Sears selling off Craftsman

[Steve Frazier]

I heard on the news just the other day that Macy's is in the same boat, will be closing numerous stores with a loss of about 3600 jobs. I think two things are at play, the shift to online shopping and the emergence of Super Stores like Walmart and Target where you can purchase both hard goods and groceries. Add to that Home Depot and Lowes and even Best Buy selling large appliances and it doesn't leave much reason to go to Sears. It's a shame, Sears was my Go To store through the 80s and early 90s but I began to notice the quality in the power tools dropping which eventually trickled down to the hand tools. I can't remember the last time I've been to a Sears store now.

 

[CM1995]

It's already been said - Online retailers are putting a hurting on brick and mortar stores. It's challenging the whole concept.

One of my clients purchased a lot from Walmart which we developed into a restaurant. He is also in the process of buying another outparcel from Walmart for another restaurant. He said Walmart has 1/2'd the size of it's real estate department over the last 2 years. Walmart is pushing a model of online sales with local delivery in order to combat Amazon.

Walmart is shying away from the large super center concept in favor of smaller marketplaces where one can order online and have it shipped there for pick up. They are already doing it for groceries and such. I was told that in 2016 Walmart will close more stores in the US than it opens, the first time in it's history.

The world is a changing with the internet market place and the largest retailer is not immune.

A year or so ago I noticed my wife was ordering quite a bit from Amazon, there would be Amazon boxes at the front door once a week or more. One day I noticed one of the boxes contained toiletries and such, items that can be bought at any neighborhood store. So I had to ask why are you ordering such and having it delivered? She told me she could buy those items online and have them shipped to our house for the same or less price she can buy them locally. I replied - carry on.

 

[John C.]

Sears and their catalog was the Amazon of their day. Pick out what you wanted and fill out the form in the catalog, put it in the envelope and drop it in the mail and a couple of weeks later you had it in your hands. Now pull the computer out of sleep, make a couple of clicks, your credit card is profiled in the windows you walk through to make a purchase and a couple of days later the item is on your door. Sears lost what made them so popular in the first place.

Sears lost sight of how their business worked. They were also getting squeezed out by competition. First it was the cheap Japanese stuff of the sixties and seventies. How many of homeowners got their tools from the local hardware store? You can buy blister packs of cheap stuff at any of the chain stores. Who cared about a life time warranty when the cheap stuff made it not matter. People started to chisel all the profit out of the sales and the free trade agreements between countries virtually cancelled out the shipping charges so stores like Sears had to take the manufacturing overseas just to stay in business.

I think the final straw is the ignorant snot nose college kids that filled the corporate halls to run these companies. Their unwillingness to actually learn the ins and outs of the businesses plus their sense of entitlement and greed to pad their own pockets instead of working on behalf of their employers is the biggest cause of these companies failing. There is no vision of what is coming in the future and no preparation or planning on how to adjust to the future business climates. It's basically sit on the diamond encrusted throne and plan for the golden parachute when the corner stone rots away to the point of the entity falling in on itself.

 

[ScottAR]

Walmart built one of their grocery market whatever stores almost the same distance from me as the superstore.... I have not been to the big store since it opened.
I don't often need much besides food and basics and it's nice to not have to walk a quarter mile to get toothpaste.

I see the online phenomenon at work. (green auto parts store) Folks want us to price match some online thing. We can't obviously and they get all huffy.
What some of em find out is this whole counterman game isn't as easy as it looks and some online places don't do returns.

 

[dn29626]

I am still a craftsman man. I carefully examine the packages I am interested in purchasing.
It must be labeled Made in USA for me.
I purchase most from Ace now, simply because Ace store locations are closer to me than Sears.

 

[dn29626]

This may be OT, but...

...want us to price match some online thing. We can't obviously...

It is not obvious to me, why can't the price be matched to make the sale?

 

[Old Doug]

Times are a changeing and sears cant change to match the times. I spent alot of hours looking at the sears catolog think about the day i would have money. I have alot of craftsman tools some i bought were great and some like their ratchets were not so great. We had a catalog store over in the next town they sent out sale flyers and i would see some tool on sell then i called the store and in a week or 2 it would be there. I have alot of stuff like a 1/2 drill and a sawzall that have been through hell and back several times and still works good. I hate change i hate to see Sears go but i dont think the there is much that would keep Sears on top its alot diffrent today poeple dont want Sears.

