wal-mart prices will soar off the lack of competition...has always wal-mart wins... f wal-mart...

not a surprise a problem we dont need more people out of work in times like these. Think of the unemployment rate.

Sears management fumbled on the Sears Grand concept, didn't bother moving along with the plan to convert all Kmart stores to Sears, never even tried to close the mall-anchored stores as promised, and failed to capitalize on the broad success of their charitable giving programs (as crappy as it sounds, companies should take advantage of the good image they receive for charity...it's what makes the world of corporate charity go round).

Bob, your point is very important, too. What many Americans fail to realize is that Wal-Mart will take a hit on single-store profits, as long as it's to run a competitor out of town...but right as soon as the enemy closes it's doors, they stabilize their prices at above-market points. They also make heavy utilization of their low-price-point strategy where one item from each range of items (say, a toaster) is made to extremely low quality standards and sold at an unbelievable low price, but anything above it is situated at a higher-than-market point.

Sears' major problem is that they are unwilling to address the store physical conditions. They need to make the shopping experience more appealing and they know it however, they're unwilling to address it for some reason.

The reason WalMart is the nations largest retailer, and probably the store that gets the most returned items this season because of the lack of quality, almost everything, including many, many items in their grocery areas are made in China or are not from the USA.

It is tough for any store to compete with cheap.

What they need to do is stop trying to put one of their credit cards in my hand every time I go to make a purchase. I'm sick of stores asking for me to sign up for credit or for an email address or if I want of their frequent buyers cards. I come to buy something, not get asked 20 questions in the checkout line.

I can tell you why they are closing. Their products and services not only cost more, but good luck getting your name or address corrected.

We tried to correct the spelling on my wife's name 15 years ago. We finally just let it go. Yesterday my father in law bought two vcr's on sale. First, they aren't at the store, but offered free delivery to his home. He got home only to discover that the delivery address was wrong. He called, explained the problem to the first person, got transfered to the second. Explained the problem to the second person, got transferred to the third, who actually had the authority to change the address. I overheard him say several times "Look, forget Lyndora, it has not been our address for four years"

One of those transfers was definitely to someone overseas.

And that is just some of the many reasons, that chain is failing.

Horrible mismanagement and their online prices are ridiculous. Ipad 2 16gb wifi only for 749.99 but according to them the most basic ipad retails for 849.99 so youre saving $100. Its a steal.

Sears downfall started when they sold the Sears Tower in 1994.

The final nail in the coffin for Sears was when they merged with K-Mart.

Our governor just made a big tax credit deal with Sears to keep it in Illinois for 10 years. I guess he wasn't reading the tea leaves. I don't think Sears will be around in the next 10 years.

Sure they will be...they'll just be called JCPenney :)

If we are going to save our economy then we all need to band together and BOYCOTT WALMART!!!! They are slowly destroying our economy!!!

Sears and Kmart are going the way of all the department stores of the past (Woolworth's, etc.). They let their stores go to ruin and refuse to invest major money into revamping. They also can't compete against Walmart and Target on pricing. People need a reason to walk through your door. If the prices are too high and the store looks run down, no one shows up. Craftsman tool sales aren't going to cut it.

Today I will not buy anything from china or vietnam and support a communist government. How about you?? Start the movement!! Over 58,000 AMERICANS died in vietnam fighting communism and now we support a communist government. When did we become so greedy that we as AMERICANS do this??

When is the last time a boycott has worked.

guess you won't be buying much of anything. try looking at the sticker on a new 'american' car..see what is made in what country..comes from all over the world.

what another idot we have JOHN SKAGGS its not the Chinese you need to blame its your own Americans CEO's are sending the jobs there you cannot blame another type of people or country that open there markets its the Americans who decide to go over there to make things china did not put a gun to there heads and say you have to go and makes clothes or what ever it is... Is our fault as a nation who choose to go over there and make garbage look at yourself first before you blame other countries... and its not the economy why sears is in the crap there in it is called american greed and bad business practices

Sears has attempted to be status quo YEARS ago. There was a time they were a competitive company who was on the cutting edge of the near perfect business model... then came extreme changes in their hiring practices and they put women and minorities to equal a certain percentage of their workforce and they got out of the retail business and redirected their resources to playing games with social economics. Affirmative Action at its highest degree began to suck the life out of their winning business model. They lost a lot of talent in the process.

Instead of opening the doors to promoting individuals with strong business instincts regardless of race or sex.. they played a numbers game to look good on paper. They also started a practice of investing less money in poor and middle class areas, and a little more in upper class stores. The problem is they never evened out their business model and now all of their stores look like junk.

To me its a sad day that what once was the biggest retailer in the world has become a joke in our country. They started as an inspiration to retailers and again..were on the cutting edge in their business model and are now nothing more than the store you walk by to get to the ones you want to get to.

Gosh - I hope the executives are not going to lose their bonuses over this.

Behind Enemy Lines:

EVERYTHING is made in China; including the upper retail stores merchandise.. Check Labels, thorougly check your American made Car for Chinese auto parts---Foreign Luxury Cars are not solely without Chinese parts, either.

A sticker of merchandise made in USA, is hardly true. Profit is the bottom line.

Sears no longer fits into any category as a unique kind of Dept. Store--the competition is enormous. It lost it's punch-- it was more a store for the people living life in the 50's. Same with K-Mart. That was their Discount store for Shopping; the same goes for Penney's. Penney's will be next.

Walmart hardly has the amount of returns going back, because of poor Quality. That is an overstatement.

The greatest returns are the shoppers at stores like Nordstrom, etc. They are the people who wear and return the clothes 1 yr. later. Nordstrom, etc. pride themselves on excellent Customer Service--as their merchandise is marked up about 1,000 per cent; most of it made in China. That Store is not for a value shopper. It is for people who want fake status, and get taken by extorting your dollar for c------------- retail goods. How about their Designer Cosmetic/fragrance Departments---what a profit!

