Sears Files for Bankruptcy

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yeah

 


That's really the only wild card left at this point.  


 


We already know Sears is done.


 


I suppose everyone is waiting for a fire sale on that.  Or do we think they believe the brand is tainted with the stale reputation of it's parent?


 


Is Kenmore unique or special enough to stand on it's own?   
 
I think a lot of Kenmore's large appliance line is basically just rebadged Whirlpool and Frigidaire. I know for sure if you compare a Whirlpool side by side to Kenmore they look the same. Same with many Frigidaire and Kenmore ranges. Some of the Kenmore Elite line looks to be proprietary models made by LG.

Kenmore has a pretty nice small appliance line. I am not certain who it's made by but I would guess a lot of it is Electrolux, at least the Elite stuff. A lot of the higher end models don't seem to be represented in the store here anymore.

As far as floor care, Kenmore has a pretty unique selection. When Panasonic stopped making vacuums all of their designs and tooling were bought by Cleva to continue making them for Sears. Unlike in the past, when Eureka and Hoover and LG made vacuums for Sears, most of the current line was by Panasonic, so if they didn't find a new producer they were going to go bye bye. Cleva already made Craftsman shop vacuums so they were a good candidate.

I still prefer Kenmore's vacuums to a lot of what Bissell, Shark and Hoover put out. So I'd like to see the line carried elsewhere. The thing is though, Kenmore's vacuums are WAY different than the market trends. They still sell full sized BAGGED vacuums both uprights AND canisters. No one else except the premium brands is doing this. Few if any of your regular big box stores sell them. Kenmore does sell a few Shark like uprights and have just recently released a line of rechargable stick/hand vacs like Dyson has, but the majority is not what's in style right now for someone that buys a vacuum at Walmart, for example.

It's nice having a big box version of what Miele or Tacony put out at a lower price. I just feel that the prices are still too high. The TOL Kenmore Elite bagged canister costs almost $400. It's better than a lot of other vacuums but the build quality just isn't up to Tacony or Miele or any of those specialty vacuums. I think it has gotten a bit better in recent years though.

The prices do seem a little lower. I do wonder if Amazon could continue selling the Kenmore brand? They already sell them now. Plus could they could take over the parts and repair departments of Sears?
 
Maybe our Toyota Tercel driving friend, Jeff Bezos at Amazon, will help round out the Amazon world with the Kenmore Brand.  


 


It would be kind of cool if so, and if they could get the Sears outlets and expand these stripmall based stores to have Amazon drop boxes AND have it be a place where they could have demonstrator type show rooms for  anything from said Kenmore appliances, but also new things like smart phones.  A demo store would really help sell things online that typically would be a difficult thing because it's too big, or people want to try it out first.  Time will tell.  


 


I hope Kenmore gets saved.  

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So long, Sears...

Sadly, it does look like we're at the beginning of the end for Sears. I read somewhere that now-former Sears CEO and in-house corporate raider Eddie Lampert (Why hasn't this guy been indicted or at least investigated by the FTC?) made an offer some time ago of a measly $4 million for the Kenmore brand. Jeff Bezos should be able to top that out of his petty cash, if he wanted to. The question is, what is the Kenmore brand really worth today? As others have pointed out, it's just a name under which Sears re-badged other manufacturers' goods and while that name once meant something, it's now lost just about all of its luster with consumers. They don't really trust it anymore since they don't know if Sears will be around to honor the warranty in the event something goes wrong. "Solid as Sears" just doesn't mean what it used to.
 
Finally! lol

idk about Kenmore. It's possible some Chinese company will buy the name. However, that may not happen due to current import tariffs. I rather doubt any American company desires the marque for anything besides, perhaps, small appliances, in which case it might be a while as prospective buyers wait for the brand's value to swirl down the bowl.
 
Kenmore,like other names-is just stuck on cheap goods now-not worth it.Craftsman is now sold thru Lowes.Kenmore was liked by the "Mrs." of the household-Craftsman the "Mr." of the household.
 
I don't think the dissolution of the Kenmore name is so

Since it's inception, Kenmore was always just a label and Sears subcontracted out to whomever would make it for them the cheapest. Even years ago, some of their products were sub-par. For example how many Kenmore Duo-Powers do you see vs. Hoover Dial-A-Matics? If they're going to resurrect old Sears brand labels why not bring back the Destiny vacuum cleaner, or the Minnesota sewing machine?
 
Lampert offered to buy Kenmore for $400 million to be exact although I am not defending the guy. This is what happens when you let a hedge fund manager with no retail experience run a retail company. Lampert has drove the company into the ground, stripped the company of its assets, and never wanted to invest in the stores. When Sears does go into total liquidation he and his company ESL will profit the most. If you ask me I think that has always been his goal. I hate to admit it but everything he has done seems to support that theory. I just hope that even Penneys is able to turn themselves around. I still love going to shopping malls and department stores. I dont buy a whole lot online and I find it disheartening and scary to see all of these legacy brands struggling or even closing up.


Sears was one store that I remember the most from my youth,


 


Even at my age Sears was still relevant to me as a kid because every weekend that's where my parents went and that was how they got me to go clothes shopping because it was my chance to look at the vacuums Sears had. I always loved as a kid going to their vacuum displays because to me they felt better set up and I could actually try them out. The other thing I loved about Sears as a kid was their Christmas displays. Most Sears could really decorate their stores and around the holidays these stores seemed almost magical to me when I was younger.
 
Monkey Wards online

 


I don't want to detract from the subject of this post much.  I just found Montgomery Wards online.  .... at least it seems real.  lol


 


A store I would think people would be even less likely to shop at then Sears.