 

[BillG]

For years that's the biggest problem I have with Craftsman, that is, their tool sets. When you purchase their sets you end up with a pile of tools you have absolutely no use for. I don't know who decides how to arrange their sets, but they damn sure ain't no mechanic! For example, one of their sets, you get a 1/2" drive 12 point 7/16" socket. Yes...7/16". I'm sorry, if I'm going to break loose or tighten a 1/4" bolt with a 7/16" head, I damn sure ain't gonna go with a 1/2" drive ratchet! I'm going to go two steps down and use a 1/4" drive ratchet. Just another (of many) useless tools supplied in their sets that wind up in a cardboard box on a shelf.

Willie, I have heard this from many mechanics through the years. What many automotive mechanics don't know is that twelve point cap screws and bolts are used in many industrial applications. They are used in close quarters and limited access in a lot of machine tools and fixtures. I used my twelve point thin wall sockets to destruction back before impacts were available with enough clearance to be usable. Even today some twelve points are getting kind of scarce off the tool truck as many jobbers don't understand why anyone would use them. Generally speaking the head size on them is the same size as the bolt shank thus a 7/16 bolt will have a 7/16 head and the torque will require a 1/2 inch drive to loosen them. Not trying to change the direction of the thread just many times tool sets don't seem to make sense unless we are in a specific trade which of course marketing can't know all the uses of their tools.

 

[CM1995]

Sears and their catalog was the Amazon of their day.

It was and what we are seeing is the evolution of the Sears catalog. Sears was the Amazon of it's time and was ahead of the game, offering so many items to a broad customer base that otherwise might not be able to purchase it locally, that's what made them a powerhouse in the past. Now technology has shortened the process of mailing in payment and waiting weeks for the product. It's the same process just in quicker time. Sears and other retailers failed to realize the new retail environment and missed the boat.

Times are a changing, some of it I like most of it I don't. However, it's changing whether we like it or not.

 

[td25c]

Times are a changing, some of it I like most of it I don't. However, it's changing whether we like it or not.

Aint that the truth CM !

Glad I'm not the only one scratching my head when I get home & see UPS just dumped some more amazon boxes at the door .

John C sure had a good point about the Sears catalog being the " amazon " of that time frame .


Wish I had a crystal ball to see where it's all going in the retail business as it effects all of us .

My optimistic guess ........... On line sales are here to stay as it's pretty handy on many items .

The big box stores will have to down size the walk in stores & combat amazon sales on the internet .

While all the big retailers are fighting it out we may end up seeing somewhat of a renaissance return of smaller " Mom & Pop " stores that simply do business with a human smile , good inventory , & customer service .

I'm an optimist

One of our local family owned supply stores is just that . I try to patronize them whenever we need an item .

Could be anything from a culvert for a dirt job or a kitchen sink for the wife .

http://www.svsupply.com/default.asp

Old school service in the store and on line sales for internet customers . http://www.svsupply.com/aboutus.asp

 

[hvy 1ton]

It was and what we are seeing is the evolution of the Sears catalog. Sears was the Amazon of it's time and was ahead of the game, offering so many items to a broad customer base that otherwise might not be able to purchase it locally, that's what made them a powerhouse in the past. Now technology has shortened the process of mailing in payment and waiting weeks for the product. It's the same process just in quicker time. Sears and other retailers failed to realize the new retail environment and missed the boat.

Times are a changing, some of it I like most of it I don't. However, it's changing whether we like it or not.

Sears is presented to business majors as a case study on what not to do. They had a giant logistics infrastructure that could have been leveraged into competing with Amazon. Instead of looking to the future the suits held on to what had been making money with a death grip and rode that train til the wheel fell off. Somewhere in there they were acquired by another store chain hemorrhaging money (K-Mart) because the best way to stop losing money is buying a business that's in almost as bad of shape.

I'm not even sure when my dad started buying stuff off the internet, definitely before we got real internet. It's not unusual to have the ups guy at the house three times in a week.