Sears did have great appliances, auto, etc. at one time. They have many lawsuits against them, because they do not honor their customer paid fo Guarantee Policy. The customer pays for to repair on large ticket items, when it supposed to be "free".. .Been there, done that.

Walmart, Target, Dollar Stores fit the sign of the bad Economy right now-

Their problem is Kmart has never really been price effective and neither has Sears at least in recent years. Anything Sears sells can be bought on line and delivered for far less money. I love Sears products but they are not priced to sell so I buy what they are selling but elsewhere. Kmart well I just have seen no use to shop there, the one in our small town has no inventory and the stores of both Sears and Kmart are just run down and trashy. I find a better experience and cheaper deals shopping from my PC. I wish it weren't so because I do hate Walmart with their two out of 50 cashiers open policy, I've never bought anything of any expense there other than groceries..

That being said I did buy a 50% off display model Christmas tree ornaments and all yesterday from Kmart and even that really wasn't the best deal for an after Christmas tree.

The reason WalMart is the nations largest retailer, and probably the store that gets the most returned items this season because of the lack of quality, almost everything, including many, many items in their grocery areas are made in China or are not from the USA.

Sorry to disagree -- Wal Mart is the biggest because they know how to drive the competition out of town. No more, and no less. Wal Mart was built by emulating the KMart distribution model (which is why Sears had a glimmer in their eye about KMart), which is only successful when you're the only volume leader.

NN Newyork, not sure what an idot is, but you are right about the ceo's sending jobs to china and vietnam, but we as consumers caused this by demanding cheap crap and more return on our investments. Now we can stop it. All we have to do is stop buying it. Sometimes the simple strategy really does work. madeinusa.com.

I still maintain that we as Americans should never be supporting communism. You do it if you want to, for me I choose not to.

Joh Skaggs and NN Newyork: "We have met the enemy and he is us" POGO

"There's no reason to go to Sears,"................... "It offers a depressing shopping experience and uncompetitive prices."

If I were CEO and My mom were still alive, she'd make me write this one hundred times!

@Wally: The last time we seen a boycott work was with Bank of America over their debit card fees. Are people's memories so short that they have already forgotten one of the few times that consumers did something without the help of big brother and got actual results?

I know these times have made people jaded but my god... The consumer took the bull by the horns and won. It can be done if people just actually do it and not just complain about it.

Unlike the government, private business cannot force your wallet open. They cannot exist without your consumer dollar. If you put your money where your mouth is things can change.

Sears could turn things around if they had the freedom to restructure. Completely rebuild the business model from scratch. They are trying to survive on a worn idea in worn stores with too many hands trying to bleed the thing dry. A bankruptcy that would shake off the greedy shareholders (well, not so much greedy as having expectations past Sears/KMart exec's promised but could never meet. Common corporate model- steal everything now, promise to pay it back and then some in the future, duck out the door with all the cash leaving everyone with nothing). Clear of all financial obligations they'd have to scrap the idea of being the middle class retailer and low cost leader at the same time- sell Kmart (ugly Walmart's even uglier cousin) or sell Sears (Dorky JC Penny's even dorkier, shabbier cousin), and work on one at a time. It's kind of a joke, TWO bad companies merging into one company that owns two bad companies. Didn't they watch Rainman? "Raymond, KMart sucks."

After one beast was torn down, all obligations cast off (I'd say loose KMart), they could focus on something that makes Sears unique. Currently it's a loser on every front. Their tools are cheap/poor quality (you can find better/cheaper at Harbor Freight), their clothing is middle of the road, their power equipment is stuff you'd find at Lowe's/Home Depot, their appliances at Best Buy, HH Gregg, etc. They have to rediscover who their customer is and tap that button. It would help if they replaced the burned out bulbs in their signs too.

Heck, why do they even sell anything that isn't private label? why not build a valuable private label of products that are better quality/cheaper than what can be found elsewhere? That's what people want. They don't want the same old crap you can find elsewhere because that makes them look elsewhere.

Not sure how the mismanagement of K-mart and Sears are related to President Obama, but I guess some people blame him for everything.

Bill Tobin: You are right, but we can change this. WE the people have that power if we just use it.

@Memphis

How stupid a comment is that.

Did Obama kill Circuit City? Oh wait, that was the Bush years.

How about Montgomery Ward. Oh wait, that was Reagan.

Get a grip.

Wal Mart is an American Company. Started by Sam Walton in Arkansas. This is going to be the Downfall of SEARS....Sears Holdings said it also plans to lower its fixed costs by $100 million to $200 million and trim its 2012 peak domestic inventory by $300 million from 2011's $10.2 billion at the third quarter's end. Basically This means they are going to start selling Products "NOT MADE IN AMERICA". They already are selling stuff NOT Made in America. Just look at Labels,check inside the Fridge and you will see,MADE IN MEXICO". Don't believe me,Go Look Now.

Their Stores are a throwback experience,Which in todays World,Don't mean anything, except, We have products still on the shelves from 10yrs ago,and at a HIGH PRICE. Because, They have products Made In America. Yes, that is a problem, because the Unions have ruined Product lines by causing them to be so Overpriced the Average Person can't afford them. MONEY and PRICING are ALWAYS the Bottom Line in Retail. Get into the 21st Century Sears. Maybe then You can Make your Billions in Sales.

BTW,What are they going to do about the Military Personnel coming HOME? They pride themselves in Keeping the jobs open for Them and Paying the Difference in Salary, as compared to the Military,and Now they're going to close the Stores. DUH, Don't they just Look Good to the Public Now. Oh yeah, They don't know how many jobs will be Lost if Any. This is the Stupidest statement I have EVER HEARD.

