Sears has filed for bankruptcy

[SilverBeach]

Oh, I worked at Sears in high school, and it was the first year electronic registers came out.

[PennySycamore]

@PopRox!  I still remember going to Woolworth's!  I think there's a statue or some other commemoration in from of the Greenville, SC Woolworth building for the lunch counter sit-ins sponsored by SNCC in the early 60s.  

I wish I'd gotten to have a nice Frito pie at the lunch counter at the Albuquerque Woolworth's.  Their Frito pie was legendary!

[SilverBeach]

I used to love a grilled cheese and fries at Woolworths.

[RosyDaisy]

I worked at Sears while in college. I had a blast. It was a smaller store, and we all felt like family.

[MissAquarius]

My mom worked at both Woolworths and McCroys. The town next door tore down the entire "historic" main street earlier this year, so the McCroys building is gone. Everything built after 1925 is gone. Imagine an entire downtown with only 3 building left standing. I literally puked when I saw it in person. They're trying to get the Woolworths building and the buildings around it just around the corner, too. Woolworths is a little too sentimental, so the developers are having hell getting it. I'm currently banned from that town's City council meetings.

BTW, the abandoned Sears building is still sitting vacant. Nobody has rented it for anything in almost 20 years. It's a dangerous eyesore that drives people away from that area of town. The city refuses to tear it down because it's a SEARS!

[WhatWouldJohnCrichtonDo?]

1 hour ago, MissAquarius said:

BTW, the abandoned Sears building is still sitting vacant. Nobody has rented it for anything in almost 20 years. It's a dangerous eyesore that drives people away from that area of town. The city refuses to tear it down because it's a SEARS!

I guess my town got lucky. When the downtown Sears here closed because they moved to the new mall (in the late 80s), a state government department snapped the building right up. It is a three story building with an attatched parking garage near many city, county, and state government offices. Prime real estate, really.

[smittykins]

On 10/24/2018 at 4:08 PM, cindyluvs24 said:

Its funny how Sears is being usurped by Amazon, yet Sears was the original Amazon.  They perfected the mail order business. Who remembers the catalog and the Christmas Wish Book ?  (raises hand)  Hell, they even sold house kits.   They were also the first place to let my mom have a credit card .... in her own name.  And they sold detergent in five gallon buckets.  And who remembers wearing Toughskins jeans ?  (The ones for girls came in pastel colors.)

For a couple of years, they even sold cars(the Allstate):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allstate_(automobile)

[WiseGirl]

On 10/26/2018 at 8:56 PM, PopRox said:

please never die Boscov's, I love you). 

I know, right? It came a few years ago to near where my parent's live in NJ. Absolutely love it. I love that it still has a candy counter. It is a very busy store and I hope it remains so.

23 hours ago, PopRox said:

Anyone remember going to Woolworth or

 *raises hand* I went to Woolworths and even ate at their lunch counter.

Regional stores that have disappeared in my lifetime Bradlee's, Caldor's, Turn Style (where I would buy Tinkerbell cologne...). Damn I feel old now....

[SilverBeach]

I remember TurnStyle,  which then became Venture I think. When I was a kid, the Sears Christmas Wish Book was magic. All the catalogs were, my mom stacked them on the radiator in the living room. I fantasized so much looking through those pages.

[OhNoNike]

Our JCP went out before our Sears did.  We’re now out the JCP, Sears, Kmart and another very large local department store chain shuttered it’s doors over the summer. 

[SilverBeach]

JCP is still going strong here, I think Sephora helps.

[Suz8710]

I rarely patronize Sears as an adult, but it's so sad. After the new closures, there will only be one Kmart within a reasonable distance and no Sears. I tend to be a little too nostalgic sometimes, and Sears/Kmart do it for me. Lots of memories going for paint/appliances as a child with my parents, clothes shopping with my Grandma and of course the yearly holiday photos. Another Grandparent lived where Kmart was "the" happening place in town - so I always looked forward to going there anytime we'd visit.

Whenever I set foot in either a Kmart or Sears I feel transported to the 1990's and it is strangely comforting.

[OhNoNike]

I cancelled my Sears credit card last month.  We had it for when we purchased apppliances. I told them I just didn’t need it because there are no stores nearby and there’s just no point.  The person told me I could use it online and earn points to use at.... local stores.  I said there are no local stores.  Then she told me “they’re trying to open more stores nationwide”.   I doubted that, given they’d just closed both Kmart and Sears nearby.  

They were very nice on the phone and I knew they were doing their jobs.  But I did chuckle at the last statement that there’s an effort to open additional stores..

[Briefly]

On 10/26/2018 at 8:57 PM, PennySycamore said:

@SilverBeach, your mention of roasted peanuts reminded me of the time when many stores had candy counters which if you were lucky also sold nuts and popcorn.  I loved cashews and getting them when we went to get our eyes checked was a treat.  I sometimes worked at the candy counter at the dime store I worked at when I was a kid. It had an old fashioned cash register (with keys for a nickel, dime and so forth)  and you had some math to do if the sale was more than a dollar.  We were allowed to get popcorn at our breaks and slurpees for free as long as we used to cheap cups. 

I took the plunge and ordered a used copy of Small is Beautiful from Alibris.

