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OT: Sear and K-mart liquidating

Bill D

Diamond
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
Location
Modesto, CA USA
Off Topic: I grew up with Sears Craftsman lifetime tools. K-mart bought Sears about a decade ago. Now both are going into bankruptcy and will shut down all stores.
I know folks here look down on Sears hand tools but they were the only good ones most people ever saw in a store.
Bill D
 
Yes, Sears was bought by Kmart, however that doesn't really describe the whole story. The merger was orchestrated by the hedge fund owner of Kmart. This hedge fund ran both companies into the ground, maximizing short term profitability for the shareholders (including the hedge fund boss, who owned 1/3 himself) at the expense of long-term sustainability. Probably a healthy dash of managerial incompetence was involved as well, but the incentives are aligned such that the decision makers still got a very healthy payday.
It's a story that should be very familiar to spectators of American manufacturing!

How vulture capitalists ate Sears

FWIW, I'm younger than many on this site so by the time I started buying tools for myself in earnest Sears/Craftsman was already a lower quality brand. There were some bad decisions that made them less competitive long before the hedge fund buyout.
 
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When I started working as a mechanic 18ish years ago, I bought tons of Craftsman tools. At the time they were mostly being made by Danaher/Apex and many nearly identical tools were sold as Armstrong, Matco, Napa, Allen, and KD. They weren't great, but they were mostly US made.

Anyway, I figured I would use them until they broke and then replace them with better. I still have nearly all of them in use, though now they are mostly my mobile/back up tools.
 
I have Craftman tools still in use that are probably older than a lot of PM members. Started buying tools before I was old enough to drive and I am 57. I used to love looking through the Sears catalog when I was a kid, plotting my next tool purchase. Sad day they are liquidating. I do admit the Craftsman brand had steadily went downhill the last few decades.

I escaped from California 8 years ago. I patronized the Sears store in Riverside Ca on Arlington avenue for over 15 years. The reason why I liked it was it never was crowded. Every time Sears put out a list of stores to be closed I figure they would get that one, but it appears it will make it to the end. Don't know how it stayed open, maybe it did a big catalog business.
 
The sin, the absolute sin of this is that Sears was Amazon in 1900. That they could not transition from a paper catalog to internet sales must stand as one of the biggest retail bungles of all time.

The above posting about the hedge fund managers is true, it gets worse, if you read up on it.
 
There was a time when I bought tools predominantly from Sears because they had a good selection, reasonable quality, reasonable price and a good guarantee. I didn't figure I needed to shop around, just go in with confidence.

The shine started to fade with the suit about the quick release ratchet where it became apparent that they had really manipulated the original inventor. I sided with the intellectual property aspects and appreciated that the case changed corporate practice somewhat. One dollar for an employee's idea was no longer the norm. Later I got a patent of my own, fortunately of no interest to Sears.

Then there was a lawsuit over their insurance business in which it came to light that they systematically discriminated against women and minorities in the organization.

Then there was the case where they pleaded no contest to bait-and-switch advertising in which they had minimal or no stock of advertised priced merchandise but would try to get potential buyers to move up. That sounded like organizational bad ethics somewhere at the top where stuff was just running downhill. By this time I almost never shop there anymore, just on principle.

Then a few years ago there was another one in the news where the auto service section was found to be replacing parts that didn't need it, just to pad the bill.

Rot at the top. If the whole tree is shriveling and dying it's a natural consequence and I hope it makes room in the marketplace for more deserving companies. This is a free market after all where capital moves towards the businesses offering what people want. My only regret is that whatever managers responsible probably won't be buried with the business.
 
Yes, Sears was bought by Kmart, however that doesn't really describe the whole story. The merger was orchestrated by the hedge fund owner of Kmart. This hedge fund ran both companies into the ground, maximizing short term profitability for the shareholders (including the hedge fund boss, who owned 1/3 himself) at the expense of long-term sustainability. Probably a healthy dash of managerial incompetence was involved as well, but the incentives are aligned such that the decision makers still got a very healthy payday.
It's a story that should be very familiar to spectators of American manufacturing!