Can't blame Obama for this one, but his policies certainly aren't helping the economy get back on its feet!

The housing crisis / mortgage fraud initiated by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank with help from fannie and freddie can take credit for much of Sears' problems and many other struggling retailers!

Some of you may think the shopping experience has nothing to do with success. I disagree, albeit I don't shop this way. Many people are sold based on layout and presentation which is everything to do with an item. As hard as it is to believe many people don't shop based on reviews and quality they are impulse buyers and presentation is what sells them. This is more people than you would believe, look at what sold the nations highest office, presentation not substance. Based on that Sears needs to remodel to get that part of the buying nation and the other half needs to be won back through service and quality at a fair price.

Wallly: I don't remember reading that Obama made Sears be uncompetitive, keeping it's stores filthy,it's sales force a joke and it's merchandise lackluster. Exactly what are you arguing for: a government takeover of bad retail?

Always Another: You are skipping some basic economics: Retailers don't survive without selling something consumers want to buy. The US is not going to remain competitive by the race to the bottom in making cheap junk. Stop blaming China for what a US failure: this isn't the 1950's...we actually have to compete now and we're not going to compete by making the cheapest tennis shoes with the poorest paid workforce.

If our economy is in the crapper as deep as the politicians and economist tell us it is, where exactly did the half trillion dollars spent on Christmas shopping come from??

Everyone seems to have their own spin on this and this is mine.

Sears sells credit. They want you to purchase items in their stores using their company credit card. They hope you don't pay the for the merchandise all at once, they want you to pay in installments. They charge you 30% interest for doing this. So that washer & dryer that was 25% off is suddenly not a bargain. While VISA and Mastercard offer rebates or free air faire, etc, Sears offers nothing. Other than their Craftsman tools with its lifetime warranty, they have nothing I can't find somewhere else.

K-Mart had its own problems. Highly under trained minimum wage employees, stores located in the poorer sections of towns, they made you feel like it was a "trailer trash" shopping experience, Blue light specials anyone?. Wal-Mart put there stores right off the freeways with easy access. In the town I live in there was a K-Mart store, Wal Mart put in a new store and within a year the K-Mart store was closed.

This year I bought 90% of my gifts on line. Most had free delivery and no sales tax. I pay 9.75% sales tax where I live. If I order from Sears on line I have to pay state sales tax, if I order from Amazon I do not. Sears needs to completly change their sales stratigy. They went from a leader to an also ran.

Sears, cut your credit card interest rate by at least 10%, hell you are borrowing the money at 3-4%. Offer free store merchandise or free vacations when your credit card is used. Until you change how you do business, myself and millions of other customer will continue to go elsewhere.

My town has purposely not allowed much in the way of retail in our borders. We have a Kmart that has been here probably ever since there was a Kmart and Target store that was built maybe 3 years ago. Now I never go to the Kmart. Their prices are not competive, the merchandise on the shelves is often in disarry. The place is shabby/tired not any modernizing or upgrading of the store ever. When you get to the checkout there is usually a long line not because of the volume of shoppers but because they never have enough cashiers(usually only one). That one cashier is usually badly trained and/or a extremely slow 88 year old. The only good thing about the Sears/Kmart merger is now Kmart carries Craftsman tools.

Alwaysanother:

Today is "A Throw Away Society".

People today do not care about quality for something that will last them many, many years. It is value for the dollar everyone wants when spending their hard earned dollar..

Today's generation is very mobile, leaving their less expensive belongings behind. Garage/Yard Sales are no longer in vogue anymore. No one has the time or patience to make a few bucks for few bucks.

Sears does not fit the economic times of today---it did not find it's niche in the future retail market. There are too many speciality discount stores out there, including hi-tech products.

Walmart, other Discount Stores have got the pulse of America's buying today.

Sears needed a swift change of futuristic CEO's.

Please excuse my grammatical/typo errors in my first post.

John Skaggs:

I bet you have tons of items with Made in the USA Label, that have parts/products made in China, or other parts of the Global World. No longer are there pure goods Made in the USA. That would mean every piece and part was manufactured here--Not. Employment would be a lot higher with people working in factories here.

This is a real Scam. Profit, Profit, and more Profit-

Texas Jeans, made in Ahseboro, NC. 100%. Lots of items are made here. It just takes time to find them. My wife just bought a leather purse 100% made in USA. Cost less than the chinese crap at kohl's. It is entirely up to us to look for products made here. A product with a few parts in it made in a foreign country is better that the whole product made in a foreign country. Would you rather support a chinese family or an American family? As for me, I'm trying not to support communism. My friends will tell you that I absolutely refuse to buy anything made in vietnam. Gave that damn country everything I intend to back in '69.

Sears downfall started when they sold the Sears Tower in 1994.

That's silly. Their downfall started when Americans decided that cheap foreign crap was preferable to reasonably-priced, decent quality, domestic products.

The full blame for the failure of first local retailers, and then national brick-and-mortar chains, is the behavior of the American consumer. That's not to say that the retailers didn't make any mistakes, but businesses have always taken risks and make mistakes in doing so. The ingredient in the mix that had changed was the buying habits of the American public.

The final nail in the coffin for Sears was when they merged with K-Mart.

They didn't. Sears failed, and K-Mart bought them.

They didn't. Sears failed, and K-Mart bought them.

No they didn't. Read more into the details.

Yeah, they did. Read more into the details.

