This could finally be the last of Sears and Kmart’s holiday shopping season

news7g11/26/2021

6 3 minutes read

This could finally be the last of Sears and Kmart's holiday shopping season

The two chains are just their shell as the parent company owns both emerge from bankruptcy less than three years ago.

At that time, the parent company – with the overly optimistic name Transformco – still had 223 Sears and 202 Kmart stores nationwide. That number is down 87% from the 3,500 stores between two brands when they merge together in 2005 to form Sears Holdings. But the percentage drop in stores since the company’s bankruptcy in February 2019 has been even stronger.

Today, only 21 full Sears stores remain in the United States and two more in Puerto Rico, according to the store locator on the Sears website, after the recently closed stores were removed. The other seven stores listed on the site are limited to selling household goods and, in some cases, mattresses, rather than the full range of products that were once a hallmark of both chains.

And by the end of the year there will be only six kilometers to go in the continental United States, along with six others in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

“For me, it’s always been like a liquidation. This has been going on for years,” said Reshmi Basu, a retail bankruptcy specialist at Debtwire.

Many retail experts blamed Eddie Lampert, the main owner of Transformco and Sears Holdings, for the collapse of the two chains.

“He’s letting the lease expire, he’s giving up the stores,” said Mark Cohen, director of retail research at Columbia University. “Obviously they’ll all be gone soon. You can count on that.”

Sears and Kmart aren’t the only retailers struggling with a shift in shopping habits to big box retailers like Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT)and for online retailers like Amazon (AMZN). JCPenney and Neiman Marcus both filed for bankruptcy when the pandemic hit in 2020, and Lord & Taylor was out of the business.

But Lampert’s critics say he blames both companies’ dramatic declines, as he invests less in the stores themselves and sells off more of the more compelling properties and brands that Sears does. used to be, such as Craftsman Diehard and Lands End auto parts and tools.

“It’s been in decline for quite some time,” said Neil Saunders, managing director and retail analyst at research firm GlobalData.

There is little chance of saving either chain in the current retail environment. The supplier is having problems give retailers much more powerful with the inventory they need, now supply chain problem. That makes it harder for Sears or Kmart to get the product shoppers want.

“We know that our suppliers are prioritizing their delivery. They’re delivering to stores to add value to the brand,” said Greg Portell, global consumer leading partner at the company. consultant Kearney said.

And the labor market – in near-record numbers job opportunities – only makes it harder for chains that are struggling to attract the labor they need.

“The battle for talent in the retail industry is very real right now. Not only are they increasing hourly wages, but they are also looking for other factors to attract workers, college degrees, benefits, things that Sears does. and other struggling retailers will have a hard time.” Portell.

Kmart is closing its last Michigan store; There will be only a handful of locations in the US by the end of the year

If this is indeed the end, it will be a sad demise for two necklaces dating back to the late 19th century.

Kmart started in 1899 when founder Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a 5-cent store in downtown Detroit that bears his name. The Kmart brand only appeared until 1962. The chain grew rapidly over several decades, confirming the discount segment of the market that big box stores like Walmart and Target currently dominate.

Kmart is known for its 15-minute “blue light special”: a store will flash a green light and announce “attention Kmart shoppers” via its public address system and customers will flock Buy discount. The promotions started in 1965 but were discontinued in 1991, although Kmart tried to bring them back several times.

Sears’ history is even more layered. The company was once the largest retailer in the country — both Walmart and Amazon in its heyday. At a time when the majority of Americans lived in rural areas, its catalog allowed many consumers to buy goods they otherwise would not have access to.

And Sears stores dominate the retail scene, forcing many locally owned Main Street stores out of business in a way that one day big-box retailers cause department stores to close. Much of the Sears was the anchorage of the commercial centers that helped lead to the growth of the US suburbs. It really is a The company that changed America.

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