More Kmart stores closing

[Max Rockatansky]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Bad idea, the clothes are the highest profit margin item by a country mile. 

[jeffandnicole]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Bad idea, the clothes are the highest profit margin item by a country mile. 

Not to mention places like HH Gregg are shutting down a number of their stores, being people are buying appliances on the internet as well.

[ColossalBlocks]

The Kmart back up in Cape Girardeau looked like it was gonna shutter at one point, that time is probably soon, as the quality slowly decreased before I left. Kmart is probably gonna bring Sears down with it, too.

[kkt]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Lowe's and Home Depot pretty much have a lock on the hardware and appliances here.  Also, Ace for hardware.  I'm not sure there's anything Sears does even as well as its competitors anymore.

[thenetwork]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Bad idea, the clothes are the highest profit margin item by a country mile. 

Agreed.  I usually will buy non-clothing items sight unseen after I do my research of ratings and reliability online.   The last few items I bought (bluetooth headphones & a GoPro-like camera) had great ratings, but no stores in my area carried them.

Clothing, OTOH, I need to see and/or try on in person before I buy it.  Only exceptions are socks, underwear and jeans (as I tend to stay with specific brand(s)).  Jeans or sports apparel are the only types of clothing I have/will buy online.

If Sears were to try to stay afloat, I'd ditch the hardlines and auto repair as you can pretty much buy their former exclusive brands at other retailers for less. 

[briantroutman]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Just anecdotally, in addition to Lowe's and Home Depot, it seems like Harbor Freight has taken a big chunk out what used to be Sears' bread and butter Saturday mechanic/do-it-yourselfer business.

[Brandon]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Bad idea, the clothes are the highest profit margin item by a country mile. 

Agreed.  I usually will buy non-clothing items sight unseen after I do my research of ratings and reliability online.   The last few items I bought (bluetooth headphones & a GoPro-like camera) had great ratings, but no stores in my area carried them.

Clothing, OTOH, I need to see and/or try on in person before I buy it.  Only exceptions are socks, underwear and jeans (as I tend to stay with specific brand(s)).  Jeans or sports apparel are the only types of clothing I have/will buy online.

If Sears were to try to stay afloat, I'd ditch the hardlines and auto repair as you can pretty much buy their former exclusive brands at other retailers for less. 

Quite frankly, no one every really went to Sears for their clothing.  The appliances, electronics, and hardware were always the main attraction at Sears.

[cl94]

If I were in control of Sears, I'd dump clothing and related stuff and just focus on the hardware and appliances. Big change from their current model, but it's stuff that the discount and internet stores have really been able to get into.

Bad idea, the clothes are the highest profit margin item by a country mile. 

Agreed.  I usually will buy non-clothing items sight unseen after I do my research of ratings and reliability online.   The last few items I bought (bluetooth headphones & a GoPro-like camera) had great ratings, but no stores in my area carried them.

Clothing, OTOH, I need to see and/or try on in person before I buy it.  Only exceptions are socks, underwear and jeans (as I tend to stay with specific brand(s)).  Jeans or sports apparel are the only types of clothing I have/will buy online.

If Sears were to try to stay afloat, I'd ditch the hardlines and auto repair as you can pretty much buy their former exclusive brands at other retailers for less. 

Quite frankly, no one every really went to Sears for their clothing.  The appliances, electronics, and hardware were always the main attraction at Sears.

That's what I was thinking. Main things I have ever bought there were related to hardware.

[briantroutman]

Quite frankly, no one every really went to Sears for their clothing.  The appliances, electronics, and hardware were always the main attraction at Sears.

That's what I was thinking. Main things I have ever bought there were related to hardware.

I think the presence of ALL of those things (hardware, housewares, electronics, appliances, clothing....) under one roof is what made Sears what it was in its heyday. Shearing off any part of the business wouldn't save it, in my opinion. The commercial says it all.

[vdeane]

I've had good luck with shopping for electronics online.  I can't even imagine doing so for clothes, though.  It's too bad the department stores are in decline.  Other stores I don't know as well, so shopping would be more of a chore than it already is.  I want something that is decent quality (will last more than a few months, can go in the washer and dryer), doesn't cost too much, and that I can verify will actually fit me (both physical fit and style) before purchase (because so many clothes don't).

[jeffandnicole]

Based on the lines I see at the checkouts in the clothing section, plenty of people went there for their clothing!