 

[doublewide]

The guy that bought Sears (the owner of KMart) is a real estate mogul. That's the only reason he bought it. He cares nothing about the sales of women's clothing, cheap tools or making a transition into the online market. Sell off the parts and then the real estate. Profit made.

 

[oarwhat]

Willie, I have heard this from many mechanics through the years. What many automotive mechanics don't know is that twelve point cap screws and bolts are used in many industrial applications. They are used in close quarters and limited access in a lot of machine tools and fixtures. I used my twelve point thin wall sockets to destruction back before impacts were available with enough clearance to be usable. Even today some twelve points are getting kind of scarce off the tool truck as many jobbers don't understand why anyone would use them. Generally speaking the head size on them is the same size as the bolt shank thus a 7/16 bolt will have a 7/16 head and the torque will require a 1/2 inch drive to loosen them. Not trying to change the direction of the thread just many times tool sets don't seem to make sense unless we are in a specific trade which of course marketing can't know all the uses of their tools.

You guys don't get it. They could have made tool sets that had all the tools we needed. They made the tools sets cheap so we would buy them. Then they made money when we bought the missing tools we needed at full price.

The last tool set I bought wasn't on sale and the clerk asked why? Because the set had almost everything I wanted.

 

[check]

The guy that bought Sears (the owner of KMart) is a real estate mogul. That's the only reason he bought it. He cares nothing about the sales of women's clothing, cheap tools or making a transition into the online market. Sell off the parts and then the real estate. Profit made.

I think the owners of all the big department stores, big box stores are globalists. Wall street insiders connected at the hip. They decide behind closed doors which company shall rise and which one shall fall, then play the derivatives market and make a fortune on the foreknowledge, even if it's their own company slated to fall.

 

[oarwhat]

I use Amazon prime and it's great for me. 2 day free shipping on most items. I just don't know if Amazon can keep paying for all that shipping. The post office is delivering their stuff on Sundays. I ordered two wrenches. They came on the same day in two separate boxes. You could have put 50 wrenches in each box. I know their shipping rates must be highly discounted but what a waste. Huge boxes for tiny items on everything I get.

 

[oarwhat]

West Marine is another store that doesn't get it. They were always expensive but had almost everything in stock. That's why people went there. They knew they could get it now. The new CEO's say people don't mind waiting a week! for stuff. Wrong! I work there part time and that's not what I here. Also it was a boating store. The new CEO's are making it a clothing,kayak, and junk store. Rant over.

 

[hvy 1ton]

The guy that bought Sears (the owner of KMart) is a real estate mogul. That's the only reason he bought it. He cares nothing about the sales of women's clothing, cheap tools or making a transition into the online market. Sell off the parts and then the real estate. Profit made.

Considering the K-Mart is a Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Pier One and Sears is a Dicks, Boot Barn, and pet store, that almost makes sense. I guess they haven't really been loosing money lately. This has got to be the world's slowest hatchet job if that was the goal.

 

[ScottAR]

This may be OT, but...
It is not obvious to me, why can't the price be matched to make the sale?

In short, Corporate says I can't.

Longer answer... It's not apples to apples competition... Online doesn't have one right here right now. Online didn't help you find the exact one you needed. Online may not come with a warranty. Online doesn't have another if a warranty problem occurs. These are all value added steps.

Also, Online price could be fraudulent and the store can't prove it. Online has low or no overhead compared to a brick and mortar.

It seems that all retail everywhere is in a race to bottom.... trouble is, there's no money at the bottom.

 

[cat320]

for me what it comes down to is I like to touch feel and try clothes on and if something is wrong with the product I can brink it back. sure you can mail or have ups come pick it up but that is just a pain with boxing it and all the other crap. I really think that this is the downward free fall for everyone. if all the brink and mortar stores close jobs will be less it affects the kid or person working in the stores trades people working on the buildings snow removal in winter . Have I bought online sure I have and I have got a lot of junk that had to go back most of the stuff I order is coming from a brick and mortar store just not in my area but in big business it just comes from some warehouse in the middle of no where .

 

[dn29626]

...Corporate says I can't...

How often do you loose the sale because you will not match the price?