Ack! Show my age: I LOVED Queen! Off the wall songs that were fun. But if you were a "Fat Bottom Girl" then, nobody cared, because Queen said they made the world go 'round. LOL ;)

I used to be a loyal customer until 20 years ago. A set of expensive Goodyear tires I bought from Sears cracked on the sidewall. They refused to replace them, claiming it was a road hazard and I had not purchased that insurance from them. Some time later, a Goodyear store manager said that failure was caused by age and that they would make good on those tires. As could be expected, I had not saved the failed tires, so it was too late. The only thing I purchased from Sears since then was a drain hose for my daughter's Kenmore washing machine. I also had a bad experience when I took my car back to a Sears automotive shop after an alignment. I thought it had not been done right. In exchange for my complaint, the mechanic loosened the bolt in the gear selector for the automatic transmission. I parked my car at the grocery store and although it was in park, it started to roll away. I discovered the loose bolt shortly thereafter. At that time, I just blamed it on one ignorant individual. The later experience with the tires convinced me I was doing business with the wrong people. Sears and Kmart will never see me again in their stores.

Really???? Take up all this space, for what?We talking about sears, dumb azz

Oh Well - It's only cyber space- Get real...

And another thing, the Kenmore dishwasher we had leaked water. When I was overseas at a LORAN station, in the Coast Guard, a Sears appliance repair technician inverted the ceramic seal above the motor, exposing the rough side, which caused a worse leak and ruined the motor. When I ordered the motor, I got a free retro fit gasket kit for the door, which was the original cause of the leak. Not the kind of service you expect from a national chain.

Softdude: How many good experiences did you have if you were a loyal customer? Did the one bad one cancel out all the years of good experiences?

Hope you've been a model husband. By your standards, one slip-up in the husbanding department and you're out, no matter how many good experiences.

Puh-lease .....

oh no...not that larry...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W4AoMG6MSQ&feature=related

Softdude no offense as I know this is a service they offer but never take your vehicle to a place that is a deparment store for mechanic work. Also I know your frustration on repairs but in all honesty that is a problem they should address with thier repair party A&E which is the repair company for almost everyone. They have issues not exactly Sears fault as they really have nobody else to contract to in most cases.

Sears repairmen will break stuff on purpose, or claim it's broken, so they can jack up the repair bill. I got this from a Sears repairman. It's not internet rumors.

I feel for you Softdude. I thought being sent to Thule, Greenland was bad until I talked to some Coasties who had been stationed at a Loran station in the Aleutian Islands.

buy some thing at Sears then try to get an adjustment or return because of poor quality workmanship .. they give you the run around ... Montgomery Wards had poor service and they are now out of business even though their products were of better quality than Sears

mshawaii808,

boo fkng hoo, I guess you're really gonna lose sleep and get bleeding ulcers because I put song lyrics on the fkng internet.

Dude, if something that microscopically trivial really bothers you that damn much then you need professional help and you really need to get a life. You must be a friggin nut case. Go see a shrink 'cause you r e a l l y need one.

Unless you said it 20 years ago, you're a little slow on the uptake.

Sorry, but K-Mart is the anchor, not Sears.

I agree Sears is not the problem

KMart will only slow the downward spiral.

I would say KMart hastened it. I still can't understand how everyone seems to believe that KMart was a reformed and productive brand after the bankruptcy...they were mostly lucky to make it through the reorganization, and were leveling out.

KMart's motivation to merge with Sears was because of two things...to avoid the eventual realization that KMart stores were experiencing an artificial bump, and to hide that by slapping a Sears logo on every KMart nationwide. They got called out on this because they failed to maintain profit margins at KMart stores, and failed to re-badge those stores before anyone noticed.

They both are problems.

Actually KMart had been bankrupt, reorgainized to become profitable again. Kmart was in great shape and able to buy Sears, who was in trouble.

They can eliminate those 100+ stores, but that only stalls a total failure unless they eliminate the poor front offices. Bad staffing in lower positions is the results promoting the wrong people to management by the people at the top.

That was his point, K-Mark is slowing the demise of Sears because it is the anchor.

I have it on good advice from a former Sears executive that the reason Sears bought K-Mart out of bankruptcy was for the profitability of the real estate from the closed and soon to be closed stores. Sears has always been short-sighted with their decisions. Selling off their profitable credit and credit card divisions is one example. Trying to go upscale in the 80's alienated their core customers is another example. I remember in a college marketing class studying Montgomery Wards decision not to expand after WWII and it leading to it's failure. Obviously the Sears execs did not take that class in college! The dodo bird is extinct because it was always looking backwards...didn't see the predators in front of them!

Actually KMart had been bankrupt, reorgainized to become profitable again. Kmart was in great shape and able to buy Sears, who was in trouble.

A few clarifications:

1. Kmart did not buy Sears. Kmart bought Sears stores, making them Sears' landlord for all of a few months. Sears Holdings Corp in turn bought Kmart Holdings in turn. This was done to avoid FTC intervention.
2. Kmart was trading at half the price of Sears at the time, hence the stock split of Sears shares. Kmart had a great deal more outstanding shares at the time as well.
3. Bankruptcy protection gave Kmart the flexibility to renegotiate their debts, and the pending sale to Sears gave creditors the confidence they needed in order to fend off the liquidation of Kmart assets that the creditors would otherwise sought.
4. The liquidation of inventory that Kmart underwent during bankruptcy gave them an artificial bump that proved to be just that after the failure to remarket the Kmart brand following the "merger."
5. The venerability of the Kmart distribution network proved to be a bad bet for Sears. Sears was actually quite strong at the time, but placed a sizeable bet that Kmart's distribution network would propel them into the position to compete with Wal-Mart, since their own distribution network was not sufficient to pull off a suitable challenge to Wal Mart.
6. Sears' plans for the merger were effectively killed as a result of a huge mistake in integrating the Kmart leadership for a statutory period after the completion of the merger. Kmart's CEO and adopted board members unraveled a major plan to dump low quality in-store Kmart brands, relabel and refurbish all Kmart stores (with the exception of in Michigan, the home of Kmart) as Sears Grand and Sears Essentials stores. The dumping of these and many other plans proved to be the downturn of the entire combined organization.

