In this video from the Motley Fool's "Ask a Fool" series, Fool analyst Mark Reeth takes a question from a Fool reader, who asks, "Do you think Kmart and Sears have a future? Will these companies survive the next two or three years?" Mark tells investors why he does see Sears Holdings' (NASDAQ: SHLD ) Sears stores sticking around for a while, but things are less clear for its Kmart chain.
Now, here are two retailers leaving the competition in the dust
To learn about two retailers with especially good prospects, take a look at The Motley Fool's special free report: "The Death of Wal-Mart: The Real Cash Kings Changing the Face of Retail." In it, you'll see how these two cash kings are able to consistently outperform and how they're planning to ride the waves of retail's changing tide. You can access it by clicking here.
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Report this Comment On February 27, 2014, at 10:33 AM, Hollowcreek wrote:
Having been a member of the Kmart team when they were in their heyday 30 years ago and from being involved in businesses that were tied to them over the years, I learned long ago that everything that Kmart touches eventually turns to crap. The list of casualties is long, but you know the biggies, Meldisco, Flemming, Walden Books, Hechinger, Sports Authority, Little Caesars Pizza, NTW, Western Auto to name a few.
KMart has been mismanaged since the 80's and now through the merger with Sears, they have dealt a death blow to them as well.
Have you been in a Sears lately? Tried to get some service? I spent about 15 minutes speaking to the general manager of a what used to be a very high volume store in the Dallas area about an issue that should have been simple enough to resolve and she basically told me that she had just "given up" trying to fight the incoming system, which was imposing policies that were costing the store sales volume. What I really could not get over after the conversation was the apathy in the voice on the other end of the line. As a result, I do not shop there any longer.
The Catalog, in the day of the internet, should be a No-Brainer , but go try to use it. The old 800 number and the 3 inch thick catalog was easier to use AND you found what you were looking for and could go downtown and pick it up in an hour.
Sears may hang in there, but they need to purge all the Kmart people and go back to what made them great. Appliances and Service, Automotive, Hardware and the Catalog.
Sorry if I ramble, but I just hate to see an American institution go down the tubes.
Report this Comment On February 27, 2014, at 4:05 PM, Soakee wrote:
As a long-time Sears employee told me several years ago when I was interviewing for a job with them, the only thing keeping Sears in business is the interest from the Sears charge cards. The only thing worth saving in a Sears bankruptcy would be Craftsman tools (NOT Craftsman anything else).
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