It’s sad that this store chain has
gone from offering virtually any
type of goods, to bankruptcy, in
a relatively short period of time.
I bought my first rifle from a Sears
Roebuck catalog in 1967.
Sears is a textbook example of what happens when MBAs take over a business.
DBM. ( death by management.. which, having bled the company white, now wants to seize the little value that remains). Imho
In the early 1960’s Sears seemed to be a multi-store shopping mall all in one building. Some how there arose actual shopping malls. It just seemed
Like Sears was yesterday’s news. Sort of like the Saber Tooth Tiger or the Wooly Mammoth. Just not there any more.
I have always liked Sears, but for the longest time when I enter their store near me, I can walk a pretty good distance before I run into any people — customers or employees.
Sears made me go away. Used to buy a bit from them.
I doubt I’ve spent $100 there in the past 10-12 years total.
In 1996, I remember the year specifically, I spent over $1,600 that year alone. And another $1,500+ a couple years later. Oh well. Don’t shop there any more.
I recall going into Sears back in the 1970s to their parts and service area. We had a table saw dating to the 1940s that needed some parts to repair it. I brought in the Model and Serial Number, looked it up in their parts catalog (paper then), and found the exact parts I needed.
Took about a week for them to ship the parts to me from their warehouse, but they fit perfectly and did the job. I think that table saw went another 20 years or so before it was retired.
The point is that Sears in those days made quality products and tools, and stood behind what they sold.
Sears began as a mail order catalog company.
The internet is a digital catalog and we are all buying off of it.
How did Sears, of all companies, miss it?
When I was a teenager, I took my younger friend into Sears to look around and found a Barbie doll she wanted. We didn’t have quite enough to buy it, but the sales clerk (a young man, as I recall) sold it to her for what we had. It was such a sweet thing to do for a little girl.
I wonder how many Sears houses are still around?
The sad decline of a once great American company. I recently inherited a 61 year old Sears “John C. Higgins” shotgun in mint condition. It was a common enough shotgun in its day - a shotgun for the American everyman. Now I feel like I have real piece of Americana. I’ll never part with it.
The Sears Holdings Corporation is an American holding
company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It is the owner of retail store brands
Sears and Kmart, and was founded after the latter purchased the former in 2005. Sears Holdings also
owns the brands Kenmore and DieHard.
Something i don't understand is sears and roebuck used to be a catalogue ordering company they were famous for it who hasn't seen an S&R catalogue .....Anyway you would think that sears would have transitioned well into a business like Amazon by now with the selections sears has they could give the smaller online shopping places some competition easily but they should have started 15 years ago it's got to be almost pure laziness on sears part !
Sears is an example of evolution at work. The struggle for life also affects artificial as well as natural species.
Over time, those who don’t adapt to their environment become extinct. This once great company is headed there.
But new species are born and evolve over time, too. Its a fact of life on earth.
Well, I heard they quit making outhouses in Arkansas because Sears went on-line!
Who ends up paying the bill for bankruptcy? Not the bank!
Sooo, would it be too soon to wonder if I should go see if Sears will have cheap tools for sale?
My friend bought some new kitchen appliances from Sears some years ago. The delivery and installation experience was a nightmare for him. I’ve more recently used Lowe’s. No problems at all.
One thing, their appliances and other housewares got to be too expensive.
Three hundred stores is probably not enough to have the buying power to remain competative
So, if Sears finally dies, who is going to honor their Craftsman tool lifetime warranty? I have amassed a fair collection over the last 50 years, but haven’t bought any in the last 20 years since I could just exchange what was broken.
The Sears in York (PA) is gone, after many, many years. Too bad.