Believe me when I say it, Kmart in many more ways than one, hastened the downfall of both Sears and Kmart. Before this merger, Sears' only problem was it's inability to keep pace with Wal-Mart and Target...now they suffer from a veritable number of issues that are directly linked to Kmart's inability to compete at any level.

K-Mart bought Sears. In fact, K-Mart sold real estate to Sears and then K-Mart used that money to buy Sears. They just kept the Sears name because people thought more of it than the K-Mart name.

I have it on good advice from a former Sears executive that the reason Sears bought K-Mart out of bankruptcy was for the profitability of the real estate from the closed and soon to be closed stores.

Actually, all retailers know that used big-box real estate is a crap shoot...most other stores can't utilize another store's layout, especially Kmart. The real reason was the distribution network.

Sears has always been short-sighted with their decisions. Selling off their profitable credit and credit card divisions is one example.

When I was at Sears, this was a constant subject matter. You're right...the sale to Citibank was a very short-sighted decision, as was the spin-off of Allstate, Discover, and many more.

Sears execs were ill-prepared to fight Kmart execs for the completion of the intended measures following the merger. That was the real killer here.

I have heard rumor that Sears Mexico (owned by a private investor) might be angling for the purchase of Sears, which I think would be the only thing that could save Sears from the tangled mess it got into with Kmart.

K-Mart bought Sears. In fact, K-Mart sold real estate to Sears and then K-Mart used that money to buy Sears. They just kept the Sears name because people thought more of it than the K-Mart name.

No they didn't. What you are saying is true, the real estate was sold to shore up enough money to buy Sears Stores, a single division of Sears Holdings, then Sears Holdings bought Kmart Holdings. If you can't understand that, I would avoid making your own investment decisions. It's simple business mechanics.

Since Sears Holdings was the parent of Sears stores and all other subs, and Kmart Holdings was the same for Kmart, and Sears Holdings bought Kmart Holdings, it's pretty evident who bought who. Again, this was done to avoid FTC intervention.

ren, give us a break..... you begin all of your self serving posts with:

Said it before.....

You must be the smartest guy in the world, or maybe you just want us to believe you are....!

Our country is dumbing down, no one cares about grammar anymore. BTW "Author" is singular, and "their" is plural. It should read "his" grammar. Just a thought. Still loved your post.

ShellyRose, "proofreads" is one word. Grammar is as important as spelling.

Oh, Good Lord! No more Christmas presents to play with, children?

It was a bit painful to read and the poor writing and obvious errors detracted from the content. One expects buzzword gibberish in a quote, which scored high on the "try and sound like something significant is being said while saying very little" scale, though one also expects better than third-grade writing. My apologies to third-graders for the comparison. ;-)

Yes, and if you are standing on a plain, and it is raining, there's a good chance you are in Spain. Hmmmmmmmm. Yeeeeeeeeeees.

ren: When there is no indication of gender given, as was the case with this article, the use of the word their is perfectly acceptable.

From dictionary.com:

(used after an indefinite singular antecedent in place of the definite masculine form his or the definite feminine form her ): Someone left their book on the table. Did everyone bring their lunch?

Conservative1:
It was a bit painful to read and the poor writing and obvious errors detracted from the content. One expects buzzword gibberish in a quote, which scored high on the "try and sound like something significant is being said while saying very little" scale, though one also expects better than third-grade writing. My apologies to third-graders for the comparison. ;-)

LOL, do you not have children that text message? Talk about ripping the English language and grammar! It's going to be that those of us who actually TRY to get it right ("try" being the operative word), are going to be the minority, and the laughing stock of the future.

I love English, American English, it's so flexible. One can mutilate grammar and syntax and yet be understood by all who speak it. One poster opined, "The English language is die-ing a slow and painful death"; the King's English, maybe. But the English language will still be required for communication throughout the world.

Agreed. :)

their dunkin their donuts

I thought no one except me really cared about grammar or spelling until now.

keep the faith

They're dunkin' their donuts?

"When is the last time a boycott has worked."

Montgomery bus boycott is the only one I can think of.

Actually I am completely out of stock and into investment corporate bonds 6-7% and NO I will never own sears. Or Kmart.

I think they found their niche about 10 years ago when you could go there and buy ANYTHING and it was top quality.

Now, they are selling subpar products, poor customer service and they jacked the prices up. As consumers wise up (thanks to reviews, blogs, etc.), people are going to stop shopping at places that sell POS products. It's common sense, not a bad economy as Sears is claiming.

As a former employee they need to hire people who know what they are doing. It was terrible that myself and 2 others had to help the store manager everyday.He did not know anything. Plus half the employees could not answer any questions in their departments.

LMAO ren! :D I wouldn't be caught dead with those stocks in my portfolio either. It's time we all accepted that Sears is dying. The world is changing, and when you don't keep up with the changes, you slowly die a horrible death. Sad, but true. I remember shopping at Sears way back in the 80s, and getting the best customer service experience - I would have gladly paid more for items nowadays if Sears would have kept the same level of customer service.

Anyways, good luck with your future Ren. You've given an ex-Navy sailor a few laughs. :)

I will never own sears. Or Kmart.

Ren,

We all KNOW you won't/can't buy K-Mart stock...you sure know the stock market!

Sears has found a very marketable tool to re-engage their niche, the weekend warriors. Their "Manage My Life" online tool engages customers needing help on their DIY repairs with the best of Sears repair technicians.

If they could capitalize on that as well as restore the "pro" image of their hard lines, they could very well bounce back.

