It hasn’t even been a year since Sears, the mall anchor store where there’s always plenty of parking, borrowed half a billion dollars from its own Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert. Now the once-great retailer that’s living in a converted storage space above its parents’ garage while it sorts things out is borrowing another $100 million from Lampert, with a second $100 million loan possibly coming in just a matter of weeks. [More]
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Get Ready For More Sketchy Seasonal Stores As Retail Vacancies Rise
By 10.3.17
If you’re a fan of those stores that come out of nowhere to sell a lot of Halloween costumes and Christmas ornaments only to be gone without a trace once a holiday passes, we’ve got great news for you! A decade-high level of retail bankruptcies and store closures means there’s still plenty of spaces at your local shopping centers for all manner of seasonal pop-up stores. [More]
Maker Of Banana Costume Claims Kmart Is Ripping Off Its Design
By 9.28.17
I have never received as many high fives for a Halloween costume than the year a friend and I dressed as giant bananas with huge cartoon hands. But despite the ubiquity of these fruity outfits — as a simple Internet search will show you — the maker of one banana costume is accusing Kmart of dropping it as a vendor in order to sell its own alleged knockoff version. [More]
Kmart Expands Plus-Size Clothing, Renames Section ‘Fabulously Sized’
By 9.13.17
While one of the chain’s regional competitors, Meijer, took the unusual step of abolishing the plus-size department and sorting clothes by style rather than by size, Kmart is trying something different: The retailer is renaming the section “Fabulously Sized,” while expanding how many of its clothing items are available in, um, fabulous sizes. [More]
Here Are The 28 Kmart Stores Closing Later This Year
By 8.24.17
Sears Holdings, the parent company of Kmart and Sears, shared in its most recent quarterly earnings report that it plans to close 28 more Kmart stores. The company saved the closures list for later in the day, and now we have it for you. [More]
Which Major Retailers Sort Their Toy Departments By Gender?
By 7.25.17 — Updated: 7.26.17
While some toy companies have been giving up on long-held preconceptions about gender-specific products in recent years, we were curious how this was affecting retailers, so we checked out a few of the big chains. Here’s how the major stores sort their toy departments so you can shop by your preference. [More]
43 More Sears And Kmart Stores Are Closing: Is Yours On The List?
By 7.7.17
Sears Holdings, parent company of Sears and Kmart, announced today that it plans to close down another 43 stores. As with previous rounds of closings, Kmart stores dominate the list, with 35 stores in 21 states set to turn their blue lights out forever. [More]
Why Is There A Kmart In Minneapolis That Blocks An Entire Street?
By 6.21.17
Lots of people and cities made terrible decisions in the ’70s. It was an era of traffic circles and jughandle exits, and a general “just put that building/highway wherever” attitude. Like the Kmart store in Minneapolis that was plopped down in the middle of what had been a main thoroughfare — an error that is only just beginning to (maybe) be remedied. [More]
Sears Laying Off 400 Employees At HQ In Addition To Store Closures
By 6.13.17
Last week, we learned that Sears Holdings, parent company of Kmart and Sears, was planning to close a few dozen more stores as part of its ongoing “transformation” from a nationwide retailer into a handful of appliance showrooms and an online rewards points scheme. Today, the company announced more cuts among staff at its headquarters outside of Chicago, eliminating 400 positions. [More]
Report: Sears Holdings Plans To Close 72 Stores, Mostly Kmart
By 6.7.17
Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, doesn’t like articles about how many stores it’s closing. Instead, the company tries to limit news releases about its plans to local news outlets. The company reportedly plans to close 49 Kmart discount stores, 16 Sears department stores, and seven Sears Auto Centers. [More]
Kmart Victim Of Second Hack Attack In Three Years
By 6.1.17
Even with fewer stores and sales floors full of boxes, Kmart is still an attractive target for ne’er-do-wells: The retailer has found itself on the receiving end of another hack attack, just three years after its last security breach. [More]
The Most Precious Treasures Of The Raiders Of The Lost Walmart
By 5.8.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
The Raiders of the Lost Walmart is a recurring series here at Consumerist, where the brave explorers who read this site excavate their local discount stores, finding ancient treasures along the way. What we mean is that readers send us pictures of overpriced electronics that are obsolete or even unusable, and that will probably never leave the clearance shelves. [More]
Sears Closing 50 Auto Centers, 92 Kmart Pharmacies
By 4.24.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Like a sinking ship that keeps jettisoning cargo in the hope of staying afloat, Sears Holdings will soon be ridding itself of 50 Sears Auto Centers and 92 Kmart Pharmacies. [More]
Sears Changes Its Tune: No, We’re Totally Not Doomed
By 3.22.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
After being refreshingly candid in its annual report, admitting that there is a lot of “doubt” about its ability to remain afloat in the long run, Sears Holdings is now doing an about-face, with its chief financial officer assigned to handle damage control. Get your “Sears Holdings Corporate Announcement Bingo card” ready. [More]
Sears Holdings Admits: Yep, We’re Probably Doomed
By 3.22.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
Like a chess player who realizes their only chance of not losing is a tornado that whisks the table away, Sears Holdings is now making it clear to investors that there’s a good chance the company won’t be around much longer. [More]
Sears CEO Tells Employees Things Look Great After Losing $2.2 Billion In 2016
By 3.9.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Years ago, Sears Holdings chairman Eddie Lampert came to our attention by publishing a 15-page manifesto about pretty much everything. Since then, Lampert has taken on the job of CEO, despite not having any experience in the retail business and having what at times seems like an active dislike of the retail business. He periodically issues mini-manifestos for employees and for the public about how everything is fine, and published another this morning. [More]
Sears, Kmart Dropping 31 Trump Home Items From Online Stores
By 2.13.17
Last week saw multiple retailers either dropping or de-emphasizing Ivanka Trump-branded products in their stores, and now two more chains are stepping back from the family name: Sears Holdings announced over the weekend that Kmart and Sears are pulling 31 Trump Home branded products from their online stores. [More]
Sears Holdings Outlines New Plan To Escape Death Spiral
By 2.10.17
Everyone except chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert thinks that Sears Holdings is in an inescapable death spiral, as the company sells its brands and real estate and lays off employees. Today, the company outlined plans for the near future that are more of the same: selling more real estate, selling off more key Sears brands, and depending on the Shop Your Way rewards program and e-commerce when the customers it still has aren’t especially interested in either. [More]
