Sears is a penny stock

The times are changing. Not sure how much management decisions played into this, but brick and mortar stores are struggling. I am part of the problem as I have shopped online for almost everything for around 15 years.

https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/28/news/companies/sears-penny-stock/index.html
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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    It would be a real shame if an institution such as Sears went out of business.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • BlueFox
    BlueFox Posts: 15,251
    Yes. I use the nearby Sears for refrigerator, dryer, washer, but that stuff usually lasts 15-20 years.
    Lumin X1 file player, Westminster Labs interconnect cable
    Sony XA-5400ES SACD; Pass XP-22 pre; X600.5 amps
    Magico S5 MKII Mcast Rose speakers; SPOD spikes

    Shunyata Triton v3/Typhon QR on source, Denali 2000 (2) on amps
    Shunyata Sigma XLR analog ICs, Sigma speaker cables
    Shunyata Sigma HC (2), Sigma Analog, Sigma Digital, Z Anaconda (3) power cables

    Mapleshade Samson V.3 four shelf solid maple rack, Micropoint brass footers
    Three 20 amp circuits.
  • rpf65
    rpf65 Posts: 2,127
    Last time I was in a Sears was a little over a year ago. Lots of bare spots on display shelves, floor tile cracked and some completely missing, ceiling tiles missing, and even water stains on the walls. Understandably only a handful of customers, and employees working in various places, in a very chaotic manner.

    The web site showed they had a number of the item I was looking for, but I couldn’t locate it, and like I said, the employees were basically going from cash register to cash register. That was about all the staffing levels would allow them to do.

    This was one of their stores located in a mall that wasn’t to far out of the way from the area I was working that day.

    The catalog stores, I think that’s what they call them, seem to be a different company all together. Well stocked, well staffed, clean, kept in good condition. There is a limited number of items available at these smaller stores, but surprisingly major appliances are usually in stock.

    I pass by one of these smaller stores about once a week, and see what appears to be consistent traffic, 15 to 20 people normally. Might have been twice that amount in the mall store.

  • kharp1
    kharp1 Posts: 3,453
    I think they're trying to find a way to keep some of the business alive. Their decline was set in motion long before the B&M stores were getting hammered. Hopefully, they can find a way to survive in some form.
  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,116
    This is very sad.
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  • The CEO of Sears has no intention of trying to save Sears/Kmart.

    A number of Sears stores that were closed and are scheduled to be closed had/have excellent traffic and numbers.
    They were also in prime locations.
    So the Sears CEO (or head of the investment group, I don't don't care what you call him) closes those stores then his other investment group buys up the prime real estate at fire sale prices.

    Sears/Kmart is done. Last person out don't even bother turning out the lights.
    Sal Palooza
  • pitdogg2 wrote: »
    Ours closed

    Ours too

    Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
  • mlistens03
    mlistens03 Posts: 2,767
    Our Sears is in the process of closing its doors.
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Sears/Kmart has slowly, for the industry, been selling off its assets for the last 15 years or so. It seems to be a fairly controlled and deliberate process that is reaching its end. Of course, its owners resemble a vulture picking over a carcass. They have been selling or spinning off its good parts for a while now. One big one which foretold the future was National Tire and Battery which was spun off and sold off in 2003. That operation is profitable. Craftsman tools was sold to Stanley a couple years ago. The lights will probably go out in the next few months, since there's not much good left to sell off except the real estate. There really is no reason for Sears stores to exist anymore.
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited September 2018
    Eddie Lambert Sears CEO, bought Sears for one main reason The actual realestate that the stores sit on. Most propertiies that Sears occupy they actually own rather than lease.
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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    rqgtla4ux6xi.png
    I have a lot of good memories with Sears, Montgomery Wards, Service Merchandise, etc.
    Most of my tools are Craftsman. Good quality stuff back in the day, with an excellent warranty (lifetime). The Sears store at a local mall was the last holdout, but finally closed, now the mall is scheduled for demolition.
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    I haven’t thought about Service Merchandise for a long time. Now I do recall I bought my first decent watch at one of their stores with my first paycheck from my first permanent job. Their way of providing merchandise in their stores by having to pull almost everything from a warehouse seemed weird, but I understand it was to cut down on theft. Circuit City also did something similar where a customer would make a request and then wait for the warehouse guys to throw it down the conveyor belt.

    Nowadays everthing but food gets delivered to my front door!
  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    machone wrote: »
    I remember getting the Sears catalog before Christmas. It was awesome.

    I mainly grew up overseas on military bases and the catalogs from Sears and Monkey Wards were my limited connection to the US consumer market apart from the limited supply of things in the Base Exchange. They would fulfill orders to APO addresses. Of course, back then their orders would take several weeks to arrive by surface shipping on cargo vessels so much planning went into perusing their catalogs in the months before Christmas.

    There was no order tracking back then. My parents ordered a wall clock from Sears one year and after it didn’t arrive after a few weeks told Sears about it and they shipped another. The replacement order arrived after a few more weeks, but then the original order arrived the following week. Two for one!