What you wrote makes me wonder what sets Bloomingdales and Nordstrom apart and they make money? Is it service? Probably. The minute you walk in, the sales person is in your face trying to help. At Sears you walk around trying to find help and there is none. You're on your own. I used to buy their shoes in the shoe department and then they let the shoe sales staff go, and I have to scrounge around boxes and find the shoes I want. Not good.

And don't let me get started with their womens' clothing -- just not up to par. If I were Sears management I would hire everybody in the buying and merchandising dept from Nordstrom.

Sally, Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's vs. Sears. Heheheheheh. Funny comparison. Sears sells average stuff you can get anywhere for much lower prices. Nordrstrom and Bloomingdale's sells the good stuff. You have to pay more for it but you get good value, plain and simple. Sears is average/poor at everything. Their tools are a joke. I'm embarrassed for them when they advertise Craftsman. Have you ever bought a Craftsman router? If you did you probably ruined whatever it was you used it on because they're junk, along with most of their tools.

The only thing I've bought from them that I thought was worthwhile was the Land's End products, but that's really just one of those flukes that has nothing to do with Sears. It's more like an accident where someone considered putting at least one quality product on the sales floor. A Sears buyer probably got drunk at a party, saw the neighbor's wife wearing a Land's End coat and thought if his crappy company carried the brand he'd get laid, or something to that effect.

To dustin. Its true that they have become weekend warriors thru the net. I would not allow AE tech to my house even if u paid. me. They have a horrible reputation=no training reputation on the field. Sorry my friend.

And their sneaky add ons (service contracts) make you feel like your just a target.

You do realize that you have to agree to, sign for, and pay for these contracts don't you? As a matter of fact, Sears' Point Of Sale systems are intentionally set up to make the sales of service contracts more difficult than the average store (Best Buy), as a measure to protect customers.

If you find the process to be sneaky, I'd say that a lot can get by you very easily.

If you bought an appliance on-line from them before last week the service contract was automatically added to the bill!! If you didn't notice it in the fine print ( and who would think to check) you got an unpleasant surprise. A consumer advocate got caught in this manner and had the clout to get Sears to stop the policy. Sears apologised and stopped doing it. Keep up with the news before you criticise others.

Grampa, you hit the nail straight on the head. We as Americans are looking for the cheapest way out, not the best way. Who fixes their on-line purchase when it breaks?

I was shopping at Sears last week with a friend who was buying tools for her son; she balked at the higher prices on Craftsman tools and was looking at the cheaper Chinese items. I threatened her with bodily harm if she bought the cheap ones! She also didn't like the higher prices on the blue-handled Channellock tools. I explained to her that they are made 20 miles from me and that I have friends and neighbors who work there. And that I have never broken one of their tools. Highest quality.

Oh, by the way, next time you look at a ViseGrip tool, check out where it's made. (Hint: it's not USA) Think I'll but more of them? Doubtful.

I've been buying Craftsman tools since 1966 and still have most of them after 45 years. When I did have a problem, Sears either fixed the problem or gave me a new one. Never a problem with service.

Sorry to see Sears declining. Sad.

Bill, your story demonstrates the important difference between 'cheap right now' and genuinely being less expensive AND less frustrating and time consuming in the long run. Americans are just...what...too stupid or too impatient to think about long-term impacts of their decisions. It is so much more sensible to sometimes pay more on the front end, then to keep buying forever to replace the cheap crap that doesn't last. I always loved Sears tools, and their appliances used to be top-notch. Not as much anymore, but still I have found Kenmore to be good products.

Well Said.....

I will shop at Target before KMart or Sears. Bright, clean stores. Good selection and quality. Competitive price. It's a no-brainer. KMart stores are dingy, and since I stay away from malls, I haven't been in a Sears store for years, and the few times I did go, they didn't have what I was looking for.

txmom32,

"....Try to get service or repair from them...they will gladly sell a service contract then...they just can't manage to follow through when the contract is in play."

I never buy anyone's service contracts. I figure it's just a gimmick to get more money from the customer. In most cases, nothing goes wrong with whatever you have bought until after the service contract would have run out anyway, and, of course, the sellers know that will be the case. I also think Sears is over-priced, too. I have bought things there that I have later found elsewhere at a much cheaper price.

I find it interesting when a salesperson ( working on commision ) at these stores will spend so much time espousing the quality and durability of the product they are recommending; yet, once they complete the sale, they push service contracts ' in case ' something goes awry in the first year after purchase.

I know I sound like I'm on here cheering for Sears, but I really have to finish pointing out some inaccuracies that are propagating here:

I went through the process of waiting on their repair people three separate times

The likelihood that you experienced a missed appointment is pretty slim (as the tech would have to have come by no matter how late they finished the previous appt), and three would have resulted in numerous people losing their jobs (I know, I used to work for that division). Appointments are taken very seriously at Sears and heavy hands come down in the event of late or missed appointments.

My darling dear one swore off Craftsman tools after being a loyal customer for over 30 years when they gave him grief over an exchange from a Christmas gift that did not work...

It's not only unlikely for Sears to do this, but unlikely for any store of any brand. Sears has (for many years) offered an extended return window for Christmas gifts. Further, with an exchange the store just has no reason to say no...the RTV (Return To Vendor) program at sears is highly functional and makes the exchange of any tool a cinch, and doesn't affect the store's profitability. Even further, if this was a manual tool such as a ratchet, the store wouldn't have blinked when exchanging, as a reconditioned tool would be available on-site.

Sears if you wish to retain customers....treat them right.

