Sears sold Craftsman

[oldwoodie]

Stanley Black and Decker plans to buy Craftsman according to a paper an Ace Hardware employee showed me that he received today. 150 Sears stores includes 109 Kmart bannered that are not profitable are also closing. Total price tag was described as about $900 million. This is just a part of what the announcement read.

[Stick486]

won't miss them...

[Ron Altier]

I'm thinking that they will take that money, plus the 200 mil that the investor shelled out and make a new company. Think about it, They have stores everywhere that can easily be converted to warehouses and be serious competion to Amazon

[John Moody]

Craftsman brand is certainly not what it was when I was a young boy. Back then it was about the only tool my dad would buy but later in life he move away from them. 

 

It it seemed to me when Kmart bought Sears, Sears quit being what made it great. It was just another Kmart with a different name. 

[kmealy]

Comment on "Made in America" http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a25482/made-in-america-tools/?src=socialflowFB

 

 

"Craftsman is one of the most iconic American companies in any industry, but its reputation for producing quality power tools has taken a hit in recent years."  which I would say is "putting it nicely" for a brand equivalent to HF.

[Al B]

This has been in the works for some time. Stanley Black and Decker have been buying out various manufacturers over the years, maintaining some of the brands tools while eliminating others. In the end, they are eliminating competition and reducing the available choices for certain tools. Look what they did to Delta. They also eliminated most of the Rigid floor model tools, with the possible exception of the table saw.

Edited March 22, 2017 by It Was Al B

[Stick486]

1 hour ago, kmealy said:

which I would say is "putting it nicely" for a brand equivalent to HF.

 

very expensive HF....

[kmealy]

10 hours ago, Stick486 said:

 

very expensive HF....

with worse customer service.  The last time I tried to get something at Sears' tool department

1.  The first guy ducked into the back room when he saw me coming

2. The second person waved her hand and said,"That would be over there in the middle somewhere."

3. The third person, while I'm standing in front of the display trying to find the part I needed, said, "I don't know, you'll have to look," then walked away.

 

Sorry, I went one more time with a son-in-law (whom I cannot convince not to buy this crap because his father brainwashed him), they were closing the store and liquidating the merchandise at a whopping 5-10% off.

[Fred W. Hargis Jr]

We won't have Sears to kick around much longer, even the company  has announced it may not survive in a recent filing:

"Usually buried in the small print of some troubled public companies is the phrase “substantial doubt exists related to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern.” Recently that company was Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD), parent of Sears and Kmart, which made the comment in its 10-K annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."

[Gene Howe]

It's sad that so many jobs will be lost. And that some folks will lose (K mart) a place to shop for affordable goods. 

Sears won't be missed, though.

[kmealy]

I worked for Allstate, then a subsidiary of Sears, back in the mid-70s.   At that time, we all said, "Sears is trying to sell K-Mart quality merchandise at Macy's prices."    Took a while, but https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurengensler/2017/03/22/sears-substantial-doubt-future/?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=839467687&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB#331588a967f9

[Al B]

It's pretty hard to make a profit when  half of the shelves are empty, and your employees are not properly trained to service the customers. That is, if the customer can find an employee to serve them.

[kmealy]

40 minutes ago, It Was Al B said:

It's pretty hard to make a profit when  half of the shelves are empty, and your employees are not properly trained to service the customers. That is, if the customer can find an employee to serve them.

Yes.  Home Depot almost went down the chute a few years ago when this was the norm.   I swear 10 years ago, I could have walked into a HD with an assault rifle and not managed to hit an OAG (Orange Aproned Guy/Gal).    They fired the CEO and things got much better.

[schnewj]

Well, Sears strikes again!

 

I have a '05 F-150 with Michelin's all the way around. All bought at Sears. I don't put many miles on the truck but it was time for the tires to get balanced. I roll in and to skip all of the story about the computer tapping, side-ward glances by the rep and the tech, I knew something was about to happen.

