Sears just put the last nail in their coffin. (Sold the Craftsman brand)

"E92M3" (E46M3) 01/05/2017 at 10:03 • Filed to: None

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They’ll blow thru the cash in less than 10 years.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

nafsucof > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:06

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Omg. Just sad now...

awmaster10 > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:09

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craftsman stanley black and decker? Jesus christ

fourvalleys > awmaster10 01/05/2017 at 10:13

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Craftsman, Stanley, Black & Decker,

Attorneys at Law.

Jcarr > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:13

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Wonder if the Craftsman lifetime warranty will go by the wayside now.

random001 > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:13

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my lifetime warranty is still in effect. Also, kinda hoping there’s a list on where the big clearances will be.

It is sad, but I need some more tools!

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:14

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Welp, RIP Sears.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:14

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The Sears catalog was the Amazon of its day. Look it up, buy literally anything. At any time during which Amazon was a book-selling upstart, Sears could have reallocated and taken the Sears catalog online - but they failed to do so. Picture, if you will, a Sears that did that, slightly reduced floor space in favor of fast-ship and direct delivery warehousing space, and traded more effectively on its name. The trouble wasn’t so much that failure to innovate, however, as the previous 30 years of getting moribund. During that time, the sense that “Sears” was the answer for anyone looking for a one-stop shop faded away, and that’s on them.

LongbowMkII > fourvalleys 01/05/2017 at 10:15

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Even in the dead of night, we’ll hammer your replicant problem down flat.

crowmolly > Jcarr 01/05/2017 at 10:16

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The tools and warranty have both been in a freefall for a while.

LongbowMkII > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2017 at 10:17

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I’m pretty sure my house was originally a sears house.

Tekamul > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2017 at 10:18

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At that time, Sears was focused on a completely different part of the business. They were getting housed by Walmart, and looking at market acceptance of ‘super stores’ with 1 stop shopping. They concluded they’d have to pull out of malls, which was too much of a departure from their current model.

So instead they did nothing. That usually works......

Jcarr > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2017 at 10:20

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My first guitar was an old Sears Silvertone that I found in my grandparents basement.

One-stop-shop, indeed.

Berang > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:20

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There’s a Sears by my house that I sometimes pop into. It’s usually pretty dead. Unfortunately(?) there’s a Home Depot nearby that has a better selection and usually better prices. There’s also a walmart across the street (which I actually have never been into, the only time I went over there they were closed for some reason).

The bright side of this deal is that Craftsman will likely be around even if Sears isn’t (I mean it would likely be anyway, but at least this way it the name won’t get auctioned off to some shit factory after bankruptcy).

Matt Nichelson > fourvalleys 01/05/2017 at 10:21

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First thing I thought of too.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > LongbowMkII 01/05/2017 at 10:22

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And that’s my point. They had the brand recognition and market penetration that other companies would hack off their right arm to have - even if some aspects weren’t that profitable, they mattered to the name. Sears - where you fucking get things. Sears house, Sears car, Sears motorbike, Sears boat, Sears tools, Sears clothes, Sears appliances...

But no. Way too easy to let Wal Mart and others grow up in the shadow of home goods and popular items, Lowes/Home Depot to crowd out home upkeep, and so on. When you’re God-Emperor of retail, you can’t rest on your laurels.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Tekamul 01/05/2017 at 10:28

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They could have stayed in malls with a shift to fast delivery on major floorspace-consuming items in a lot of cases. They could have kept mall stores as *everything but food* and had varieties of specialty sub-sections depending on local need. I know for a fact my local Sears has more floor space than they know what to do with and could have “supersized” in place - why the hell do they have a figurative half-acre of washing machines with ten foot aisles - and there are probably others. This store’s position is as two-story King Shit in the mall. But noooo.

Matt Nichelson > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 10:29

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As sad as it is, that isn’t surprising. Crafstman was pretty much the only thing left Sears could still lay claim to that people still recognized for quality stuff. Everybody wanted Craftsman back in the day when Bob Vila was shilling for them on TV.

Nowadays, though, there is so much competition out there that even a name as storied as Craftsman wasn’t going to help keep Sears afloat, much less save the company. Now that Craftsman is gone, I give Sears a few more years before they end up going under. Their business model is antiquated and there’s too many other options for consumers that are just better.

I do hate it. Sears was a staple when I was growing up. We’ve had a Sears in our town for as long as we have had malls. The catalogs that would come in the mail were full of so many things that you wanted. Now, Sears is just a shell of its’ former self and it is sad to see. Such a shame.

