Is Sears a Victim of Circumstance or Victim of a Poor Merchandising strategy?
Their clothing line is for old folks. My wife shops in Sears for her 82 year old mother's clothes. We don't buy anything in Sears. We used to buy appliances, lawn mowers, tools etc, but Home Depot, and Lowe's offer the same merchandise, at better prices with free home delivery. Housewares can be purchased anywhere, Penny's, Wal-Mart, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc. That pretty much leaves Electronics. HHGreg, Best Buy, and soon expanded Wal-Mart electronic departments offer the same products at lower prices. In an economic downturn, the strong survive and the weak fall by the wayside. Look at all of the stores/chains that have closed and if you had to pick one BIG department store that wouldn't be missed if it disappeared,, who would it be? I think the future of Sears is iffy at best. There is no compelling reason to shop at a Sear's store