 

Well in comes the rep, who tells me that he wont't balance the front tires because they are weather checked and it was a safety issue. However, he could balance the back ones and was more then willing to sell me two new tires for the front. When I pointed out that they were heavy duty multiple 8 ply tires and that the checking he noticed was at this point only cosmetic, he started his two step routine. Since I wasn't going to win the argument on the two front tires, I told him to go ahead and balance the two rear tires. "OK, but I'll have to charge you." Huh! What? I have road hazard and a lifetime balance on them. "Sorry, it's not in the computer". "Wadda ya mean not in the computer, this store, who sold me the tires, has been balancing them for the past six years! Do you want to see the shop orders? They're in the glove box." "Ah, sorry, I can't do it.

 

I won't repeat what I then proceeded to say prior to my exit from the store. Suffice it to say, it was slightly colorful and not very pretty. In addition, it ended with the statement "I'll never shop at Sears, again".

 

So, onto the main store. To the clerk, "I'd like the telephone number for the district manager" "OK", as she picks up the phone and mumbles something into the receiver. "Sorry, sir, I can't give that to you. The store manager will be in at noon and you can talk to him". Not wanting to wait around for two hours, I asked for the corporate number. She snidely replied here I got it off of GOOGLE!

 

Well onto the house, call the number to play the press "number whatever" game and get the complaint department.

 

I voice my displeasure over Sear's breach of contract and reiterate the whole story. It ended with a complaint filed and the promise that it would be sent to the store manager and a copy to the district manager. So now, the store that tried to sell me un-needed/un-wanted tire and refused to honor the lifetime balance is going to fix the problem. Right!

 

Within 20 minutes the phone rings and guess who it is? Yes, Mr. "I can sell you two new tires". It is obvious that the corporate office has reamed his hindmost orifice. He is all apologies and polite on the verge of being condescending. He proceeds to declare the misunderstanding was just a computer glitch. (Yup, I know when someone is urinating on my shoes!) Then he floors me when he says, "if you'll bring the truck in we'll balance all four tires." "What did you just say? I thought that you said, that it was a safety issue. How has that changed"? "Um, um, ah, well I won't guarantee that they'll balance correctly, but I'll do it.

 

Sorry, NO THANKS! "I meant it when I said, I would never do business with Sears, again."

 

Now that is twice that Sears has tried to avoid their obligations. Last time it was a torque wrench with a lifetime warranty (which I did win) and now this.

 

So, is anyone wondering why Sears is in the toilet?

[Grandpadave52]

Here snoozch...try one of  these..."you know you're not yourself when you get hungry"...

Edited March 23, 2017 by Grandpadave52

[Grandpadave52]

Just read this tonight...

 

Sears Financial Woes Grow

[schnewj]

2 hours ago, Grandpadave52 said:

Here snoozch...try one of  these..."you know you're not yourself when you get hungry"...

I do love SNICKERS! How'd ya know?

[LarryS]

I could never figure out why Sears ever bought out K Mart when they both were in trouble at that time when they purchased it.

[schnewj]

4 hours ago, LarryS said:

I could never figure out why Sears ever bought out K Mart when they both were in trouble at that time when they purchased it.

 

It was a case of macro/micro economics. The CEO at the time was a hedge fund guy. He was looking to manipulate the business to make a profit. He blew it in the long run and it bit him.

 

My brother, who is/was a lawyer specializing in high dollar bankruptcies once explained it to me. In essence, it is sometimes more profitable to; one, take the losses as tax breaks, or, two, sell off the assets for more then what the purchase price was. This happens everyday. He once had to deal with Donnie Trump on one of his many bankruptcies. Rest assured that he (DT) made money in the long run on it.

 

Although the practices may be morally of ethically questionable, they are a viable way of making some people money. It is not illegal.  However, that conversation is best done elsewhere and not here.

[kmealy]

(more than) "another one bites the dust..."

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2017/03/23/how-trumps-web-of-influence-extends-from-indonesia-to-silicon-valley/?utm_source=FBPAGE&utm_medium=social&utm_content=840193133&utm_campaign=sprinklrForbesMainFB#36386c6d418b