Sears/Kmart to close 120 stores.

[iamwhatiseem]

Christmas sales for these two outlets were down over 5% - which is of course horrendous.
Kmart closures is not the most surprising thing of the week...Sears...sad.

 

[KissMy]

But...but...Truthdosentmatter says the stimulus worked, the economy is good & getting better.

 

[rightwinger]

Will anyone notice?

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I heard today the Christmas spending in 2011 was 30% below pre-economic levels.
Can't confirm that...the numbers I see all over the net are equally all over the place.

 

[Mr Natural]

I don't wonder Sears is on the verge of going belly up.

From my own personal experience, every single Craftsman power tool I've bought in the last 10 years or so has died a premature death with no satisfaction of any kind from Sears.

Good riddance!

 

[rightwinger]

I don't wonder Sears is on the verge of going belly up.

From my own personal experience, every single Craftsman power tool I've bought in the last 10 years or so has died a premature death with no satisfaction of any kind from Sears.

Good riddance!

Sears used to be Christmas

Every kid couldn't wait for their Christmas Toy Catalogue to come out

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I don't wonder Sears is on the verge of going belly up.

From my own personal experience, every single Craftsman power tool I've bought in the last 10 years or so has died a premature death with no satisfaction of any kind from Sears.

Good riddance!

I disagree.
It is sad. Sears did well for over 100 years by selling quality products with exceptional service. Those of us old enough to remember Sears prior to Americans choosing price over everything will remember Sears as a name you could trust. Flat out truth is their stores generally sold higher quality items - it is what they did....and it worked until the "WalMart mentality" gripped America and no one was willing to buy a $30 socket wrench when you could buy a whole set for $25. This obviously over the years had a dramatic and terrible consequence to Sears.
Which BTW - is why Sears switched their revenue away from retail to finance.

 

[KissMy]

I don't wonder Sears is on the verge of going belly up.

From my own personal experience, every single Craftsman power tool I've bought in the last 10 years or so has died a premature death with no satisfaction of any kind from Sears.

Good riddance!

I disagree.
It is sad. Sears did well for over 100 years by selling quality products with exceptional service. Those of us old enough to remember Sears prior to Americans choosing price over everything will remember Sears as a name you could trust. Flat out truth is their stores generally sold higher quality items - it is what they did....and it worked until the "WalMart mentality" gripped America and no one was willing to buy a $30 socket wrench when you could buy a whole set for $25. This obviously over the years had a dramatic and terrible consequence to Sears.
Which BTW - is why Sears switched their revenue away from retail to finance.

Closing more stores means Craftsmen customers will have to drive further to swap out that broken wrench. Lowe's Kobalt guaranteed tools will become even more convenient for customers.

 

[Mr Natural]

I don't wonder Sears is on the verge of going belly up.

From my own personal experience, every single Craftsman power tool I've bought in the last 10 years or so has died a premature death with no satisfaction of any kind from Sears.

Good riddance!

I disagree.
It is sad. Sears did well for over 100 years by selling quality products with exceptional service. Those of us old enough to remember Sears prior to Americans choosing price over everything will remember Sears as a name you could trust. Flat out truth is their stores generally sold higher quality items - it is what they did....and it worked until the "WalMart mentality" gripped America and no one was willing to buy a $30 socket wrench when you could buy a whole set for $25. This obviously over the years had a dramatic and terrible consequence to Sears.
Which BTW - is why Sears switched their revenue away from retail to finance.

Closing more stores means Craftsmen customers will have to drive further to swap out that broken wrench. Lowe's Kobalt guaranteed tools will become even more convenient for customers.

Screw the broken wrench. That I could live with.

My latest and biggest gripe with Sears was the snow blower that costs me $1200 and lasted only two years and died an unrepairable death of a cracked head casting to which Sears answer to me was that I should have bought the extended warranty.

And there's been others. A weedwacker, a leaf blower, a drill, a power miter. All of which should have lasted a lot longer than they did.

If Sears goes down the tube, it's because they sell crapola.

 

[KissMy]

I disagree.
It is sad. Sears did well for over 100 years by selling quality products with exceptional service. Those of us old enough to remember Sears prior to Americans choosing price over everything will remember Sears as a name you could trust. Flat out truth is their stores generally sold higher quality items - it is what they did....and it worked until the "WalMart mentality" gripped America and no one was willing to buy a $30 socket wrench when you could buy a whole set for $25. This obviously over the years had a dramatic and terrible consequence to Sears.
Which BTW - is why Sears switched their revenue away from retail to finance.

Closing more stores means Craftsmen customers will have to drive further to swap out that broken wrench. Lowe's Kobalt guaranteed tools will become even more convenient for customers.

Screw the broken wrench. That I could live with.