  • gce
    gce Posts: 2,158
    I can remember as a kid our family would be at a gathering and my Dad would say, when he'd had enough " Well we got to go because I got to go to Sears before they close" :p
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  • I remember when you could buy a modular home from Sears.
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    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    machone wrote: »
    I remember getting the Sears catalog before Christmas. It was awesome.

    http://www.wishbookweb.com/the-catalogs/

    ru1859251yxq.png
  • SIHAB
    SIHAB Posts: 4,492
    My Dad worked at Sears for years selling carpeting.
    We did about all our XMas shopping at Sears as you got
    the sale price plus employee discount. It was cool as you
    got about all your shopping done in one day!
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  • Tony M
    Tony M Posts: 11,009
    Sears closed it's Mall store about 6+ months ago. It was a sad thing to see.

    I think the decline of tool handling boys and men did their business in. I believe a lot of young people don't even know how to use a hammer OR want too.

    I used to like to go to their electronics dept. to buy TVs, VCR's and even DVD players. I think they even had a "price match" selling point. There was a couple of years we went in to shop for appliances and the electronics dept. was right beside it. I always dragged my wife to look at what was new and happening in the TV world and DVD upgrades. During those years I noticed the electronic dept. shrinking more and more. Sometimes there wasn't anybody even in that dept. to help us if we needed it. I almost applied for a job to say, hey, I'll work this dept. if you need somebody too.

    I also noticed during the RECESSIONS, mall traffic was shrinking. About the same time Cell phones were coming into being.

    Christmas mall traffic was OK, but then it started to look like a time gone by scene in the halls of the Mall.

    More and more store fronts were being boarded and "FOR RENT" signs on the glass.

    When SPENCER'S closed up, I knew the end was near for a lot of other younger age oriented stores would follow. Only the biggest named ones remained till the end.

    They're thinking of converting our mall into condo's and some select restaurants. I haven't been to that mall in 6 months so I don't even know what's in there anymore.

    I too dreamed about having some of those toys from the Sears catalogue

    I think "Toys are US" catalogues played a BIG role in our Christmas morning dreams too.
    Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them.
  • SIHAB
    SIHAB Posts: 4,492
    I don't know. My wife does all her shopping on line.
    We drove by Summit Mall in Akron Ohio last weekend and
    it was packed...

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  • verb
    verb Posts: 10,176
    Ted Williams was a sporting goods brand from Sears. I still have the TW 30.06 and .22 caliber rifles after Dad passed.
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  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited September 2018
    My stepdad had a car in the early 1960's that was purchased through Sears in the 1950's, It was called an Allstate. I also remember the Allstate motorcycles on display in the stores in the 1960's, most had oil leaks...lol.

    I bet at one time, there was not a home in America that did not have some sort of Kenmore appliance it.
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    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited September 2018
    Sears also sold houses by catalog in the early 20th Century. Our daughter's in-laws live in one here in NH. It is actually a very nice house.

    cm7ertx1gwq5.png

    The one above is at least similar to theirs. Theirs is somewhat larger, though.

    0ypuyk6l4u1k.png
  • Milito
    Milito Posts: 1,907
    edited September 2018
    My dad also bought me one of those Allstate motorcycles. Not one of the best bikes out there for sure, but I was happy at the time to get it

    I used to buy a lot of things from Sears way back when. I bought a higher compression set of pistons for a 66 VW bug I had then when I rebuilt the motor.

    I also use to buy a lot of tools from them, but they lost me when my Dad's old torque wrench which I got when he died broke. I was suppose to have a lifetime warranty. I took it back to the store thinking it would be easy to get a replacement, but they weren't going to honor it. I told the manager that everyone knows Sears tools had a lifetime warranty back then. Well there were several men watching what was happening and when they saw I was getting the run around they also started backing me on what I said. Well when the manager saw the other people backing me and that other people were coming over to see what was happening he gave in and gave me a new torque wrench. He also stated this wrench would not have a lifetime warranty.

    I haven't bought tools from them again unless they were the only ones that had the tool I needed.
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  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    The Sears sporting goods department in South Burlington, Vermont had miniature display samples of the camping tents that they sold. I wanted one for my G.I. Joe because they were the perfect size. :p

    l53pta4u2ofq.jpg
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited September 2018
    I remember those little tent models in stores!
    My family was a "Wards" family -- as such, I was always a little jealous of the Sears families.

  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,084
    verb wrote: »
    Now the mall is scheduled for demolition.

    Oakland Mall??

    I didn't know it was that bad over there . . .

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  • GlennDog
    GlennDog Posts: 3,084
    Back in Sears heyday, one could retire quite well off ....

    My grandmother lived next to a man who worked as a clerk for 35 years, maybe he got promoted to dept manager, but nothing more.
    All of his years there he invested in company stock . . . he retired a Millionaire!

    Get up on it while she's rising, boys!
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