As Sears Holdings, the parent company of Kmart and Sears, tries to save itself from impending doom, the company is closing a number of its weaker stores. In the current round of cuts, Kmart stores are heavily affected, but the company wants to assure residents of one California town that in spite of empty shelves, their local Kmart store is not about to close. [More]
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Sears To Close Parts Distribution Center In Dallas, Lay Off 77
By 1.6.15
The new year has barely started, but it’s already time to shed a few more tears for Sears. The American retailing legend is trying to stage a comeback as a place where Americans are willing to shop again. Part of that comeback is shedding stores and facilities that it no longer needs. It’s time to add facility to that list: a parts distribution center in Dallas that employs 77 people. [More]
Kmart Layaway Customers: Keep Your Eyes Peeled For Refunds
By 12.18.14
If you’re one of the many upset people we’ve heard from after Kmart canceled many layaway orders and at first, told some customers refunds might not arrive in time to buy replacement Christmas presents, keep your eyes peeled for that money to be coming back to you soon, if it hasn’t already. [More]
Kmart Apologizes For Layaway Debacle, Says Some Cancellations Were “Inadvertent”
By 12.17.14
UPDATE: Sears Holding Company has now posted a new entry on its blog with instructions for customers affected by the layaway fiasco. [More]
Kmart Ruins Christmas By Canceling Layaway Orders, Holding Onto Refunds
By 12.16.14
UPDATE 12/18: Kmart says it’s finished processing all refunds, and customers should be receiving them “soon.”
UPDATE 12/17: Kmart has apologized for the debacle, saying some contracts were “inadvertently” canceled but people still might not get the item they ordered in time. [More]
Eddie Lampert Blogs Mini-Manifesto About Why Sears Has Shed 200 Stores
By 12.16.14
Americans seem to love and hate their Kmart and Sears stores: our posts linking to unofficial but comprehensive closing lists have been very popular in the last few weeks. Americans apparently love to complain about their Sears Holdings stores, but don’t really want them to go away. Sears Holdings CEO and chief manifesto-writer Eddie Lampert recently took to the company’s blog to explain why the chain is getting rid of up to 200 stores. [More]
Layaway Angels Fan Out, Hit West Virginia And Tennessee
By 12.15.14
Layaway is a useful tool that some retailers only offer during the holiday season. Let lets consumers without access to credit pick out gifts and pay them off over time––and, as one mother pointed out to me, keeps gifts hidden at the store, far away from impatient, snooping kids. Layaway was dying out before the Great Recession, and came back with its own folk heroes: the Layaway Angels. [More]
New Kmart Ad Encourages Shoppers To Spend Least Amount Of Time Possible In Store
By 12.11.14
The secret to successfully shopping at Kmart is to spend as little time inside a Kmart as you can. We think that’s the message of a new Kmart commercial, which portrays the best shopping trip to Kmart as one in which you spend approximately three seconds in the store: long enough to grab your online order, but not long enough to notice the broken floor tiles. [More]
Sears Holdings Admits Plans To Close 105 More Stores, Won’t Say Which Ones
By 12.5.14
Last week, we shared an updated version of a list naming 109 Kmart and Sears stores reported by employees or local media outlets to be closing by early 2015. While Sears still won’t confirm or deny these reports on a company-wide level, the company did tell investors as part of its quarterly earnings report this week that it plans to close 105 more stores by the beginning of next year. [More]
Report: 109 Sears And Kmart Stores Now Expected To Close By Early 2015
By 11.24.14
There’s more cost-cutting planned at Sears Holdings through the end of this year and the beginning of next year. That news shouldn’t surprise anyone, but the total has increased to 39 Sears stores, and 70 Kmart stores, along with one Sears distribution center, one Kmart distribution center, and three Sears repair centers. [More]
Employee’s Daughter Asks Kmart To Give Mom Some Time Off On Thanksgiving
By 11.14.14
Should stores be open on Thanksgiving Day? Some businesses, such as hotels, gas stations, airlines, and even restaurants must be open to keep civilization running and make sure other people can get to their destinations and enjoy their holidays. Yet many non-essential businesses are open. Like Kmart. The child of one Kmart employee is unhappy about this, and wants the store to consider maybe giving her mom, a 21-year employee, the day off. [More]
Kmart Will Open At 6 A.M. On Thanksgiving, Stay Open 42 Hours Straight
By 11.3.14
This year, Kmart is sticking with its dubious tradition and opening on Thanksgiving Day. Like last year, they’re opening at 6 A.M., and will keep the doors open for 42 consecutive hours until midnight on Saturday. Maybe if they keep the doors open for that long, someone will wander in. [More]
Kmart Insists Customers Should Have No Layaway Problems At Closing Stores
By 11.3.14
Right now, there are two seemingly incompatible things going on in Kmart stores: the retailer is pushing layaway contracts for the holiday season, and also closing many stores. While the company insists that this should not lead to customer confusion, it took a while for some stores to get on-message. [More]
Sears Says Reports Of Planned Store Closings Are Wrong, Won’t Elaborate
By 10.23.14
Sears Holdings wants you to know that the rumors of planned store closings by the end of this year are wrong. After a report earlier today put together information from local media reports about which Sears, Sears Auto, and Kmart locations are currently scheduled to close, Sears representatives reached out to major outlets like USA Today and the Chicago Tribune to explain that the reports were incorrect. [More]
Sears And Kmart Will Close 78 Stores By End Of 2014
By 10.23.14
Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, needs to lose less money. Their current plan includes closing underperforming stores, renting out vacant space, and borrowing money from its manifesto-writing CEO. These are all very sensible things to do, but will they be enough to save Sears? [More]
Kmart Clarifies Layaway Rules For Closing Stores, No One Tells Kmart Employees
By 10.17.14
Earlier this week, we shared with you the complaint of some Kmart customers in Ohio who placed items on layaway before learning that the store they had visited was about to close. This affected their payoff date and payments, but a Sears Holdings representative contacted media outlets sharing this story and explained that this is not Kmart’s policy. Unfortunately, nobody bothered to tell people who work at this Kmart. [More]
Layaway Customer At Closing Ohio Kmart Told To Pay Up Before Store Closes
By 10.15.14
Kmart started its Christmas-themed advertising back at the beginning of September, with an ad promoting its layaway program. Only after the holiday layaway season kicked off, Kmart announced a fresh round of store closings. This included two stores in Ohio, which have told customers that they have to pay off their layaway accounts by November 1st. UPDATE: The deadline may indeed not be November 1st. [More]
Converse Suing 31 Companies For Allegedly Selling Knock-Off Chuck Taylor Sneakers
By 10.15.14
You’ve seen them on hipsters, your mom, that girl who lived down the hall from you freshman year, maybe you wear them — the point is, Converse’s Chuck Taylor All-Stars, or Chucks, as they’re known by fans, are worn by a whole lot of different kinds of people. Though once the shoe of choice for mainly greasers, nonconformists and athletes, nowadays the sneaker look is appealing to a wide range of people. It’s that popularity that has other companies churning out knock-offs, claims Nike’s Converse in a new lawsuit against 31 companies for allegedly copying the style. [More]
