sample of Sears' explicit DVD offerings May 6, 2011 Dear Freeper, Under the new leadership of Chairman Edward Lampert, Sears is now offering hard-core pornographic DVDs and music. Not just a few x-rated products, but scores of them! AFA ordered one of the DVDs to see if it really came from Sears. It did! It was mailed to us in a Sears envelope, with a Sears shipping label, from a Sears distribution center. Not only does Sears' website allow children to view its pornographic offerings... American Family Association http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2716107/posts#comment Fri, 6 May 2011 16:04:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2634000/posts From the 1982 Sears catalog. A lot of this stuff is still around and still going strong, they really don't make them like they used to. I gave my 1983 Minolte XG-M a check last tonight, still in great shape, but I've worn out 3 digital cameras in the last 10 years. The XG-M was close to 300 bucks in 83 though, it would be expensive to make today SELF http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2634000/posts#comment Sun, 28 Nov 2010 17:27:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2588720/posts Sears Yanks Shirts Showing Picture of Twin Towers With Word 'Gotcha' Sears department store is reportedly under fire for selling T-shirts depicting images of the Twin Towers with the word "Gotcha" emblazoned on the front of the clothing. The company Gotcha reportedly made the clothing and printed its brand name on the front of the shirts. But Sears executives claim the word "Gotcha" was never meant to be attached to images of the World Trade Center towers, the station reports. FoxNews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2588720/posts#comment Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:38:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2458109/posts Sears says it will begin selling Samsung 3-D HDTVs next month, which will make it one of the first retailers to sell the new 3-D sets. Sears says two Samsung sets will begin shipping next month: a 46-inch, 3-D LED HDTV priced at $2,599 and a 55-inch LED HDTV priced at $3,299. They will be available at Sears stores in March. "The anticipation for the 3-D experience at home has been mounting, and we're giving our shoppers a competitive edge by being one of the first retailers to offer these products," stated Karen Austin, president, Home Electronics, Sears Holdings. Sears... tvpredictions.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2458109/posts#comment Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:03:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2323007/posts In a blunder that might top the Baby Shaker app on Apple's App Store, retailing giant Sears.com has been caught offering a Bar-B-Que grill specially designed to roast infants and other human morsels. The Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2323007/posts#comment Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:43:10 GMT