Thanks for your great feedback on this topic! A lot of folks have great memories from shopping at Sears. 

There are a lot of different types of merchandise sold at Sears and at Kmart. That makes us unique. Assuming prices are very competitive with other retailers, what's most important to you:

• the way products are displayed
• the way salespeople and managers tend to you
• availability of popular items
• good alternatives to out of stock items
• something else?

I went into a Sears store the other day.  We went downstairs to the hardware department, and it was like going into a dungeon- it was dark and uninviting. Sears should be more like Target.  Their ads are fun.  The way the stores are set up is nice.  The merchandise is much nicer at Target than at Sears.  The clothes are much more up to date as well.  The shoe selection at the Sears stores I've gone to leaves MUCH to be desired, as well as the clothing section.  Sears stores, compared to Target, look very outdated.  You need more color in your signs and displays, something to really grab your attention.

 

sears should be more like southwest airlines    take care of your employees and the employees will take care of the customers  and put money back into the store locations,spruce them up         spend money to make money not cut everything

3 years ago I bought all my appliances (at once) from Sears.  Kenmore Elite.  $4000 worth of appliances.  The washing machine pump went out in 13 months.  The Sears repair man said it was like that with this particular washing machine (Calypso) and that the design was poor.  The Sears repair man said this!  It cost me $450.00 to replace the pump.  The repair man said it was a new design for the pump due to the problems.  It had a 90-day warranty on it.  Guess what?  It went out in 120 days.  I called the Sears store where we bought all our appliances and the Manager blew me off.  We went to Lowes and bought a cheap washer with an extended warranty and I had them haul away that Kenmore Elite piece of crap. If Sears doesn't start standing behind their products then they will go out of business.  Word of mouth is a powerful tool and believe me I tell everyone I know to go to Lowes to buy a washer and dryer.  You shouldn't have to spend $400 a year on extended warranties to protect your investment.  Sears should make and stand behind a quality product.  Like it was in the good old days!

I am from Waltham, MA. I feel like Sears is too far away, and I agree with jjschim that it is a pain to have to park and then walk through the mall to get there.

With respect to KMART, is there anyway to get groceries delivered from KMART to Waltham, MA? 

Thats a hard one. Each company has to have their own niche, their own customer base, their own way of doing things. Each company must define what they are going to be and how they are going to operate. Each company must have individuals that believe in the way they run the business as well as understand the business just not from a balance sheet but down to the level of how the wheels turn in a company and even to  a lower level of how do you get the wheel and so on down. One must know their companys soul. What their company is all about.

I have been in retail since 1977 and retail management since 1979 and I have seen that what works for me does not work for the person down the road.

With the retail year ended up tomorrow on the 31st, hopefully stores through their GMs and DMs have already made their goals and plans as well as ways carry out their plans. Not just lip service but real live one on one daily communication with their associates so that all know what is expected of them  and how they are going to acheive the goals.

I'd agree with sprucing up stores. Kmart's are embarassingly outdated (although, in their defense, a handful are being updated), and you don't want to see Sears slip into that condition. Sears is a mid-level brand, and you need the stores to reflect that reality. I'd agree that Target is a good model. They aren't spending a ton of money keeping their stores looking fresh, but it does the trick very well

I think Sears does appliances very well. My experiences have all been good there. Craftsman is a strength, although I suspect the somewhat limited range of goods compared to the other big boxes can hurt it at times. Service can definitely be a differentiator, especially in areas like tools and appliances (where Home Depot and Lowes are a little weak).

Ultimately, unvest a little in the stores, invest in the employees, and it'll become evident to the customers that you do care and Sears has a real future in the retail landscape.

My parents always shopped from Sears catalog.  Christmas was Sears.  Happy employees make for contented customers.  Sears should take a little step back in time by making the customer feel important.  The technology is great but the personal touch has been lost.  Keep displays nice and not overloaded.  The new Land's End section of the mall looks nice. 

The problem, unfortunately, with Sears is in this economy people aren't buying appliances, lawnmowers and the such -- Sears bread and butter.  If you look at the results from last quarter, Kmart did better than Sears in terms of sales. 

During the Kmart remodels that are taking place it appears they are moving Kenmore appliances and the such into Kmart.  That is a good first step.  They are also opening up a lot more dealer stores -- stores that just carry appliances, lawn equipment, tools, ,etc.

I see a day where the "mall" Sears is gone and Kmart and the Dealer Stores will take over that segment. 

Being flexible in this retail environment is smart. Have you seen how many retail chains have been having problems? It's not just the retail sector that's having problems, though. I just saw something in the news about the states of California and NewYork running out of money. Sheesh. Let's hope that all this bailout money and smarter ways of doing business helps us get out of this rut.

Anychance that Obama likes seeing the Sears tower in Chicago enough to earmark a little something for Sears? 

willis4play said…
Anychance that Obama likes seeing the Sears tower in Chicago enough to earmark a little something for Sears? 

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sears hasant owned that in a while now besides the last thing the people incharge of sears need is more money they didnt earn.



frankly obama should give the money direct to the comsumers to stimulate the econmy instead of furhter rewarding the CEOs etc that got rich while screwing over their employees/customers

Sears should have a best in class baby changing room.  My wife only wants to go to stores with nice ultra clean rooms.

Also you should ofter a bundled service plan that allows the custormer to add on protection aggrements to multiple applicances at a discounted price. 

