All of Patio Dept./Outdoor Living
Replenishment of Automotive Dept. Top Sellers
Replenishment of Pantry/Grocery Dept.
Summer Soft Home
5 replies (most recent on top)
@itnr @inug
This wasn’t the traditional reorganize under bankruptcy. Eddie basically used a 363 bid to buy the company using his debt. Eddie never really tried to line up traditional reorg finances probably because he had his mind set on buying the whole company from the outset. P
This is more akin to when Marcus Lemomis bought Gander Mountain but liquidators had already started liquidating.
In this case the estate didn’t bother ordering anything because they used up the money they got which wasn’t a heck of a lot, basically enough to keep the stores operational through the holidays. Eddie waited until last minute in each scenario to buy the company so he could pay as little as possible but the (old) company was basically broke.
This means the company didn’t have access to Eddie’s billion dollar+ line of credit to order merchandise with because it was contingent on his winning bid and taking over which happened a month ago.
He wasn’t really in charge until the sale closed. Some higher ups apparently knew well enough or had word through the pipeline that he was going to win and turned the coupons and SYW deals back on as soon as his bid was approved. This meant you had further sell through depleting even more merchandise.
As far as landlord issues he got out of as many leases as he could that he wanted to dispose of, kept the ones he did. Some malls are irritated they didn’t liquidate but they’re owned stores and they’re pretty much SOL and at his mercy, it wouldn’t have mattered either way because Eddie was still in control of the properties through Seritage.
Replenishing the merchandise pipeline will take somewhat longer than a month.
Ever order stuff from China directly? You’ll be lucky to get it in a month. Going to a retailer it’s gotta go to a warehouse, be sorted, then shipped to stores.
That’s why if you go to the store stuff that’s from stateside like lawnmowers (since MTD never cut them off) are arriving already.
@Y1LPLlS-1yvj Excuses, excuses.
@iyvj They had the entire timeline of the bankruptcy timeline to make nice with the vendors, landlords, and everyone else, as well as plan for a marketing campaign, and ready for themselves for go time and hit the ground running when they emerged from Bankruptcy. Any college marketing class working on their on their senior marketing capstone course could have done a better job than the bozos in the "Office of the CEO". Just more incompetence coming from the top, starting with one Eddie Lampert.
♫ Come see the Empty Side of Sears ♫
With 400 stores expect a 4 month turnaround time or so on ordered merchandise unless suppliers already have it.
Stuff already stateside or made here (like lawnmowers) won’t take as long to get. The company was effectively out of money during bankruptcy in January because they only had like $250 million DIP to work with and the expenses of all the bankruptcy. Eddies billion dollar credit facilities he lined up were his, not the old sears, so it’s not like they could order anything with his money because unless he owned the company it wouldn’t do him any good.
Essentially the sale closed just less than a month ago. Vendors that were still shipping will have product first. Other stuff has to be ordered then sent to suppliers, then sent to the warehouses then to the store.
It’s not a magic light switch they can just flip and the stuff appears.
Stuff held in warehouses in case of liquidation will be shipped now obviously but the other stuff is going to take a few weeks at minimum.
If you stop at a Sears look at the stateside suppliers like tool chests and lawnmowers, they get that stuff in almost within two weeks after the sale closed. Just have to be patient.