The candy counter at Sears!  I'd forgotten about it.  It was such a treat, Dad would get the car worked on and we would get to go to the candy counter.  We would get either popcorn or fruit slices.  That was a major highlight of my childhood.

[RainbowSky]

On 10/15/2018 at 8:52 PM, HarleyQuinn said:

I feel like Sears has been going out of business for the last decade. Ours finally bit the dust a few years ago.

I don't think JCP will have the same issue. They have high quality clothes and the salons + Sephora to help. Plus didn't the acquisition of Kmart essentially make them compete against each other?

Sears was already done when Kmart acquired them...it's just been dragged out longer now.

[acheronbeach]

On 10/15/2018 at 7:56 PM, Vivi_music said:

I went to see some of the liquidation at our Sears last year but it was not that great. At least at our nearest Sears. I know tons of people in my area where saying it wasn't a good enough deal. I think they had trouble selling stuff away because they did end up lowing the sales more than they first did. Mr. Music got a winter coat at 40% off and it was amongst the best sales. Maybe it was local stores that decided how to undergo their liquidation?

It is sad but a predictable end, unfortunately. It is the market that is changing. I remember waiting for the Christmas catalog every fall as a kid, When we would get it, it was a party night in our PJs. We would sit at the kitchen table after dinner, my mom, my sister and I and look at all THE PAGES in that one night. Fun memories. I'm not trying to be nostalgic about the past, paper catalogs and such. I'm a very frequent (and happy) online shopper. It's just weird to realize how much has changed and how the internet changed all of that.

I was living near Eaton Centre when Sears closed and the sale had no deals at all.  Not that I would've bought anything, as I viewed the company as utter scum for what they did to their Canadian workers.  Good riddance to bad rubbish.  

Sears missed the boat a hundred times - didn't stay trendy enough for moneyed shoppers, didn't stay cheap enough for people who are pinching pennies, and completely avoided the Internet until it was too late.  They were the authors of their own misfortune.  Holt's, The Bay, and now Nordstrom's have filled the gap for "nice" stuff, and Dollarama, Walmart, Winners, and regional chains like Army/Navy and Giant Tiger fill the gap for cheaper purchases.  

[Dandruff]

I loved Sears when I was a child and teenager and they seemed to be held in high regard by all.  I then had a few nightmare service experiences with them in the 1990s and have been holding a grudge ever since.  Not enough to keep me 100% out of their stores, but I wouldn't trust them any more with auto work or with large appliance purchases.  The few times I've been in a Sears lately have been almost creepy...so deserted.  Looks like their mistakes are coming home to roost.  I won't miss them.

[Briefly]

20 hours ago, RainbowSky said:

Sears was already done when Kmart acquired them...it's just been dragged out longer now.

I thought it was the other way around, that Sears bought KMart.

[libgirl2]

On 10/27/2018 at 9:21 PM, SilverBeach said:

I remember TurnStyle,  which then became Venture I think. When I was a kid, the Sears Christmas Wish Book was magic. All the catalogs were, my mom stacked them on the radiator in the living room. I fantasized so much looking through those pages.

I remember TurnStyle too! I do think it became Venture which is long gone.....

On 10/28/2018 at 11:13 AM, OhNoNike said:

I cancelled my Sears credit card last month.  We had it for when we purchased apppliances. I told them I just didn’t need it because there are no stores nearby and there’s just no point.  The person told me I could use it online and earn points to use at.... local stores.  I said there are no local stores.  Then she told me “they’re trying to open more stores nationwide”.   I doubted that, given they’d just closed both Kmart and Sears nearby.  

They were very nice on the phone and I knew they were doing their jobs.  But I did chuckle at the last statement that there’s an effort to open additional stores..

I just remember.... I have a Sears store card and Sears Mastercard. I wonder if the MC is still good? 

[OhNoNike]

11 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I remember TurnStyle too! I do think it became Venture which is long gone.....

I just remember.... I have a Sears store card and Sears Mastercard. I wonder if the MC is still good? 

The card was still good to use - I just use another as my regular CC and didn’t need this if there was no reward to do so.  

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, OhNoNike said:

The card was still good to use - I just use another as my regular CC and didn’t need this if there was no reward to do so.  

thanks. I hadn't given it a thought as I almost never shop at Sears. 

[Briefly]

On 10/30/2018 at 4:02 PM, libgirl2 said:

I remember TurnStyle too! I do think it became Venture which is long gone.....

I just remember.... I have a Sears store card and Sears Mastercard. I wonder if the MC is still good? 

Venture was in Tulsa when we moved there in the early 90's.  It was a lot like Target.  We liked Venture, we missed them after they closed.  There was a store in our area, Gordman's.  The were similar but they also closed.  At least in this area, I'm  not sure if the chain itself closed or not.

[RainbowSky]

On 10/29/2018 at 7:51 PM, Briefly said:

I thought it was the other way around, that Sears bought KMart.

Yeah, you'd think so, huh? I was shocked when it happened. You'd never think Kmart of all places could buy the might Sears!

[clueliss]

I wasn't.  Kmart was in trouble.  And Sears should have left it in trouble because it accelerated its own demise.  

[PennySycamore]

@Briefly, Gordman's did file for bankruptcy last year but were bought by Stage Stores.  It will be an off-price store lie TJ Maxx, Ross, or Burlington.  They're still around in the Midwest.