Counter Culture

We were a little late running across this snippet (scroll to bottom of link) in the New York Post that poses this blind-item question:

“Which executive of a top ten national retailing chain is thinking about separating his ailing company from its real estate and putting the entire operation online as a rival to Amazon.com?”
Continue reading ‘Will Sears Go Exclusively Online?’

So it’s really starting now. Sears, Kroger and others are vying for the rebate checks the government will issue consumers next month as part of a $168 billion economic stimulus plan to get the economy back on track.

The Kroger plan would allow customers to exchange their rebate checks for gift cards valued higher than the government-issued money. A $300 check would turn into a $330 gift card, $600 would bring in $660 and $1,200 gets the shopper $1,320.
Continue reading ‘Retailers Line Up For Rebate Checks’

We found this article yesterday in the Baltimore Sun interesting. Apparently Sears, the owner of clothier Lands’ End since 2002, is stepping up its display of that apparel line by opening large ministores.

At one Sears department store, in a Maryland mall, Lands’ End already as a 24,000-sf ministore. There are currently seven of these larger Lands’ End stores across the country, according to the article, which says versions half the size started rolling out three years ago.
Continue reading ‘Sears Pumps Up Lands’ End’

Sears Holdings Corp. made big news yesterday, with management announcing that CEO Aylwin Lewis is leaving the company early next month. Lewis’ interim replacement is W. Bruce Johnson, executive vice president of supply chain and operations.

The move comes just a few days after a company announcement saying that it was switching up its “internal management and organizational structure.” Part of that change includes focusing more on individual business units, including “operating businesses, support, brands, online and real estate,” according to the statement.
Continue reading ‘What’s the Future at Sears?’