I can agree that not all Sears experiences are wonderful, but I have seen first-hand that most people, for some reason or another, hold Sears to a much higher standard than Target or Wal-Mart (I mean come on...Wal Mart is simply evil to it's employees and customers). The American public holds a bit of a grudge with struggling American brands, and this perpetuates a lot of the negative feelings toward Sears. Sears just isn't as good about hiding their faults as Target is, and refuses to adopt the "screw you" attitude that Wal Mart has gotten so comfy with. I think a lot of you might be suffering from a bit of "kick em while they're down" syndrome.

My darling dear one swore off Craftsman tools after being a loyal customer for over 30 years when they gave him grief over an exchange from a Christmas gift that did not work...

I will not by Craftsman tools they will not warranty mine because I work professionally and that voids the warranty how ever they will accept 15 tape measures that have cement all over them. I only had three of my craftsman tools brake and they have all been declined. I have never had this problem with Matco or Snap-on.

The end of Sears for me involved a Craftsman hedge clipper. We had a local Sears service center and I took it there when it froze up. "We don't fix those," I was told. "Bu, bu, bu, but it is a Craftsman and where do I get it fixed?' "I dunno, man. Throw it out. Buy a new one."

I did buy a new one. At Lowe's. I have never been back to Sears and have no plans to go.

This is just the beginning. Wait till after January.

Two of my daughters work for sears in a very small town, I fear they may be next on unemployment.

They won't all lose their jobs. Many will go to Walmart, who hires 24/7, but pays half of what they made at Sears if you take store discounts, insurance and vacation pay into account on how much less they'll work for at Walmart. Welcome to the low class America.

Mission Man,

"Besides all the comments on poor service!!! How many more people are going to lose their jobs? 1200-1500."

I think it's the trend of the future unfortunately. Many businesses are closing stores and turning to on-line sales instead. Remember Egghead Software? They had stores all over the United States, but they ended up closing them all and going to on-line sales. The same is happening with many bookstores because of too much competition from Amazon.com and other on-line booksellers. One of the causes of the U.S. Postal Services financial problems is that many people are now paying their bills on-line, rather than through the mail and are text messaging or sending emails rather than letters through the mail. If stores keep closing as they have been, soon we will have no choice but to do all our shopping on-line. I just hope that doesn't happen with the grocery stores. I don't think I can wait 3 to 5 days to get my food through the mail. I would just get too hungry while I was waiting for my food delivery.

@JimKato, actually if they do get jobs @ Wal-Mart, it will be an increase for them. More hours, more pay, and bonuses.

@JimKato, actually if they do get jobs @ Wal-Mart, it will be an increase for them. More hours, more pay, and bonuses.

No, not even close. Standard schedules for Sears employees are 40 hours, they are not allowed to miss a break, and the pay is much better.

Make no mistake, these poor people will suffer. We should be praying for them.

Sears CEO gets $7.15M in compensation

Dec 24, 2011 · Sears’ new CEO, former technology executive Lou D’Ambrosio, will be paid a $1 million base salary, a $150,000 signing bonus, $6 million in restricted …

www.suntimes.com/business/4075720-420/sears-ceo-gets-aircraft...

When overpaid CEO types start sharing their salary starting with the janitors working for them in the stores and on up we might see a turn around in the moral. Not only in the Sears/KM chain but across our entire country. C'mon all you CEOs making SIX HUNDRED TIMES the average pay of your employees - do the right thing and put some of your wealth into the hands of your people who make the company go.

rip.

My local Kmart has fairly good customer service but I have to said Target has the best customer. Walmart customer service is just horrible. I mostly shop at Kmart and Target ever if Walmart is the closest.

Sears customer service is abominable PERIOD-and it doesnt get better at the dingy Kmart stores either. The customer service is what is pulling them down-they are too stupid to see it

Kmart and Sears needed to re design their look a long time ago, the stores have looked shabby and the customer service has been crappy for a very long time, they hire people who don't give a S**t about the customer, I wont spend my money where I am treated like just another ##

The prices need to be more competative, why don't they look at the Walmart concept and give them a run for the money, I see the prices of items and go back in two weeks and they are giving it away, why not start with the lower prices to start with? sales will save the stores but they need people in the stores first..

Nope most are now made offshore. The only good Sears tools were purchased over 30 years ago. BTW I prefer my 1911A1 over a 9mm. God Bless, ren

What tools are anymore? Try finding an electric corded hand drill. Not one made in the USA!!

Craftsmen tools are not owned by Sears. They are owned by Danaher, which also owns Kobalt tools among many other markets. Its a German company that absoutley sucks. All they care about is bottom line, and could care less about customer service.

I would add Kenmore appliances as well. I've had 2 washing machines in 40 years of marriage, a Maytag and a Kenmore.

I do not wish to shop for the junk/trash at Wal-Mart which breaks, tears, quits working within one year. Their toy selection for grandchildren is horrible.

Folks, if we don't stop and think, all our choices will be gone.

And what on earth would I do without Lands End ... I buy all my clothing, my husband's clothing, and bought my children's clothing there for years. I still buy my house linens at Lands End. I simply can't imagine doing without what they offer.

I guess we middle income people can do without. We can shop the high end stores where the prices are silly, or we can have S**T stuff from Wal-Mart.

Once upon a time there was a big middle class who shopped at places like Sears, Montgomery Ward, and Lands End because they made what we could afford.

Yet another nail in the coffin of a vibrant middle class in America

I don't know for sure, but there are about 300 cars always in the gated parking lot at the Danaher plant in my town. At least some tools have to be made in America.

Little old lady, well said.

Yup K mart only slowed the death of Sears.

Nope it will happen before that time.

beg to differ. their kids clothing is far superior to whatever you can get at jc penny and others. plus they have the kid vantage program which replaces kids clothing if it wears out. we've been using it for years and it works. what other retailer does that???

Sears manager?

