In The News Today...

Thread Rating:

October 15th, 2018 at 5:42:00 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Evenbob
Liz Warren has about as much Indian
DNA as most Euro/Americans do.
This is the Cherokee Nation speaking
today:

"A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship. Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America.. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage."

What an idiot she must be to do all
this 23 days before the election. It
makes her and the Dems look like
morons.


She does look more foolish than ever if that is possible. Claiming to be part Indian because of one relative 120 years before you were born. How can she live with herself?
The President is a fink.
October 15th, 2018 at 7:08:22 PM permalink
Wizard
Administrator
Member since: Oct 23, 2012
Threads: 239
Posts: 6095
Quote: Evenbob
When I was kid, Sears was everything.
My dad lived on a farm in the 20's
and he said the new Sears catalog,
they called it the 'wish book', was
a huge deal. When the new one came,
they used the old one for toilet paper
in the outhouse. After reading the page
you were about to use, of course.


Me too. When I was around 10 there were still lots of orange farms where we lived in Orange County (thus the name). If you wanted anything that wasn't sold at the grocery store or Thrifties (equivalent to a Walgreens), you had to go so Sears. I'm not sure where exactly the one we went to was, but it was about a 20 minute drive, passing a lot of orange farms.

As I got older, Orange County land grew in value many times over and all the orange farms disappeared. A big mall opened in Westminster with a new Sears. Still, with plenty more choices, my parents were loyal to Sears. We got 90% of my clothes there. I always had a fear of trying pants on, which my mother made me do, and someone would open the dressing room door. The latch on it was broken. I'm getting off topic.

Yes, I remember the Sears catalog too. I often looked through it when I was bored, especially the women's undergarments section. And the toys. Yep. I can at least say we didn't use the old ones for toilet paper.

Fast forward 40 years and there is a Sears not that far from my house. It is always nearly empty. I'd be happy to shop there more, but Target is closer.

If Sears truly goes the way of the dodo bird, I'll be sorry to see it go, for about five minutes.
Knowledge is Good -- Emil Faber
October 16th, 2018 at 12:14:01 AM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: Wizard
If Sears truly goes the way of the dodo bird, I'll be sorry to see it go, for about five minutes.


We had all Kenmore appliances. The first
charge card my dad got was from Sears.
We drooled over their huge Christmas
catalog every year, But I haven't been
is a Sears since the 70's. No reason to
go there now.

I really think Sears hayday was around
1900. You can get reprints of their
catalogs from that era, there was
nothing they didn't sell. Even pre
fab houses, which are worth a
fortune now, if you can find one.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
October 16th, 2018 at 2:28:03 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Evenbob


I really think Sears hayday was around
1900. You can get reprints of their
catalogs from that era, there was
nothing they didn't sell. Even pre
fab houses, which are worth a
fortune now, if you can find one.


Sears was Amazon before Amazon then Wal-Mart before Wal-Mart. The thing about Sears was their private labels were as good as any brand. Remember those Die-Hard commercials of the 70s? Die-Hard was such a strong brand they named the best Christmas movie of all time after it. Craftsman. Weatherbeater.

Then in 1990 Sears closed all the stores and added brands, while at the same time abandoning sales to emulate WMT at everyday low prices. Then they marketed way more to women as Sears had always been the store men shopped at, the women went to Penny.

As always happens, it backfired. Took a generation as Sears was that strong, but the missteps of the early 1990s are seen as the beginning of the end. A store known for appliances trying to sell more women's clothing lines? The place that had good sales to draw people in now giving nothing special for them. Too many MBA's hired direct to positions that never spent time on the sales floor.
The President is a fink.
October 16th, 2018 at 8:16:26 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
Quote: AZDuffman

Then they marketed way more to women as Sears had always been the store men shopped at, the women went to Penny.


huh, where do you get that idea?

look at the covers from 1960 on for instance

https://chicagology.com/business/sears/searscatalogs03/


Not even one cover looks like a men's mag,
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
October 16th, 2018 at 10:22:12 AM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: rxwine
huh, where do you get that idea?


I get it from the history of the stores. Sears was known for its hardlines first and foremost. Kenmore, Craftsman, Die-Hard, Weatherbeater. These were the brands that made it famous. It was not until the 1980s when they more developed softline brands like Cheryl Teigs. Just because women shopped there and liked the catalog does not mean their market was skewed male.
The President is a fink.
October 16th, 2018 at 10:47:39 AM permalink
rxwine
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 188
Posts: 18633
Well, imo SEARS got hurt by a couple things.

internet shopping being the most obvious

but also
-being slow to innovate.
-outdone by specialty competition in box stores like home depot and lowes
- allowing everything stores like Walmart deep discount pricing slowly draw away their old and new customer base. ALSO, Walmart built cheap warehouse style stores located on cheap realestate, whereas sears maintained premium locations in malls.
You believe in an invisible god, and dismiss people who say they are trans? Really?
October 16th, 2018 at 11:08:14 AM permalink
Evenbob
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 146
Posts: 25010
Quote: AZDuffman
I get it from the history of the stores.


"In 1969 Sears, the largest retailer in the world, began construction on the world's tallest skyscraper. The Sears' Tower's completion four years later may not mark the company's exact peak, but its retail dominance began to fade around that time."

After that it was one bad decision after
another. One thing Sears should have
done a hundred years ago was to own
the land every store sat on. The store
chains who did that are still flourishing
today.
If you take a risk, you may lose. If you never take a risk, you will always lose.
October 16th, 2018 at 12:11:15 PM permalink
kenarman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 14
Posts: 4470
Quote: Evenbob
"In 1969 Sears, the largest retailer in the world, began construction on the world's tallest skyscraper. The Sears' Tower's completion four years later may not mark the company's exact peak, but its retail dominance began to fade around that time."

After that it was one bad decision after
another. One thing Sears should have
done a hundred years ago was to own
the land every store sat on. The store
chains who did that are still flourishing
today.


That is not true EB. Sears owned a lot if not the majority of their stores. Even the malls were often owned by a partnership of the 2 or 3 big anchor tenants. That is one of the reasons they were slow to changes since they didn't want to abandon their real estate investments.

Quote from Financial Post "Three years ago, Sears sold about 235 stores to Seritage Growth Properties, a spinoff company that was created to convert Sears and Kmart locations — which Sears also owns — into more valuable uses like offices and restaurants. The struggling retailer, in return, got a US$2.7 billion infusion of cash.Aug 28, 2018"
"but if you make yourselves sheep, the wolves will eat you." Benjamin Franklin
October 16th, 2018 at 12:28:29 PM permalink
AZDuffman
Member since: Oct 24, 2012
Threads: 135
Posts: 18136
Quote: Evenbob
"In 1969 Sears, the largest retailer in the world, began construction on the world's tallest skyscraper. The Sears' Tower's completion four years later may not mark the company's exact peak, but its retail dominance began to fade around that time."


They say the tower caused unforeseen issues in culture. Departments were compartmentalized with people no longer bumping into and being friendly with other departments. What amazes me is how after WMT passed S they just blew them away becoming over three times their size.
The President is a fink.