Tekamul > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2017 at 10:37

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Most indoor malls have a ‘no grocery’ stipulation in their leases, especially for anchors. That’s a strip mall only thing. As for the rest, I’m sure they just didn’t see it coming. I have a friend that was just making VP at Sears in the early 2000's, and they cared so little about online retail.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Jcarr 01/05/2017 at 10:39

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Picture a Sears that had a vertical display case like for video games, and a number of intro guitars. Get a store tech to open the case, take it out, look at it. Several guitars there for immediate purchase, other options in nearby independent warehouse for immediate ship-to-home or ship-to-store - have it the same day! The most important part - Sears branding on the guitar. ALL IT WOULD HAVE TO DO to succeed would be a better option than the Starcaster they sell at Wal Mart and take up less retail space.

So yeah, they could have done that again, just as one little example. There’s a right way to do it. They didn’t.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Tekamul 01/05/2017 at 10:42

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I get that. I’m just not sure that grocery was the only thing to tip the balance - and Sun Tzu says not to contend with your enemy where he is strong, but where he is weak...

I suspected you had some kind of inside track from your previous comment.

LongbowMkII > Tekamul 01/05/2017 at 10:46

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They bought k mart!

Tekamul > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2017 at 10:49

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I was a former Sears slave. Their slow death has been bitter sweet, because they use to be decent employers, and stores, but they’ve been nothing but crap on both ends for a decade.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > LongbowMkII 01/05/2017 at 10:53

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And the thing is, they could have made that work, too. If the flaw with Sears was that it didn’t have freestanding/non-mall stores to offer some types of products, diversifying the offerings via K-mart would have made sense. Not trying to be Wal Mart-but-not and trying to offer everything in parallel with Sears offering only slightly different everything, except for food.

E92M3 > Matt Nichelson 01/05/2017 at 10:53

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Yup, they’ve ignored the competition for too long, and fallen behind the times. Now, they’ve sold off the only brand value they had.

Tekamul > LongbowMkII 01/05/2017 at 10:54

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And Lands End, which has gone poorly for both, and thankfully came to an end.

McMike > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 01/05/2017 at 10:58

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The Sears catalog was the Amazon of its day. Look it up, buy literally anything. At any time during which Amazon was a book-selling upstart

When we got married around this time so, I decided to suggest that we register at Sears for gifts. As you said, you could get ANYTHING.

We didn’t need anything from crate&barrel or any household shit (we were both in our 30s), so this was my selling point. “Honey, they have everything.”

The real reason was because I could get a angle die grinder, crowfoot wrenches, a 3/4" drive breaker bar, circlip pliers, and a new battery charger.

E92M3 > Berang 01/05/2017 at 10:59

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Lowes has an even better selection. Husky tools has come a long way in the last 5 years in terms of quality.

CobraJoe > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 11:00

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Hopefully that means the quality of Craftsman tools will go back up. They’ve been slipping for the past 20 years or so, and putting the Craftsman name on the Evolv tools was a bad move too, those are pretty crappy plastic handled tools.

E92M3 > Jcarr 01/05/2017 at 11:02

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Craftsman will survive, but Sears won’t. If they kill the warranty, they’ve killed the value of the brand they spent nearly a billion dollars for.

McMike > awmaster10 01/05/2017 at 11:03

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They should just relaunch the brand as “Tools”

McMike > Jcarr 01/05/2017 at 11:04

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I have a 25 year old 3/8 drive ratchet that I have been meaning to take back, but have been too lazy. I probably should get that done sooner than later.

Nothing > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 11:05

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My odd little Sears story...there was one Sears in the area that did quite particularly well, but it was in a mall that was being torn down for a new “Urban Retail Town” style development. Sears said they would not close. The city threatened eminent domain, so Sears eventually caved. The Sears has since been torn down....a random JC Penny anchor store remains (the rest of the mall has been demolished) and there has yet to be any development on the proposed Urban Retail Town.

Most of my hand tools are Craftsman, and at least half of them are 20 years old. The quality of late has seriously declined, but at least there’s still the warranty. I’ve had several failed sockets, failed ratchets, etc.

Jcarr > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 11:11

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Good point.

Bourbon&JellyBeans > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 11:37

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I had zero idea that Sears was even in trouble. I guess I shop there approximately never. Poor Sears.

Semi-relatedly, I heard on the radio this morning that Macy’s will be closing almost 70 stores permanently in the near future. What the hell is going on?!

Stephenson Valve Gear > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 11:42

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NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

My Dad has always had Craftsman tools, so naturally I started acquiring them when I came of age... many years ago. I still use my basic wrenches and sockets bought in the early 90's, along with a variety of stuff that I got from Dad when he retired and no longer needed his set of tools that he kept at work. I know Black & Decker is a conglomerate, but I tend to view them the same way as I view the 1970's AMF conglomerate... everything they touch just goes downhill. That may or may not be true, but that is my perception. We will see what happens with the Craftsman brand now, but if quality declines, I will find a new go-to brand for my tools.

BKosher84 > Jcarr 01/05/2017 at 12:11

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A Sears spokesman confirmed the unlimited lifetime warranty on Craftsman hand tools made in the U.S.—“a hallmark of the brand for generations”—will be kept in place.

