Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: December 1st, 2021, 10:12 pm I was recently doing a car repair and it was a Saturday (booked the appointment Friday) and they were missing one of the parts. Great, I thought- I am going to have to leave the car here. Nope, they arranged for the part to be delivered within a couple hours. It was a local Napa who did it and I watched them show up with it while I was waiting, but same general idea as how these O'Reilly special orders are handled and moved around so quickly. This was one of the biggest selling points when O'Reilly took over CSK was the ability to more quickly fulfill special orders and get more commercial/mechanic business with this delivery model. O'Reilly will also take larger former CSK Stores in a market and convert portions of the stores into mini-warehouses to further support the delivery operation.
I know several of our area repair places (even one that is part of a small chain) work like that - they stock certain things that are more common, but if you are there for a couple hours while something is worked on there may be 3 or 4 cars stopping by delivering parts for various jobs (even with only 2 stores in the area, a Carquest and a Napa).
mbz321 wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 8:42 am Funny you mention Tractor Supply as a location opened earlier in the year in a town I grew up in, in suburban PA, about 45 minutes outside Philly. My folks still live there and I visit them about once a week...the Tractor Supply never has more than a few cars in the parking lot. While there is some nearby agriculture and very small farms, the majority of the surrounding area is mcmansion neighborhoods. It just seemed like an odd place for them to set up shop. They also don't do propane refills or sell live animals due to local regulations. The store has good reviews though and has a self-serve dog wash which seems to be popular.

In the past several years, I have seen several new TrueValue stores pop up in local shopping centers, places that are distant from a Lowe's/Home Depot and they seem to be doing okay. They might all have the same ownership as they seem to all have the same store hours, but I'm not certain. There's a small chain of ACE stores already in the area.
They (Tractor Supply) usually have quite a bit that works for non-farm as well.
Lots of animal foods (dog, cat and other non-farm ones), wild feed (for those who feed the birds/squirrels etc.), some hardware stuff (like a limited paint supply, pieces for machines that even suburbs may have like lawnmowers and snow blowers). Also a small selection of clothing items and gift type stuff that may attract some.
Not sure how much they vary in different areas - seems a spot like you describe might limit the actual farm stuff.

Same goes for those TrueValue/ACE locations. If they are not too close to the bigger chains (like here we have a True Value, the next town has ACE, but you have to go 15-20 miles to either Home Depot or Lowes, in different directions), people likely go to them for everyday stuff (like when your xyz breaks and you need a replacement for it quickly), while going to the larger spots occasionally for more major needs.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

retailfanmitchell019 wrote: December 3rd, 2021, 6:36 pm Sears could've invested in the Internet 20-30 years ago and beat Amazon.
BIGGEST mistake they made was closing down the catalog. Amazon had to build the logistics and supply part of the business from the ground up and Sears had all that infrastructure already in place. They were established and they were TRUSTED. Taking all of that and putting it online would've been a natural and logical extension of their existing mail order business which they pretty much invented in the first place. And at that point, they still had the resources to invest in the necessary technology to dominate the business. Who among us didn't have a Sears catalog in their house growing up? We blame Fast Eddie for a lot of things and he deserves all of that and more but he can't be blamed for this one.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by veteran+ »

TW-Upstate NY wrote: December 4th, 2021, 10:22 am
retailfanmitchell019 wrote: December 3rd, 2021, 6:36 pm Sears could've invested in the Internet 20-30 years ago and beat Amazon.
BIGGEST mistake they made was closing down the catalog. Amazon had to build the logistics and supply part of the business from the ground up and Sears had all that infrastructure already in place. They were established and they were TRUSTED. Taking all of that and putting it online would've been a natural and logical extension of their existing mail order business which they pretty much invented in the first place. And at that point, they still had the resources to invest in the necessary technology to dominate the business. Who among us didn't have a Sears catalog in their house growing up? We blame Fast Eddie for a lot of things and he deserves all of that and more but he can't be blamed for this one.
Eruditely expressed!
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by storewanderer »

TW-Upstate NY wrote: December 4th, 2021, 10:22 am
retailfanmitchell019 wrote: December 3rd, 2021, 6:36 pm Sears could've invested in the Internet 20-30 years ago and beat Amazon.
BIGGEST mistake they made was closing down the catalog. Amazon had to build the logistics and supply part of the business from the ground up and Sears had all that infrastructure already in place. They were established and they were TRUSTED. Taking all of that and putting it online would've been a natural and logical extension of their existing mail order business which they pretty much invented in the first place. And at that point, they still had the resources to invest in the necessary technology to dominate the business. Who among us didn't have a Sears catalog in their house growing up? We blame Fast Eddie for a lot of things and he deserves all of that and more but he can't be blamed for this one.
By the time Ed Lampert came along, the damage had been done already. Sears reputation was already well on the way to being shot when he showed up; all you had to do was ask around in the early 00's to anyone who had a negative experience with Sears with regards to credit cards, repair issues, etc. It wasn't everyone but it was enough people to take note that the chain was slowly burning bridges with people even back then. This is also what made it so easy for Home Depot and Lowe's to take over the appliance business. That path of dissatisfying more and more customers simply moved at a faster and faster pace as Ed Lampert ran it.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by storewanderer »

