Sears Bankruptcy

[JAinVA 4,619]

I am old enough to remember the huge yearly catalogs and I know I am not alone here.When Wendys first opened the tables had adds from the very early catalogs on them.One more thing that future generations won't see.Any thoughts?

Edited October 16, 2018 by JAinVA

[Razorback 1,035]

I am still in shock that the reality of a bankrupt Sears is actually happening. I, too, remember the catalogs. My favorite memory of Sears is Dad's 1974 SS16 garden tractor!

[roadapples 6,983]

I have a new catalog from the last year they put them out. The house across the road from my mothers was a kit sold by Sears & Roebuck. I remember a chicken house (probably 10'x20') in town that my dad said came from Sears. And I remember my parents saying the most popular use for the catalog was in the outhouse.....

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Sears started out as a "mail order" company. As technology progressed we all became "mail order" buyers, but it became Email/Internet buyers, thus Sears lost business. Also, as time passed, Sears quality went down, 

[Dan693 510]

My Dad was the Service Manager at Sears for 10 years in the 70's. They had a whole row of new Sears minibikes in the hall outside the service dept.

I dreamed of having one but it was not to be.......bummer.

My mom would drop me off on Saturdays to roam the store (and mall) then I would come home at 10 with my Dad. The last hour was great when they were closed. Heck I even was friends with the security guy.

A different era for sure.

 

["Manic-Mechanic" 1,194]

Sears & Roebuck! Who doesn't have fond memories of all the wonderful O.P.E. & Tools! Then shortly after the Customer Service began the "decline", it was only a matter of time.......

[The Tuul Crib 7,336]

When I heard of the bankruptcy it was not a shock to me. I new it was fourth coming.

Dont know how many WH owners use craftsman tools but I've heard that Stanley 

was taking over that line.

[ztnoo 2,298]

Sears was the 800 pound Gorilla in retail for decades, but when new technologies began to be used as a marketing and sales tool, Sears was ultra slow to react and adapt.

They fell behind so much they could never catch up with Walmart, and then Amazon.

From what I've read, Eddie Lampert was really after the real estate and had little real interest in saving Sears as a major retailer.

 

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/15/sears-bankruptcy/1595399002/

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

2 hours ago, KC9KAS said:

Sears started out as a "mail order" company. As technology progressed we all became "mail order" buyers, but it became Email/Internet buyers, thus Sears lost business. Also, as time passed, Sears quality went down, 

  Yep, if someone had a crystal ball and could have seen how future consumers would be shopping Sears could have been what Amazon is today. I agree that the quality of Sears branded products went down, craftsman tools especially.

[peter lena 8,580]

at the zagrey show a couple of weeks back at Colchester CT , there was a 1924  sears hit and miss powered mobile chassis,  the 8 " angular formed steel channel chassis was incredible,  with equal axels and take offs. this was set up for logging and sawing . this was bought thru the sears catalog , it was literally a mobile powerhouse, that could be adapted to do just about anything.  I was talking to the guy that had found it, it just stopped me in my tracks, for me that, was the mechanical star of the show. pete

[Goldnboy 910]

All my tools are craftsman USA quality before the outsourcing to mfg overseas.

I have many specialized tools from farming days that I wonder how it is "guaranteed forever" works now.

I also remember that my favorite thing to see in the mail as a kid was the Sears Christmas catalog!

[c-series don 8,663]

I too remember the catalog coming in the mail before Christmas. I remember the jeans they sold called toughskins, they were stiff as a brick, came in all different colors and the inside of them felt like 80 grit sandpaper on your knees!! Also remember their tool slogan "Guaranteed not to rust,bust, collect dust or otherwise be defective!" 

[Digger 66 3,478]

2 hours ago, Goldnboy said:

my favorite thing to see in the mail as a kid was the Sears Christmas catalog!

 

Ditto ^ 

Sad to see them go but empires don't last forever .

 

 

 

 

Edited October 16, 2018 by Digger 66

[KC9KAS 4,741]

22 minutes ago, c-series don said:

I remember the jeans they sold called toughskins,

I think they also had a "HUSKY" jeans....I was a little pudgy is grade school!

[Rob R 966]

I still have my original Sears tool box full or great hand tools from when I was 13 yrs old, back then when you bought a tool box you could send away for a free engraved name and address tag which I did;  60 years later it is still on the tool box with the house street address in Hempstead, New York where I was born and raised...…  

[953 nut 55,065]

As a child I remember the "Sears Wish Book" arriving and how we would dog ear so many pages to give our parents some idea of what we wanted for Christmas. Lots of my tools are Craftsman and every appliance in my parents house was Kenmore. 