[kkt]

There were times when people went to Sears for clothing, but it was long ago.  It was work clothes for adults who weren't in white-collar fields of work, or play clothes for kids, reasonably well made at a reasonable cost and backed by a good warranty.  But it's not so well-made now and the warranty is limited too, and the styles were never cutting edge but now aren't even trying.

[roadman65]

Well all of Kmarts I know of in Orlando/Kissimmee are history.  The one on US 192 in Kissimmee, is now vacant and the name moved of the building.  That was the last in Orlando I have seen struggle.

[GCrites]

And don't forget the 900-pound gorilla Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart always must enter the conversation when talking about uncool clothes.

[Max Rockatansky]

And don't forget the 900-pound gorilla Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart always must enter the conversation when talking about uncool clothes.

Isn't Wal-Mart basically the paragon of being uncool and the lowest common denominator?  I can't think of many other companies that have exclusive websites dedicated to the everyday human depravity they draw out.

[sparker]

And don't forget the 900-pound gorilla Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart always must enter the conversation when talking about uncool clothes.

Isn't Wal-Mart basically the paragon of being uncool and the lowest common denominator?  I can't think of many other companies that have exclusive websites dedicated to the everyday human depravity they draw out.

And yet they can't -- or won't -- pick up the phone and have one of their lobbying minions scream & yell until someone expedites the completion of I-49 between their HQ and I-44.  I guess they're too busy hiring more security guards to emulate Costco and audit receipts of customers leaving the stores!

[Brandon]

And don't forget the 900-pound gorilla Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart always must enter the conversation when talking about uncool clothes.

Isn't Wal-Mart basically the paragon of being uncool and the lowest common denominator?

Kmart occupied this niche before WalMart was ascendant.  We just lacked the internet back then.

[Max Rockatansky]

And don't forget the 900-pound gorilla Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart always must enter the conversation when talking about uncool clothes.

Isn't Wal-Mart basically the paragon of being uncool and the lowest common denominator?  I can't think of many other companies that have exclusive websites dedicated to the everyday human depravity they draw out.

And yet they can't -- or won't -- pick up the phone and have one of their lobbying minions scream & yell until someone expedites the completion of I-49 between their HQ and I-44.  I guess they're too busy hiring more security guards to emulate Costco and audit receipts of customers leaving the stores!

Are they actually doing that again with the receipt checkers?  The last time I stepped foot in a Wal-Mart was on Easter during last year only because I didn't realize Target was closed, I don't recall seeing the customary elderly person occupying the door.  There was a couple cars out in the parking lot like the Pikachu Chevy Tahoe that was worth taking a picture of.  One thing was certain that has never changed though, the cashiers at Wal-Mart can't ring people up with in an efficient manner.  I'm surprised they haven't tried to emulate Target's cashier speed rating program to pick up the pace since it seems to be a common complaint among customers. 

Sam's Club on the other hand I always thought was kinda of sorta okay, especially if you wanted to avoid the huge crowds at the local Costco.  When I had a membership the receipt checkers were notably more aggressive and through compared to their Costco counterparts. 

And don't forget the 900-pound gorilla Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart always must enter the conversation when talking about uncool clothes.

Isn't Wal-Mart basically the paragon of being uncool and the lowest common denominator?

Kmart occupied this niche before WalMart was ascendant.  We just lacked the internet back then.

It probably was, they seemed to have when the "Blue Light Specials" were run in the 1980s.  That begs a question though, is today's lowest common denominator worse than the 1980s counterpart?   I want to say that even though crime rates in general were much higher during the 1980s that people on the whole generally cared about the imagine they presented in public much more.

[bmorrill]

That begs a question though, is today's lowest common denominator worse than the 1980s counterpart? 

Oh yeah, dumber and trashier. I think reality shows/soap operas have something to do with it. My wife used to work at a hospital several years ago, and she said that people seemed to get their cues as to how to dress and behave straight from General Hospital.

[vdeane]

The Target I got to takes forever for checkout.  Though I suspect the customers are to blame for that one... I always seem to get stuck behind several people with complicated issues (a million coupons, paying for each item as a separate transaction, switching items, etc.).  Doesn't help that only two staffed lines are ever open.

[Scott5114]

I'm surprised they haven't tried to emulate Target's cashier speed rating program to pick up the pace since it seems to be a common complaint among customers. 