 


Their prices better include shipping.

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I remember hearing someone saying,

and this was tongue in cheek, that Sears is really a big finance company that also sells appliances. Most of the shopping malls of the 60's-80's around here and else where were built on land where Sears&Robuck had been operating for 10-20years already as standalone stores. Sears,J.C.Penny's and Emporium/Capwell's anchored most of the large shopping centers/malls around the bay area. The building that they leased to Montgomery Wards for 30 years sat empty for about 3 years when they closed. They put out ads saying they had your back if you owned appliances from Wards and they could service any appliance they sold or supply parts. Sears did have quite a large supply of parts and made house calls too! I like the Kenmore appliances that I have. The heavy duty 60,70 80 and 90 washers are real work horses, the Panasonic canister vacs, the stainless hood over the stove made by Broan and Craftsman tools with the lifetime warranty, and the lawn mower all good quality then, dicey now I know. Time will tell what lies ahead for these brands.
 
daknx1994

 


 


$400 million is correct.  That's what "fast Eddie" offered for Kenmore, but the board is hesitant to OK the sale due to pension issues and  The Pension Guaranty Corps intervening in the sale..... and the possibility of being sued by stock holders.  So what's going to happen to Kenmore?   time will tell. 


 


Frankly, I have this feeling Sears won't make it to Christmas. 


 


I remember the Christmas displays at Sears, and the much more important vacuum and appliance departments.   lol


 


In fairness, I don't think we should blame Mr. Lambert.  Stores like Sears and ToyRUs were going to fail/have failed due to technology changes..... Amazon, yada, yada, yada.


 


People like Mr. Lambert, and Mittens Romney and others, smartly fore-saw the encroachment of technology.  Instead of letting assets simply sink in value, they coordinated to extract the value.   


 


It's like a cargo ship at sea that is slowly sinking because of a series of tiny, unfixable holes in the shell.  Do we simply sit and watch it sink taking all the cargo with it, or do we make efforts to remove the cargo, ASAP? 


 


We'd be out there with helicopters and barges to lift things to safety.  Mr. Lambert has been working for many years to bring the Sears Love Boat carefully down without crashing it.    By the end of this year Sears / Kmart will have closed about 2/3rd of it's stores.  That's a lot easier to liquidate than 4000 and less likely to make waves in the economy.  (I'm searching for a another sea-faring metaphor, but I'm all out.) 


 


Oh yes, Eddie is less of a pirate and more of a long shore dock foremen, dealing with the after affects of a jaws type encounter.  Does fast eddie have a parrot or a peg-leg...... I don't...... think so? ......  


 


 
 
Kenmore

I don't think Kenmore ever made their own products, they were always made by another manufacturer. I know in the early 1970's, the Kenmore canisters, made by Whirlpool were very nice. I wish I could go back in time and visit a Sears store in the early 1970's and see what their vacuum display looked like. I think Sears was the only department store where canister vacuums were still sold, all of the stores are selling the cheap bagless uprights now. If you want a decent canister, you either have to buy it on line or go to a vacuum dealer.
Mike
 
Our Sears hit town, big time mid 60s? Maybe early. Still open, ghost town though. Displays were amazing, the vacuum department was magic. Bought my first vacuum there as a kid, I think $18? Douglass rebrand hand vac.Have had a few canisters of theirs, perform ok, hold up ok, not fond of the bag collars. Their displays that caught me were the BIG beach balls hovering over the canister hose on the exhaust, just rolling around high up in the air, gosh the miles on those motors! Will be missed, though not closing here, yet. Loved the Sears service dept and parst depot
 
When I was a kid, my mother would go shopping at Sears. She would actually leave me in the vacuum department (I don't think people stole other people's children in those days). I was 5 or 6. The vacuum salesperson would use Kapok to spell out KENMORE on the red carpet, and would use the new Power-Mate canister to clean it up in front of a prospect. Boy, I wanted to grow up to be a vacuum cleaner salesman.

I was also fascinated with the dishwashers at Sears. The display model had a clear glass front with a few dishes and lights inside. The Roto-Rack was spinning around and you could see the wash arm pummeling the dishes in the lower rack. The washing machines were full of water and colored hand towels and you were invited to turn the knob and 'watch it wash'.

The downward fall of Sears can be traced to the "Brand Central" idea, in my opinion. It was the beginning of the end. For decades, only Kenmore brand appliances were for sale at Sears. Once "brand central" became a thing, all brands of washers and other appliances started showing up at Sears stores, making their Kenmore appliances just 'another choice' as opposed to being the only choice. A huge downfall from the days of "Lady Kenmore" and the idea Sears appliances were "The Best".

With Cleva taking over the manufacturing of Kenmore cleaners, I think they knew the end was near. Cleva-built vacuums - identical to Kenmores - are being sold at Vac Shops. ESSCO carries them (ESSCO is the vac shop wholesale parts and cleaner supplier to the industry).

It's sad, but Sears did it to themselves.
 
I remember those too Tom! Sears or Wards, parents knew where to find me! I also wonder, way back before everyone had charge cards, Sears/Wards had their own credit for the big purchases, wonder if selling off their credit arm brought them down too?
 
Montgomery Ward's

was the main anchor of the mall near us growing up. My father had some Ward's "Powr-Kraft" tools, and I can remember seeing radios and TV's branded as "Airline". I remember when they started the whole "Electric Avenue" concept, and started offering brands like Fisher, Hitachi, and Sony, in lieu of their private-label electronics.

Most of the places we shopped at growing up are closed now....it's sad to see.
 

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