That would incentivize someone who already owns a Kenmore applicance to strongly consider another Kenmore for a differnent applicance purchase.

I recently bought an appliance, and the rep said they've actually been doing fine in appliances (at that store anyway). The reality is, if a refrigerator dies, consumers don't have much choice. Whether they're buying $1,500 refrigerators or $350 refrigerators is another question...

No doubt, Kmart absolutely should be doing better in a recession environment. I still think the Sears brand is stronger though; the Kmart brand has been neglected for so long now. But, the Wal-Mart's of the world thrive during a recession as consumers move downstream. But, eventually, things will turn around, and consumers will return to the mid-level retailers.

I agree that Kmart should be doing better in this economy than Sears.  Part of Kmart's problem is that they need to get back to their core image and customers, i.e. people w/out high incomes that cannot afford Target, Sears, Macy's etc.  This is why Wal-Mart is thriving in this recessionary environmet.  Wal-Mart buys large quanties of cheap goods and sells them cheaply.  Kmart needs to focus and make sure its core products are in stock and priced comeptitively.  Focus on the bascis such as paper towels, laundry soap, HBA products.  Buy in quantities and blow them out of the door as people are looking for cheap right now.  Then when people are drawn into the store, they will be more apt to spend on some goods that will make up lower priced sales.  Run the double coupons once a month, or even expand it further to all month long.  If one store has an excess of inventory in one item such as bottled water and the smaller stores are lacking inventory, redistibute the items to the stores that need it in the district as this will help with Eddie's inventory control.  It doesn't take much to send product on the truck if it is already going onto the next store.   This will help to cut down on costs spent on excess inventory and will ensure that the stores are well stocked across the district w/ot having to clearnace the items out.  I hope that Kmart survives this recession as it is such an undervalued brand that just needs a little push to make it better.  If not we may see it sold off to Target or some other company with better managment that understands how retail works and is really interested in making a go of it.  Please don't go away Kmart!

Sears on the other hand I don't see as surviving  the recession in its current form.  The company is heavily focused on hardline products such as appliances that are higher priced and is this first to go off the list when people are broke.  Is there a reason to shop at a store if you do not need a dishwasher etc and it doesn't carry any products such as soap, food etc.  Probably not. Is there a reason to shop a store that has overpriced towels and linens when the same items are available at Kmart/ walmart at a much lower price. Probably not.  Is there a reason to spend more for the same peice of clothing that you could buy Kmart.  Probably not.  I really don't see what niche Sears fills in this environment as it is beat by Home Depot and Lowes as they offer items for the home in conjunction with hardware and lumber.  This is what draws people into these stores.  I can defianantly see that the mall based Sears as we know it dying and Eddie putting up more dealer and appliance showrooms as they are cheaper to operate and have a lower overhead. Hell, he may even sell off the brands (Craftsman, Kenmore, Diehard) to Home Depot and Lowes which is sad and one of the only reasons people continue to shop at Sears. Sears lost the boat years ago when it chose to get out of the Home Improvement retail environment and started to look more like Macy's with its softlines section.  It is pretty sad to think about what a shell this company has become since the 80's and 90's.  I remember when Sears was the place to go when you needed a TV or applaince or paint for the home. I guess this is what happens when the competition becomes more intense and managmnet fails to take note and shrpen their pencils and get to work with the right people to make the changes needed.  Hopefully, things will improve for this company as I would miss it if we lost this company as well.  This country has become too much Wal-martized that it makes me sick!

Just a customer looking at it from the outside, but if it were in my hands I'd do as I said before:

* Sears become strictly dealer stores, which do well.  They focus on appliances, tools and lawn/garden -- the three areas Sears does very well in.

* The mall Sears close down.

* Kmart stores are remodeled and revamped to include a full line of Craftsman tools, and where appropriate Sears Auto Centers.

I don't see the "mall concept" working anymore.

While lifestyle centers are emerging, I don't think the mall is dead. Particularly up north, malls aren't going anywhere. Heck, there's a couple mall expansions/renovation projects going on here now. Would Sears be wise to add stores into lifestyle centers and the like? Sure.

I think both the Sears and Kmart brands need to carve out a better niche. I think Sears is better positioned as they have some strengths which they're known for. Kmart really doesn't. Kmart used to be the cheapest, but on average, Wal-Mart is going to be now, as they have more purchasing power. Target has the cheap chic market carved out pretty well. Kmart is kind of stuck in the middle. So, the challenge there is to find a real niche, and they haven't done that yet.

As far as adding Craftsman is Kmart, I personally wouldn't have made that move. Kmart is a discount brand and Sears is not. If I'm serious about expanding both brands, I'd keep most Craftsman in Sears. But, Craftsman unveiled a less expensive Craftsman brand (Evolv), and I'd put that in Kmart too. Nike doesn't put its shoes in Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Target for a reason. (But, they do have a discount brand which they place in discount stores, as does Levi.) Nike actually pulled their shoes out of Sears as soon as the merger happened as they feared the line between Sears and Kmart would blur too much. Then again, the clothing audience is more fickle than the tool audience, so it probably doesn't matter quite as much.

While recessions are terrible, they don't last forever. And, when it ends, people will move upstream again. Wal-Mart actually had a few rough quarters when the economy was doing well. I think both brands have a purpose, but they need to do a better job of staking out their space in the market.