That would require Walmart to care about customer complaints.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm surprised they haven't tried to emulate Target's cashier speed rating program to pick up the pace since it seems to be a common complaint among customers. 

That would require Walmart to care about customer complaints.

Online retailing will keep chipping away at the brick and mortar market share to a point where they likely will have to.  Right now they are getting by on sheer size and market share to do whatever they want, that attitude might work now but it won't last forever.  Look what happened to the domestic automakers as they were putting out crappy products and didn't listen to their customers as the decades wore on?  I know it is vastly way two different businesses, but it has been proven over and over that given enough time your customer base will bail if you don't care about giving them a good product.

[Brandon]

I'm surprised they haven't tried to emulate Target's cashier speed rating program to pick up the pace since it seems to be a common complaint among customers. 

That would require Walmart to care about customer complaints.

Online retailing will keep chipping away at the brick and mortar market share to a point where they likely will have to.  Right now they are getting by on sheer size and market share to do whatever they want, that attitude might work now but it won't last forever.  Look what happened to the domestic automakers as they were putting out crappy products and didn't listen to their customers as the decades wore on?  I know it is vastly way two different businesses, but it has been proven over and over that given enough time your customer base will bail if you don't care about giving them a good product.

I really don't see where online retailing is the big threat everyone seems to assume it is.  It is no different than the catalogs we go in the pre-internet days, and probably has about the same percentage of users.  Brick and mortar is a threat to brick and mortar.  WalMart will eventually be beat out by someone with a brick and mortar store willing to do it better, faster, cheaper.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm surprised they haven't tried to emulate Target's cashier speed rating program to pick up the pace since it seems to be a common complaint among customers. 

That would require Walmart to care about customer complaints.

Online retailing will keep chipping away at the brick and mortar market share to a point where they likely will have to.  Right now they are getting by on sheer size and market share to do whatever they want, that attitude might work now but it won't last forever.  Look what happened to the domestic automakers as they were putting out crappy products and didn't listen to their customers as the decades wore on?  I know it is vastly way two different businesses, but it has been proven over and over that given enough time your customer base will bail if you don't care about giving them a good product.

I really don't see where online retailing is the big threat everyone seems to assume it is.  It is no different than the catalogs we go in the pre-internet days, and probably has about the same percentage of users.  Brick and mortar is a threat to brick and mortar.  WalMart will eventually be beat out by someone with a brick and mortar store willing to do it better, faster, cheaper.

Something is causing so many brands to fail in the retail sector, a lot of it is advancing technology leaving less room.  I don't think it will ever get the point that some of the industry giants are down, but it stands a chance at breaking down market share where they have to compete for business again.  Really having the Targets and Wal-Marts of the world competing for the same customers would be a good thing in the overall scheme of everything. 

I mean look at what happened to Kmart and Sears.  There was probably a time, at least in the case of Sears where it would have been considered an impossibility that they wouldn't be at the top of the retail industry much less going out of business.  What the retail industry might look like in 30-40 years given the way things are progressing will certainly be much different than what we have right now.

[briantroutman]

I really don't see where online retailing is the big threat everyone seems to assume it is.  It is no different than the catalogs we go in the pre-internet days, and probably has about the same percentage of users.

I agree that brick and mortar is a threat to brick and mortar, but I think there are a few key differences that separate online retailers from the catalogs of yesteryear.

One is speed: I remember my dad buying stuff for his Super Beetle from J.C. Whitney years ago. He'd fill out the order form, mail it in, and after what felt like an eternity, the UPS driver would stop at our house and deliver the walnut-grain shift knob or whatever he had ordered. "Allow 4-6 weeks..."  was a common disclaimer. Now, most online retailers will get your order to you in less than a week; depending on where you live, Amazon will deliver the same day.

The other major difference is in the depth and quality of information available about the product. J.C. Whitney would give you a couple of pithy sentences of description and a postage stamp-sized black and white sketch. A more expensive catalog like Spiegel would give you a larger color photograph in color, but you were typically limited to one picture and a short description. With online retailers, you can often see a half dozen photos in high resolution–and sometimes unvarnished user-submitted photos of the product taken in the harsh light of reality. And in addition, you'll usually get a detailed description, a list of specs, and customer reviews.

I get the impression that catalogue shoppers of the past were generally patient types who were very trusting of the merchant's taste and attention to quality. Online shopping helps broaden that constituency to include the impatient, distrustful, and show-me types.