Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to remember the post bankruptcy plan was to save 425 Sears & Kmart stores along with 45,000 employees. Now shortly after emerging from bankruptcy we’re down to 180 total stores?? With more potential closings on the horizon very soon? What happened to go from 425 to 180 stores in virtually no time flat? I’m starting to wonder if there was no plan to begin with, except for trying to keep as much as possible going just so a certain somebody could bleed it dry to cover his losses. Truth be told I do hope what’s left hangs on for as long as possible. But clearly it’s not looking good.
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Sounds like the plan was to come up with a convincing enough pitch that was based around preserving jobs so they could buy the company out for cheap losing all the previous debt then systematically liquidate throughout the year so it lasted into 2020 for future tax write offs
Plan? What plan? There is no plan!
The plan was to just have the smaller stores. The part that was overlooked was that the vendors won't extend credit like they once did because they got burned in most cases.
Eddie punted on first down instead of making a plan and then punting (bankruptcy).
The plan from the beginning of the merger was a slow liquidation. Sell the profitable real estate first. Bank it. Buy back the stock. Pad the c suite staff with nice wages. Starve the stores of capital expenditures. Why would anyone invest in making them nice? People like shopping in stores that haven't been remodeled in 40 years. Such a nice experience. Call them members. Syw will save us. Cut cut cut until there are just a few dilapidated stores left. We dont need stores. Its online. People will shop us despite being shafted or bo clear vision. I dont care about pricing or walmart or target. I'm fighting like hell to save this company in my mansion with my butlers and my yacht. I have a vision that no one else sees. It's all my vision from the beginning and I am reaping the rewards and laughing on my gold plated toilet.
no.
I believe the go forward plan WAS to put dealers in properties or put in the small footprint format like Oakbrook.
But since there wasn’t ANY success with those formats, plan B must be to exit retail.
I agree with the comment that Eddie would convert the small home stores he acquired as his go forward. No one wants to do business with him
It's gone from 3,500 stores to 180 stores over 15 years. The plan hasn't changed.
There was a plan, but Eddie can't do math. Retail is super predictable once you're on a trend line. He couldn't manage to look at expenses vs revenue and predict what was going to happen, even though it was beyond obvious that shrinking the store base wasn't going to result in sales increases. Everything Eddie touches dies.
No. It's real estate. You're just holding down the floor for sub par wages until its cheap and beneficial enough to pad the overlords primary business. ESL investments
I think the original plan was to close all current sears and kmarts and try to become small format home and life stores. That is why all the hometown stores were bought- for the smaller footprint and existing locations. It was a complete lie that transform holdco wanted to save jobs, at least in the way everyone in the bankruptcy was thinking about it. EL knew they would be temporary jobs and everything would eventually be shut down before transitioning to the smaller stores. But I think he was expecting to maintain some sales and vendor relationships to keep the enterprise going a little longer. Since sales are very much down in nonliquidating stores, I think this accelerated the timeline initially. But now, given the cash flow problems, the plan is really on the rocks. I also think that some profitable stores were closed for alternative reasons that I could only speculate on.
The plan was a slow liquidation. Our store shipped out a ton of merchandise to a store that's being liquidated. I am guessing our store will be next from the looks of the holes on the sales floor.
We are a liquidating store and we are getting in tons of merchandise, stuff we haven't seen for months. Where was all this stuff when we needed it? Was it being saved for this, since these people are grabbing up this stuff Iike candy even though the normal sale prices were better? No layaway, no returns, massive sales increases every day.
I sold at a liquidating store they shipped in a bunch of appliances after the liquidation started and tools were well stocked and a ridiculous amount of fitness equipment and most of the appliances and mattresses were gone at or above average sale price only the damaged display models or specialty items were left when prices were at 50% off retail prices 30-40% off is average sale price for appliances. We were having days in the 50-90k range in sales which normally would've been in the 10-30k with same sale prices or even better
I think there was a plan but that plan was not to keep all the stores. Liquidation sales are very profitable with all the pricing going to 3x regular sales price before applying the 10% or so discount. I don't think ESL put any money in the purchase, so he must be doing well with his deal. I hope too that some stores remain open.