Tough Times For Sears & Kmart

I recently read that over 100 Sears and Kmart stores will be closed in the near future. From what I understand, the closings are being blamed on lower than expected holiday sales. But I suspect that things go deeper than that...

First off, let me say that I have shopped at Sears forever (and still do). As a kid, I can remember waiting for the arrival of the Sears Christmas catalog (a.k.a. The Wishbook). The toy section was most impressive and I would spend hours flipping through it. So many choices......

As an adult, I have bought countless pairs of Levi jeans and Docker's from Sears. The prices are comparable to other major retailers and I always liked the "shopper-friendly" organization of Sears clothing section. Knowing my exact size, I could usually just grab a pair of jeans out of the neatly labeled wall-rack and be on my way. (Lately, this has become more of a challenge due to the redistribution of weight to certain parts of my body!)

And of course, being a guy, Craftsman tools were always a big attraction for me. The quality and "craftsmanship" spoke for itself. I also liked that Sears gave a lifetime guarantee on most of their hand tools. I used to love talking to some of the older sales guys in the tools department. They were knowledgeable and could often give you good advice on which tool was best for your specific need. But disappointingly, on my most recent trips to Sears, I have seen these positions filled with young inexperienced kids who really show no interest in their job. Could this have something to do with the diminishing sales? I would think so....

Another recent disappointment is the Sears automotive department. It used to be my "go-to" store for tires and minor repairs. The products were solid and the service was quick and efficient. However, in recent years, the Sears auto department has proven to be severely understaffed. I even had one employee give me the low-down on how thin the crew was being stretched. When the staff starts bitching to customers, you know Houston definitely has a problem. Unfortunately, in today's world of "profits over people", this scenario has become the norm rather than the exception....

Moving over to Kmart......

I was really surprised when I learned that Kmart was buying Sears (and not the other way around) several years ago. Sears always seemed so much bigger than Kmart. Seriously, have you ever heard of the Kmart Tower?

Frankly, I have never been a big fan of Kmart. Although the prices were always reasonable, I just found many of the the stores to be outdated and unorganized. At my local Kmart, it was very common to see storage bins (and sometimes pallets) scattered through the aisles. They shelves were often in disarray which created a challenge when trying to find your item. Because of this, I would often opt for the nearby Target where things always tended to be neat and tidy.

Wal-Mart was another alternative but it tended to be much more crowded. (Hmmm, could there be a reason for this?) The drawback is that Wal-Mart people have a tendency to scare the hell out of me. But that's another story.....

From what I've read, Sears Holdings  has seen it's sales numbers decline every year since Sears merged with K-Mart back in 2005. Could Kmart possibly be dragging the iconic Sears down? After all, Sears has been around since 1886. And not so long ago, it was considered one of our country's most successful retailers. What went wrong?

I don't know what will eventually happen to Sears/Kmart, but I really hope they survive in the long run. Where else would I buy my Craftsman tools???

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