Luckily, yes, Stanley B&D plans on keeping that in place..

BKosher84 > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 12:12

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Kobalt is neck and neck in line with Craftsman at this point. They even have a lifetime no questions asked warranty on their hand tools now too.

shop-teacher > LongbowMkII 01/05/2017 at 12:13

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My house is. It’s a 1925 Sears Osborne.

BKosher84 > Bourbon&JellyBeans 01/05/2017 at 12:16

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Online shopping is what is going on.

shop-teacher > Bourbon&JellyBeans 01/05/2017 at 12:16

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The internet is what’s going on.

shop-teacher > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 12:17

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That’s been a long time coming.

Urambo Tauro > awmaster10 01/05/2017 at 12:22

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At least it’s not Fiat Chrysler Craftsman Stanley Black & Decker .

Urambo Tauro > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 12:23

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Just stay away from that “HDX” crap.

E92M3 > CobraJoe 01/05/2017 at 12:26

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Yeah, the ones made in China are Harbor Freight quality. Maybe Trump will convince them to bring back all manufacturing to the USA.

E92M3 > Urambo Tauro 01/05/2017 at 12:27

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Oh god those are the worst. I had a renter leave some behind. I quickly learned why..

CobraJoe > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 12:36

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Honestly, I was pretty impressed with the quality of some of the Harbor Freight stuff now. I haven’ bought one yet, but their ratchets seem pretty nice, especially considering the $20 price.

Tazio, Count Fouroff > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 12:44

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Makes sense...shoulda seen this one coming.

It’s been years since I went to a Sears for anything besides Craftsman tools and lately their in-store inventory is nearly nonexsitent due to cost-cutting, so they can’t be relied on even to meet that need...

Like A&F, in a little while you won’t be able to find anything of the original Sears

E92M3 > CobraJoe 01/05/2017 at 13:10

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It’s a game of chance. I’ve had their vacumn bleeder and a rivet gun both fail on the first use. I was able to make shadetree repairs to both and get the job done though. I wouldn’t buy anything of theirs I planned on using more than 2 times.

LOREM IPSUM > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 13:59

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After seeing the status of my local Sears store this past holiday season I’d be surprised if they’re still in business this time next year.

The CEO is gutting the company, making money for the shareholders while essentially driving the stores into the ground.

Also, the Craftsman section of the store has been on a downward spiral for years.

When I was a kid the Craftsman and hardware area of the store was huge and carried literally anything a guy could ever want or need. Now they don’t even have a full assortment of hand tools on display. Need a 10mm 3/8 drive socket? Good luck.

So sad, and such a damn shame.

Maybe they should go back to the original Sears and Roebuck business plan of having no storefronts, and doing catalog sales only. Present day catalog being the internet, of course.

CobraJoe > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 14:02

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I have had good luck with most of their stuff, including a few power tools, but there are some tools that have obvious flaws.

But basic rule of thumb is that the simpler the tool, the harder it is to screw up.

E92M3 > LOREM IPSUM 01/05/2017 at 14:03

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There’s still those that need a tool today, and will drive across town to get it today. I think they should of ditched everything BUT Craftsman, and opened Craftsman only stores (somewhere between the size of a Radio Shack and a Harbor Freight).

E92M3 > CobraJoe 01/05/2017 at 14:07

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You would think so right? My best experience has been with their Chicago brand oscillating multi tool.

LOREM IPSUM > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 14:10

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They actually did that, or something similar back around y2k in a lot of areas. Shuttered the traditional Sears store and opened “Sears Hardware” instead, with about 1/4 of the overall square footage.

Pretty sure most of those Sears Hardware outlets folded as well, unfortunately.

I’m with you though. I will gladly drive 2 towns over and pay slightly more to get something today than to have to order it and wait for shipping.

I hate online shopping. I’m much more of a cash and carry kind of guy.

E92M3 > LOREM IPSUM 01/05/2017 at 14:55

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I don’t mind waiting 2-3 days for most things, but if you have to get to work tomorrow...

Dave the car guy , still here > LOREM IPSUM 01/05/2017 at 14:58

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They just announced yesterday the closing of the closest Sears to my work. I’m thinking of stopping in to see if they are tools on clearance.

Dave the car guy , still here > LOREM IPSUM 01/05/2017 at 15:00

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Our two Sears hardware that closed years ago were both in bad locations and predestined to fail based on the locations. It was almost like they never wanted them to succeed.

ranwhenparked > E92M3 01/05/2017 at 18:30

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Yep, they’re dead in the water now.

As bad as things got for Sears, they at least always had two things to fall back on - Craftsman and Kenmore. They could have almost just scaled all their locations down to just small appliance and hardware stores and done OK.

Crown jewels have been sold, so stick a fork in Sears Holdings, they’re officially off life support now.

ranwhenparked > LOREM IPSUM 01/05/2017 at 18:41

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The mistake was in tying Sears off to K-Mart’s sinking ship.