Sears, Kmart closing up to 120 stores

Can't say I'm surprised:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2011-12-27/sears-stores-closing/52240208/1?csp=hf

I went to Sears last year to buy an exercise bike for my ex, and it was a friggin' disaster area. I had to return three bikes because they were either defective or missing parts. Each time I came back, I had to wait at least an hour to get someone who could help me and process the return/exchange. Finally, I gave up and went to Dick's Sporting Goods.

 

Growing up in California, K-Mart was Wal-Mart before Wal-Mart. It was the only store open 24-7 and it was the store that you didn't want to go to, but you were almost forced to go because of the convenience and the prices.

I used to have to go there to make a ton of returns because my mom would buy me tapes/CDs there that would be the cleaned-up version. Needless to say, I wasn't having any of that...

 

Now I'm just waiting for Penneys to start closing. God, I hate that store.

 

Having been outflanked both on the upscale (Target) and downscale (Walmart) sides, K-Mart deserves to close unless it can reinvent itself. Again. Sears likely stays afloat on the strength of Craftsmen tools and Kenmore appliance and the Auto Service Centers alone. But it needs to cut its bigger brick-and-mortar losers for a more robust internet business. (Ironic if the mail order business turned out to save Sears.)

 

Sears is a glorified real-estate company, now. The land some of those stores rest on is worth zillions. The tools and appliances remain gold (though not even Craftsman is what it used to be) . . . though, frankly, I wouldn't EVER take a care there except under dire circumstances. You get courteous treatment, but too often, the mechanics aren't up to snuff.

 

Is Wal-Mart downscale from K-Mart? Maybe at some point, but the Wal-Marts where I live are all pretty nice.

This was definitely not the case in the city where I used to live.

 

The car care business will fail as the legacy clientele dies off - and as more and more manufacturers offer free service for their cars. Be interesting to see ten years hence if Sears can thrive as only a seller of tools and appliances.

 

Any Sears closing is very sad. That is a backbone of America type of store.

 

Sorry for the confusion.

Walmart killed KMart in the relatively downscale 'low price department store segment' by being nicer.

 

The last time I was in a K-Mart I put a bunch of household items like cleaning supplies and toilet paper in my cart walked to the checkout area. Two lines were open and about 10-deep. I left the crap in the cart and walked out.

 

It began as a mail order business. Sears v2 - the standalone stores and the mall anchors you're talking about - were an extension of the American car culture. v3 may just take it back to mail order. (Although Amazon has the online general store thing pretty well locked up.)