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Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

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Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#61

Post by XMPPwocky »

hgq wrote: post #34
daveFNbuck wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Paying employees more is supposed to work because it results in employees who do their job better. It seems Sears just increased the pay without increasing the expectations. I avoid Sears because when I go, despite there being no customers, the place is a mess and I can't find anyone to help me.

>Paying employees more is supposed to work because it results in employees who do their job better. I'm sure above certain threshold, which is probably low, raising wages doesn't make employees do their job any better. In other words, unless you pay your workers literally peanuts, they will do the same job more or less.

So all executive salaries should be capped at, say, a low six-figure amount, and bonuses should be eliminated? Interesting proposal.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#62

Post by AndyMcConachie »

wil421 wrote: post #20
lotsofpulp wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a good example to those that claim companies should pay employees liberally. Unless you're in a niche that people are willing to pay a margin for or serve upscale customers who also don't mind paying margins (Costco, Whole Foods, Nordstroms, Apple, etc), then you're going to lose business to competitors offering lower prices. In this situation, the only way to improve the well being of those whose labor isn't as…

Costco is an upscale place to shop? I’ve never seen them lumped together with Whole Foods or even Apple. Edit: Wow I didn’t realize Costco’s profit margin was higher than Whole Foods, Wal Mart and almost a full percent above Kroger’s.

And they pay their employees well.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#63

Post by samfriedman »

bluGill wrote: post #32
wil421 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Costco is an upscale place to shop? I’ve never seen them lumped together with Whole Foods or even Apple. Edit: Wow I didn’t realize Costco’s profit margin was higher than Whole Foods, Wal Mart and almost a full percent above Kroger’s.

They are. You need to have a good amount of extra money to afford the membership and the cost of buying 6 months of toilet paper in advance. Those are cheap items that you will need, if you are not poor you probably don't even think about it. However when you are poor it doesn't matter if it is cheaper or not to buy in bulk because you don't have the cash to afford it. (you also are unlikely to have the storage space…

Upper class? It's true that those living in poverty often don't have the means to buy in bulk or pay a Costco membership, but I don't think the designation of "upscale" describes the store either. Many working class and middle class people shop there.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#64

Post by OldHand2018 »

The huge Sears campus anchored a community on the west side of Chicago for nearly 70 years, and then they built an HQ2 with a fancy downtown tower (the world's tallest building) in the early 1970s. Having two campuses really cost them a lot of mojo, and by the early 1990s they reconsolidated into a new campus in the far-flung exurbs. It didn't save them and shall now be their final resting place.

It's a good thing other large companies have learned from this and will not be repeating their mistake.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#65

Post by TimTheTinker »

ams6110 wrote: post #50
ben1040 wrote: post #35

My first online shopping experience was with Sears over Prodigy in 1991. You could browse online, or order from the paper catalog (which is more likely what you'd do because NAPLPS graphics didn't lend themselves well, or at all, to product depictions). Then they'd ship to you, or you could go to the order pickup area at your local Sears store. They had a touchscreen kiosk there where you'd punch in your order number…

Being too early is as bad as being wrong.

Not if you’re big enough to create the necessary market effects for something to flourish. If Sears had stuck with it and had the the foresight to develop its technical chops like Amazon did, they could have done much better.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#66

Post by ams6110 »

bluedino wrote: post #14
erickhill wrote: post #3

Sears was my go-to place for tools for years. Then, at some stage, the quality noticeably changed and it started to feel like a cheap knock-off, like what happened to Stanley Tools ages ago. But I did very much appreciate their return-tool policy. I used that a few times. It was a great customer loyalty tactic.

At some point, cheaper Chinese tools became good enough. When I was a kid I remember my dad would curse cheap imported wrenches and tools. Now, he buys 75% of his stuff at Harbor Freight. Sears ended up going down in quality while trying to keep their brand names and higher prices. Surprising it didn't work out.

At least at Harbor Freight you know what you're getting and it's priced accordingly. Craftsman tools were expensive, at one time deservedly so but by the end the were just riding on the name to put a high price on cheap imported tools.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#67

Post by samfriedman »

tjr wrote: post #53
ghaff wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Is there anything people don't buy online these days? Tons of stuff. [ADDED: e-commerce is 10% of retail in the US.] Ironically, especially in the categories that Sears was best known for selling. Major appliances, lawn equipment, home improvement generally, (to a lesser degree) clothes.

A few years ago, the ancient (circa 1998) microwave in my house failed. I merrily trundled off to the local appliance store and bought a new one, and had them install it. Seemed to work, but eventually I realized it must be drawing too much electricity. Like something out of Green Acres , I had to limit what lights and other appliances were on in the kitchen if I wanted to use the microwave. I had an electrician come…

I'm curious, do you remember what the difference in power draw between the old and new microwaves was?

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#68

Post by tracker1 »

bluGill wrote: post #32
wil421 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Costco is an upscale place to shop? I’ve never seen them lumped together with Whole Foods or even Apple. Edit: Wow I didn’t realize Costco’s profit margin was higher than Whole Foods, Wal Mart and almost a full percent above Kroger’s.

They are. You need to have a good amount of extra money to afford the membership and the cost of buying 6 months of toilet paper in advance. Those are cheap items that you will need, if you are not poor you probably don't even think about it. However when you are poor it doesn't matter if it is cheaper or not to buy in bulk because you don't have the cash to afford it. (you also are unlikely to have the storage space…

I've known plenty of people on various levels of welfare support who would shop at costco/sam's club. They got their support once a month, making a big shopping trip perfectly in reach. The busiest Costco locations I've been to have been the lower income areas of town (Phoenix area).

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#69

Post by ghaff »

krustyburger wrote: post #40
wil421 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Costco is an upscale place to shop? I’ve never seen them lumped together with Whole Foods or even Apple. Edit: Wow I didn’t realize Costco’s profit margin was higher than Whole Foods, Wal Mart and almost a full percent above Kroger’s.

Their margins are high like the others because many households renew memberships each year but do not make much use of them. I also think their membership does skew more affluent than many other retailers.

Operating costs for a store are also significantly less than a retailer like Walmart that has many, many more SKUs to stock.

Re: Sears has another chance to avoid closing down

#70

Post by reaperducer »

wombatpm wrote: post #5

Sears had everything. Global supply chain, check. Top notch distribution operation, check. System and infrastructure to take orders and handling billing, check. Name recognition and established customer base, check. They threw it all away, ending catalog operations in 1993 a year before Amazon.com opened in 1994. They owned part of Prodigy in 1984! Yet somehow thought it was a better move to expand into bigger box re…

Name recognition

This can't be understated, and is something a lot of new companies don't understand. If people know your brand and trust your company, they will hand you money.

Anecdata: My parents were massive Sears loyalists. When they bought an appliance, my father researched the various GE models, then bought the Kenmore version. When he wanted a video game console, he researched and decided he wanted an Atari 2600. Then he went out and bought the Sears Tele-Games version.

Half of their house addition was built with Sears products. If Sears had a lumber yard, it would have been closer to 90%.

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