How vulture capitalists ate Sears

FWIW, I'm younger than many on this site so by the time I started buying tools for myself in earnest Sears was already a lower quality brand. There were some bad decisions that made them less competitive long before the hedge fund buyout.

Just a waste really. Sears was the best place I knew to buy good tools and I did. I hear the Craftsman line is only going to lessen in quality. Always liked the Craftsman 24 inch Cresent as they serve multiple uses.
 
I believe Stanley now owns the Craftsman name. I don't know what they will do with it. We had a Farm store that carried Craftsman for a few years. Now they are moving it out and going to Milwaukee and Dewalt (also Stanley) hand tools.
 
I've found Craftsman tools at Lowes and at ACE Hardware, as well as at Kmart. I'm glad it will continue in some form because I've never found a screwdriver handle that suits me as well as their cheap old clear standard screwdriver handle for general repair use. Sears itself hasn't been much use to me for years except as sometimes a source of online replacement parts for appliances. Our largest local mall will have lost 2 of it's 4 anchor stores in the past year when Sears closes there.
 
There was a time when I bought tools predominantly from Sears because they had a good selection, reasonable quality, reasonable price and a good guarantee. I didn't figure I needed to shop around, just go in with confidence.

The shine started to fade with the suit about the quick release ratchet where it became apparent that they had really manipulated the original inventor. I sided with the intellectual property aspects and appreciated that the case changed corporate practice somewhat. One dollar for an employee's idea was no longer the norm. Later I got a patent of my own, fortunately of no interest to Sears.

Then there was a lawsuit over their insurance business in which it came to light that they systematically discriminated against women and minorities in the organization.

Then there was the case where they pleaded no contest to bait-and-switch advertising in which they had minimal or no stock of advertised priced merchandise but would try to get potential buyers to move up. That sounded like organizational bad ethics somewhere at the top where stuff was just running downhill. By this time I almost never shop there anymore, just on principle.

Then a few years ago there was another one in the news where the auto service section was found to be replacing parts that didn't need it, just to pad the bill.

Rot at the top. If the whole tree is shriveling and dying it's a natural consequence and I hope it makes room in the marketplace for more deserving companies. This is a free market after all where capital moves towards the businesses offering what people want. My only regret is that whatever managers responsible probably won't be buried with the business.

I did not remember this until I read this. This is all too common screwing over little innovators and sicing Lawyers on them. Have they no shame? Then running a large company down to rob it out lining the pockets of the elite who profit. No wonder it is only a small part of the wrecking of so much in the country we just see going away. Amazon and other sellers take advantage of the new developments in marketing and for now are on top. Who knows who will be on top in ten or twenty years? I am sure China will be a large part of it.
 
It used to be something to be bragged about if a business was in business for 100 years. Not is seems like a death knell. Lots of people want to buy from the newest place, not the old standby.
 
Now how are we going to have an outhouse, without a Sears catalogue. Time are rough.

I still remember the training received in my youth. After the index pages were gone, that was PDQ, and while doing your business you tore out and wadded and "unwadded" and rewadded the glossy pages so they softened up. Store them on the the bench next to you until you're finished. Seems at that stage of my life I remember the lingerie pages disappearing first.

Thank you,
Mr.Smith
 
I believe Stanley now owns the Craftsman name. I don't know what they will do with it. We had a Farm store that carried Craftsman for a few years. Now they are moving it out and going to Milwaukee and Dewalt (also Stanley) hand tools.

Pretty sure that's reversed... I went to the big box home improvement store to find the classic Stanley tape measure that everyone and their father, and his father have had forever.... Nope, not a single one. The associate told me I had to get the ugly, less ergonomic red craftsman one instead, they no longer make them in the Stanley name.

Went home and bought some (presumably) NOS Stanleys off Amazon for a few bucks...
Stanley.jpgcraftsman.jpg
 
Probably the store's preference. My ACE has Stanley tapes. I have a 1/4 X 10' in my pocket I bought there a month or so ago.
 








 
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