To Steve N. your kids clothes are made in Jarkata, hello. that is where Sears have their clothing made. Remember, Jakarta (third world country) Quality, no way, cheap material with a high price. I don't think so. America can sit and watch Sears hang themselves. They took their business out of America and given it to all the "seat shops" in the third world countries, and have the nerve to sell us those cheap products at a high price. Let them burn.

Almost all clothing, textiles, shoes are now made overseas now. Even my revered "bostonian" dress shoes now come out of China. So KM is certainly not unique. It's just reality. New England's textile and Grand Rapids (MI) furniture industries became successful for the very same reason - lower costs. No different now except we have become the high cost location. That is starting to change a little - seeing some examples in the manufacturing sector, where the full costs of asia pacific supply are now understood better (higher inventory costs, lots of product "on the water" which makes things interesting when there is a quality problem, and ... wages are rising there.

Mshawaii808,

Hey rocket scientist, Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia, not a country! And it is a cultural city. Research your facts before you spew. Wake up and realize that we are now in a global economy and paying someone $40/hr plus benefits to put screws in a rear view mirror isn't competitive. If we adjusted pay for the type of work done and then had our neutered government demand that free trade not just be a one way street then maybe we could level the playing field. How about we worry about educating young people how to run a business instead of who Kim K. is boinking?!

Quit whining, cry baby.

I guess Consumer Reports is wrong when they rate Kenmore washers, dryers, vacuum cleaners, etc as high as they do. When our new house is completed, we will be looking at Kenmore.

Had Sears service an LG dryer (bought at Best Buys) and he kept the appointment, fixed the dryer with a gas valve he had on the truck, and the charge was less than I was quoted for service by local repairmen.

So Randy, how many products in the US look much cheaper than what we pay?....hmm a great number. If that is the basis for choosing where to shop, then i would buy hardly anything. Our economy is as strong as we make it via purchasing services and product. The problem here is consumers dont have enough money because the economic wheel has almost come to a complete stop. The only way to help the supplier and those in demand(us) is to reduce taxes on both sides and get most of the factories building products overseas to return to this country.

No surprise here. Sears and Kmart were wonderful stores in the past. At some point they started catering to very low income buyers ignoring their longtime middle class buyers. Merchandise became cheap and low quality. They lost their base middle class buyers much like Mervyn's did years ago. Giving credit cards to those who cannot afford to pay their bills and removing quality from these stores led to their demise. Reasonably priced quality items made these stores. They are dying from selling poor quality items and catering to those who don't pay their bills.

Ours is simply a "show store". What they have is only there to show you what they can order for you. Heck, I can order it for myself, online.
You can have anything sent to the store for "zero delivery charge",
But, of course, if you need them to bring it to you, 7 miles from the store, they charge $75.
None of that really matters anyway, because you can't get any of the 6 service people to look up at you when you walk in the door, or ask if they can help you find anything.

AND thats if your lucky enough to have them even come with the items your purchased. I bought a high end stove, washer, dryer and pedestals, only the stove showed up and no one could find the other stuff for three weeks

You just cannot fix stupit!

"You just cannot fix stupit!"

Your other posts, but especially this one...Say it all. You surely cannot, can you?

why oh why would you shop online for something in the store?

So I don't have to deal with idiots like you. That's why I shop online

he's tired from spending us out of debt...LOL

more political bullsh** that has nothing to do with the topic.

stay on topic or go to a different thread

Stay on the subject, dumb azz. This has nothing to do with the President, frickin loser. We are talking about Sears. Sounds like BillFitzgerald is BIGOT along with his girlfriend plainbob.

Yes if Sears would 're-brand' itself to once again be the solid-core retailer that you described, and advertised hard and lived up to that, they would see sales increase. A lot of Americans are getting sick of the WalMart crap model.

wow thats is saying something Target it totally outrageous.

But Target carries a little better quality item, and they keep their stores clean. The last few Kmart stores I've been in, were trashed...literally. Stuff thrown on shelves and mixed up, with a lot on the floor.

When you ask someone for something on the top shelf, 9 feet above floor level, and you're only 5 ft. tall, zero inches, lol, the only answer you get is "it's not my department. I'll go get you somebody". Twenty minutes later, no one shows up. THAT shows me the problem they are having.
I have actually left a FULL cart of items behind and walked out, for that very reason.

Yes that service to the customer will get you every time. Long ago I worked for Sears in the Mail order dept (in Atlanta) They had training for even the order puller on customer service. I don't think the mind set of the younger generatiion is to give customer service. I have walked out on a sale in a shoe store because the cashier was chatting on her cell phone and trying to ring up my sale. She never stopped talking, never looked at me or my card for that matter and there was no reaction when I said''cancel the sale''. she just kept on talking and closed the register. A sale of almost 100.00 just walked out the door. The poor guy who got my shoes for me on the sales floor lost his commission too.And we wonder why these stores are losing money???

Customer service is everything, even if it is made somewhere else. Know what you are selling, know the selection available, Know how to care for the item, know that if you don't give a good sales pitch on the item that customer can get it somewhere else and above all pay attention to the customer and if you can't smile just look pleasant at least. And above all, put down the darn cell phone when you are waiting on me.

And if i saw that or was even aware of that envionment in my store i would fire them on the spot. Punch out and go home and i would of gave you the shoes half off for that behavior.

Poor quality, poor management, poor service all add up to loss and store closings. If people would demand and seriously require proper service and manners maybe some stores would take a look. WalMart is the cause of much of the problems with retail but americans have only themselves to blame by spending alot of time and money in their stores. The food is subpar and the products displayed are foreign garbage. What do people see in that place? It is a festering boil on the butt of american enterprise. Are you happy to be putting all your money in the communists pockets. Shop local and buy from the small farmers. At least you know where it comes from. My family has worked too hard for our money to give it to selfish billionaires and foreign dictators. Wake up and educate yourselves.