My latest and biggest gripe with Sears was the snow blower that costs me $1200 and lasted only two years and died an unrepairable death of a cracked head casting to which Sears answer to me was that I should have bought the extended warranty.

And there's been others. A weedwacker, a leaf blower, a drill, a power miter. All of which should have lasted a lot longer than they did.

If Sears goes down the tube, it's because they sell crapola.

I have never been a fan of Sears power tools, just their hand tools because they were the only ones with the good warranty. For electric power tools I only buy Porter-Cable. For gas powered outdoor tools I only buy Stihl.

Best-Buy has hammered Sears on electronics. Lowe's has done the same with tools & appliances. Cabelas has lifetime clothes warranty. Wal-Mart & the Dollar Stores have hammered K-Mart.

Eddie Lampert bought into the real-estate bubble hype & held onto the Sears & K-Mart stores to make it big on these prime retail locations. He has egg on his face now that the value of these locations have plummeted.

 

[Zoom-boing]

I'm a fan of Kenmore appliances. They work for years and are cheaper than the 'name brands'. If the Sears near us goes under we'll likely go buy a new stove . . maybe a new fridge too.

 

[KissMy]

I'm a fan of Kenmore appliances. They work for years and are cheaper than the 'name brands'. If the Sears near us goes under we'll likely go buy a new stove . . maybe a new fridge too.

Kenmore appliances are good. Most of their laundry is made by Whirlpool. Frigidaire manufacture most Kenmore refrigerators. Haier, Sanyo, Danby, LG & GE make some of their appliances.

 

[Toro]

Both Sears and KMart have structural problems of their own doing.

 

[KissMy]

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said it was reviewing Sears Holdings Corp.'s credit rating for a possible downgrade deeper into junk territory Wednesday, a day after the retailer reported sales continued to slump during the key holiday season.

S&P said its move was driven by the company's disclosure that sales and margins continue to be pressured by poor performance in consumer electronics, home appliances and apparel, ...

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I disagree.
It is sad. Sears did well for over 100 years by selling quality products with exceptional service. Those of us old enough to remember Sears prior to Americans choosing price over everything will remember Sears as a name you could trust. Flat out truth is their stores generally sold higher quality items - it is what they did....and it worked until the "WalMart mentality" gripped America and no one was willing to buy a $30 socket wrench when you could buy a whole set for $25. This obviously over the years had a dramatic and terrible consequence to Sears.
Which BTW - is why Sears switched their revenue away from retail to finance.

Closing more stores means Craftsmen customers will have to drive further to swap out that broken wrench. Lowe's Kobalt guaranteed tools will become even more convenient for customers.

Screw the broken wrench. That I could live with.

My latest and biggest gripe with Sears was the snow blower that costs me $1200 and lasted only two years and died an unrepairable death of a cracked head casting to which Sears answer to me was that I should have bought the extended warranty.

And there's been others. A weedwacker, a leaf blower, a drill, a power miter. All of which should have lasted a lot longer than they did.

If Sears goes down the tube, it's because they sell crapola.

I agree, but who doesn't sell crap these days?
Someone in this thread mentioned "oh well" about losing craftsman tools and said they would just buy Kobalt from Lowes - Kobalt tools are made in China.....more American manufacturing jobs lost.
More than you might think - quite a few Kenmore appliances are made in America by various manufacturers - more American manufacturing jobs lost.
Those items you mentioned as not lasting very long - well why do you think that is? Because Sears hates their customers and enjoys ripping them off? Or is it because no one buys the more expensive and better quality ones so they, along with many other manufacturers, were forced to cut corners and have parts made in China...let me tell you...it is the latter.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Both Sears and KMart have structural problems of their own doing.

Yes...they can't compete with WalMart.

 

[Big Black Dog]

The quality of Sears products have dropped drastically. They sell crap now instead of the good stuff they used to sell. If they close, it will be a good thing.

 

[Sunni Man]

Closing more stores means Craftsmen customers will have to drive further to swap out that broken wrench. Lowe's Kobalt guaranteed tools will become even more convenient for customers.

Kobalt tools are just one step above your average piece of Chinese junk.

Craftsman hand tools are still a tough tool for the serious mechanic or handyman.

 

[Douger]

I don't wonder Sears is on the verge of going belly up.

From my own personal experience, every single Craftsman power tool I've bought in the last 10 years or so has died a premature death with no satisfaction of any kind from Sears.

Good riddance!

I agree.I have a 40 year old craftsman band saw that is the bomb.The new shit is...well....shit. Sears,like murka, was a fantastic concept that greed killed.
Thank Jodd for Makita-JP, DeWalt-DE, Bosch-DE, Hilti-CA and Truper-MX.

 

[Article 15]

Will anyone notice?

I bet their shareholders noticed. That stock got annihilated.