The handwriting has been on the wall for nearly two decades that they wouldn't make it. They could have adapted and continued to be a dominant force in retail, but poor management killed them just like Woolworts, W.T.Grants, Sibley's, Zayer to name a few. 

The sad part of this and many other bankruptcies is that the pension funds have been raped by the managers and we tax payers will be left holding the bag.

[WHNJ701 4,165]

I won't miss sears, I barely ever shopped there.  I did buy a washer and dryer a few years back.

 most of time I went there was to return those horrible 3/8 ratchet's that always break.

[WHX?? 48,763]

I will miss them for sure.  Like Richard I remember the wish book and was a huge thing and that came out. We would dog ear the favorite pages in hopes. My dad's tools were always Craftsmans and mine too till they got silly. All the tools that I bought Jabel they replaced no question asked. 

Yup tho pee poor management and failure to keep up with the times finally did them in. I think? Whats gonna happen with ACE carrying the brand name?

Great thread fellas.

Edited October 17, 2018 by WHX21

[Machineguy 877]

I miss the Sears quality of old. Seems like once the yuppie bean counter group got in control they threw away quality for profit. Sad to see an American Company go belly up. But when you can buy comparable quality hand tools at Harbor Frieght for half the price, game over. Brand name alone won’t keep a things afloat nowadays. People will pay for quality but if it’s not there, people will seek a better deal. 

Management of many corporate structures have lost touch with the end user of products. Such is the case with Sears and their power and tooling products. That’s my opinion on their demise. 

[JAinVA 4,619]

To be honest I stopped buying from Sears when they abandoned the catalog.I think I am not the only one that did that.Find something you liked, like my Gilson batch mixer,go to the catalog store and order.When it got to the store, back up to the loading dock and load up.

[Machineguy 877]

2 minutes ago, JAinVA said:

To be honest I stopped buying from Sears when they abandoned the catalog.I think I am not the only one that did that.Find something you liked, like my Gilson batch mixer,go to the catalog store and order.When it got to the store, back up to the loading dock and load up.

I stopped buying Sears when the quality of Pittsburgh and MIT wrenches and hand tools at Harbor Frieght became as good as Craftsman wrenches. 

I couldn’t afford Snap-On or Mac as a teenager and young man and Crafstman is all I’d buy. As soon as a comparable alternative for less came around I jumped ship. Us working stiffs have to stretch a dollar anyway we can. 

Still just sad to see them fold though. 

[r356c 375]

Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday after years of staying afloat through financial maneuvering and relying on billions of CEO Eddie Lampert's own money. Lampert, who has served as CEO for the past five years, will step down from that post, effective immediately, but remain chairman.

 

Mr. Lampert always viewed Sears as a real estate play as most locations were anchor locations in malls. No crystal ball there. In the words of Monty Python, malls are past tense.

 

These days it is a Pit and the Pendulum  drama between Amazon and Walmart.

[WHNJ701 4,165]

yes, they did return tools no questions asked but always craftsman "broke" alot more than other comparable brands like husky, kobalt, Pittsburg.

the catalog was before my time. I am remember my grandparents saved a few from the 70s and we would look through them once and awhile at the strange people with funny hair.

[PeacemakerJack 10,738]

Honestly...I’m concerned about all major retail stores in the upcoming years if the pendulum continues to swing towards on line shopping.  In a moment, if someone is looking to buy something, they can look at their device and compare prices nation or even worldwide, make a purchase with a few clicks, and a few days later it shows up at their door.  It is hard to fathom the reality of that and what it could potentially do over time to retail sales stores.  I sure hope I’m wrong because while I like to buy stuff on line, I still like to go into a retail store and compare items by holding them in my hand.  

 

That being said,  the summer that I turned 13 I worked on my Grandpas dairy farm.  He paid me a nice sum for the work I had done even though I would have done it for free.  My dad had been telling me to buy tools and so I went to Sears and bought a socket and ratchet set.  I used it just the other day once again to suit up the tractors for winter.  I have literally hundreds of thousands of cycles on those ratchets and they keep on working.  Too bad the quality went, then the brand image toughness, and now likely the brand.  Interesting times we live in for sure...some things are more valuable than money.

[WVHillbilly520H 10,373]

...I'm with ya Josh, some things like shoes just can't be tried on over the airwaves...