Like everyone else my age, Christmas time growing up was dominated by a Sears catalog in which one could circle any of the fabulous toys (and, yes, Mom, I picked some clothing, too) one wanted. That didn't necessarily meant they would be bought from there, but it still made Sears the center of the retail mindset.
I think I wandered through a nearby Sears three or four years ago, which looked even then like a remainders sale at an already bankrupt firm. At this point, I can't lament its (likely, impending) passing, but can regret the impact of those large chunks of real estate going unoccupied, and the workers at those stores having to find new jobs.
Sears, once the world’s biggest retailer, now faces bankruptcy
Unable to keep up with e-commerce, the 125-year-old company hasn’t turned a profit since 2010.
I'm convinced the Sears leadership thought e-commerce was a fad that would pass in a few years.
+Keith Wilson Yeah, but there's more to it than that. Why are Sears and K-Mart failing so hard, but Target (to take an analogous example) or Walmart are apparently succeeding? It's not just the e-commerce part of it.
I'm going to miss Sears, though I haven't bought much from them recently. For me, and for years, it was the go-to spot for bedding, appliances, and the guaranteed-forever Craftsman tools.
While I agree they never adapted to the internet, I always thought that their various buyouts, restructurings, and reinventings felt more like arbitrage than investment in the core business. I guess I'm getting old, but I don't think internet retail is better.
The last time I was in a K-mart only 2 cashiers were working even with long lines. Half the lights were turned off, I assume to save power. This was about 3PM about a year ago. They certainly had the customers and all the shelves were fully stocked, but they only had a skeleton crew of employees, which gives a bad impression.
If I remember correctly, they, like Toy R Us, are owned by a hedge fund that is busy dumping debt on to sears and Kmart.
+Stan Pedzick I seem to recall the same thing.
+Dave Hill looked it up and it is. Sears Holding company is owned by ESL hedge fund. Both are run by a guy who is a Randian.
+Stan Pedzick Yeah, the story actually goes into that a bit.
Bankruptcy is the only way they can get away with stealing their employee-s retirement funds, as they paid their shareholders before thinking of their employee who have worked for them for years with being devoted employee-s now they bankroll it into a bankruptcy which to me would be illegal as the shareholders that held shares in the Corporation should be held accountable for the slush fund sent their way. Bad investments is the blame game of Canada. I went bankrupt because of a boyfriend who said he would make payments and pay the insurance, youpie doodah, he never put a red dime into the red car I had put my credit on and he is the one who laughed his way out of my life leaving me with a car I never used, I sold mine in 2002 and never regretted it, so what goes around comes around, he is now losing his voice box to cancer.
Yeah. The Sears owner had the nutty idea that departments should compete with each other.
+Kee Hinckley I had forgotten that, how very Randian.