It appears the Sears Auto Centers have 100% closed according to the notice here:
https://searsauto.com/

This closure notice only shows up via a desktop computer. The old website still seems to come up on a phone browser.

Looks like the closure is for real.
https://searskmart.force.com/onlinehelp ... anty-claim
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by Brian Lutz »

It's always one of those things you see in hindsight. One often cited example is Blockbuster Video declining an offer in 2000 to buy Netflix for $50 million.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by babs »

Brian Lutz wrote: December 7th, 2021, 10:32 am It's always one of those things you see in hindsight. One often cited example is Blockbuster Video declining an offer in 2000 to buy Netflix for $50 million.
Wasn't Netflix back then nothing more than DVDs by mail and not the streaming.guant it is today? If there is anything we can learn is that a well executed startup can blow away an established company. Blockbuster was never going to become Netflix, it took a startup lot get there. Sears would not be the Amazon of today, it was going to take an new startup to get there. GM was never going to be Tesla. The list goes on. Most established companies are either too established to change their ways or are not willing to suffer the enormous financial losses it takes to build a disruptive business.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by storewanderer »

Grass Valley Kmart is the first liquidation sale where I have seen them sell Kmart employee clothing. They have racks with hundreds of blue Kmart employee t-shirts for $3 (not clear if that is the final price or you still get 75% off that). They also had a rack of red vests (Kmart hasn't used those in a while) and for those they tacked a price sticker onto them saying they were 12.99 (I assume you got 75% off that).

At the same time they seem to be disassembling a lot of the shelving and putting it on pallets and wrapping it in plastic wrap that says to "RETURN TO SHC RETURN CENTER" which is interesting. Maybe they will consolidate the shelves somewhere and sell or scrap it all.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: December 7th, 2021, 8:18 pm Grass Valley Kmart is the first liquidation sale where I have seen them sell Kmart employee clothing. They have racks with hundreds of blue Kmart employee t-shirts for $3 (not clear if that is the final price or you still get 75% off that). They also had a rack of red vests (Kmart hasn't used those in a while) and for those they tacked a price sticker onto them saying they were 12.99 (I assume you got 75% off that).

At the same time they seem to be disassembling a lot of the shelving and putting it on pallets and wrapping it in plastic wrap that says to "RETURN TO SHC RETURN CENTER" which is interesting. Maybe they will consolidate the shelves somewhere and sell or scrap it all.
I guess there are people who want a souvenir before the chain goes under....the fact that they are selling employee vests etc. tells me that there isn't much time left.

But 6 months from now (assuming that the chain finally goes under) we might see this stuff show up at thrift stores.

As for the shelving, that has been going on at every closing store I have visited. My guess is that, at this point, it will be scrapped or sold. They should have an ample supply of spares, most of which they no longer need, at this point.
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Re: Is 2021 finally the end for Sears/Kmart?

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: December 4th, 2021, 8:40 pm It appears the Sears Auto Centers have 100% closed according to the notice here:
https://searsauto.com/

This closure notice only shows up via a desktop computer. The old website still seems to come up on a phone browser.

Looks like the closure is for real.
https://searskmart.force.com/onlinehelp ... anty-claim
Some wording there is an easy way to weasel out of a warranty. Particularly with tire balancing and alignments:

Lifetime Tire Balance on Sears purchased tires

Must not have made a previous lifetime tire balance claim.

Lifetime Alignment Agreement

Must not have made a previous lifetime alignment claim.

3 Year Alignment Agreement

Must not have made a previous lifetime alignment claim.
Must be within 3 years of service date

1 Year Alignment Agreement

Must not have made a previous lifetime alignment claim.
Must be within 1 year of service date

It sounds like they won't honor the lifetime balance/alignment warranty if you have ever used it?

As well as one of the last things stated:

Please note that while we value your feedback and take all concerns seriously, we may not follow up with you on each individual concern.

And I saw another article on the website about how to submit a Craftsman tool warranty claim, making me wonder if Lowe's and other retailers are not honoring the lifetime warranty:

https://searskmart.force.com/onlinehelp ... anty-claim

At this point, don't expect them to be there for any warranty issues.
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