OT: Sad end appears imminent
New York (CNN Business) — Sears has two days to come up with $134 million.
Sears Holdings (SHLD), the parent company of Sears and Kmart, faces a Monday deadline to pay that much in debt.The most recent filing from Sears showed it had only $193 million in cash on hand as of August 4, the end of its last fiscal quarter. The company also has $269 million available to it from lenders, according to figures it released on September 13.
Having so little cash available would make it very difficult for Sears to pay back $134 million in debt due on Monday. Plus, Sears also has to pay its current vendors and employees and stock up inventory before the holidays.
All signs point to a bankruptcy filing in the next few days. Sears' stock has fallen more than 50% in the last five days to around 35 cents a share.
Maybe someone one will takeover kenmore and just gut the rest...
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Sears started as a mail order delivery buisiness where you could get almost anything shipped to your door. They were put out of businiess by a mail order company where you could get almost anything shipped to your door.
It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees.
Montgomery Wards went about 20 years ago, now Sears. How long before JC Penny goes....
Actually, I'd say maybe Home Depot had as big an impact on Sears' demise as Amazon. In the 70s if you wanted tools, a Shopvac, etc., you went to Sears. Then it became Home Depot and Lowes.
I sorta wonder if Amazon is now going to hurt those stores. Come to think of it, the last several purchases of that type I made (air compressor, patio table, etc) were made online. I even started buying clothes online. You can find EXACTLY what you want, find the cheapest price and typically have it on your door step in 36 hours.
@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees.why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
You could even buy a house from Sears......
https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/a20859/sears-sold-70000-homes-from-their-catalog-are-you-living-in-one/
@"AGRforever" said:Uh because of the loss of employment. And not everyone is going to get a new job right away.@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
@"Vikergirl" said:our town could take a couple thousand workers. jobs are a dime a dozen here. and were not some metro area. cookeville tn.@"AGRforever" said:Uh because of the loss of employment. And not everyone is going to get a new job right away.@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
@"AGRforever" said:There have been several retail stores closing in the metro area here and a lot of people are still looking for work.@"Vikergirl" said:our town could take a couple thousand workers. jobs are a dime a dozen here. and were not some metro area. cookeville tn.@"AGRforever" said:Uh because of the loss of employment. And not everyone is going to get a new job right away.@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
@"ThunderGod" said: You could even buy a house from Sears...... https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/a20859/sears-sold-70000-homes-from-their-catalog-are-you-living-in-one/
A car, too. It was called The Allstate. I forget who made it, but the company actually sold cars to Sears branded as the Allstate and they were sold for less money than the cars at dealships. That didn’t make the dealers very happy.
I haven’t been to a Sears Department store in years. We do have a Sears Hardware by the Menard’s and Lowes in town. I bought my last lawn mower from there. But I honestly don’t know how they stay in business.
@"AGRforever" said:I think the biggest thing about finding a new job is the unknown. A lot of people like the comfort of where they are when it comes to a job. Friendships develope along the way. I have been through a place shutting down. I came out with a better paying job, but I miss the people I had worked with for 31 years.@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
I don't really get the point of Sears. I'm just going to go buy some clothes, a fridge, a TV, and some garden hose all in one place?
@"Riphawkins" said:Comfort can keep you in some bad situations, but at the same time when a business as large as Sears closes, not everyone will be able to find a better paying or new job. I would expect that anyone with options has already left, so what employees they have left are likely older (working towards retirement), lower skilled, or had some other situation that kept them at Sears. Not sure how it works, but I wonder what happens to retired Sears employees? We also live in a society that overvalues youth/cheap labor, so older/more experienced employees may have a harder time replacing their income or retraining.@"AGRforever" said:I think the biggest thing about finding a new job is the unknown. A lot of people like the comfort of where they are when it comes to a job. Friendships develope along the way. I have been through a place shutting down. I came out with a better paying job, but I miss the people I had worked with for 31 years.@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
@"AGRforever" said:My sister and her family live in Cookeville. Have for 15+ years. Moved from Nashville.@"Vikergirl" said:our town could take a couple thousand workers. jobs are a dime a dozen here. and were not some metro area. cookeville tn.@"AGRforever" said:Uh because of the loss of employment. And not everyone is going to get a new job right away.@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. why? its not like the bulk of them were skilled labor. with the unemployment rate theyll have a job by tommorrow.
@"medaille" said: I don't really get the point of Sears. I'm just going to go buy some clothes, a fridge, a TV, and some garden hose all in one place?
Me either, i wish amazon did that.
I looked at the 30 companies that comprised the Dow Jones Industrial Average in mid-1956 and mid-2018. There are arguably 2 companies in both. E.I. DuPont is now DowDuPont. They are in both. So is Proctor & Gamble. That's it. And yes, Sears was in the Dow 30 in 1956.
@"dadevike" said: I looked at the 30 companies that comprised the Dow Jones Industrial Average in mid-1956 and mid-2018. There are arguably 2 companies in both. E.I. DuPont is now DowDuPont. They are in both. So is Proctor & Gamble. That's it. And yes, Sears was in the Dow 30 in 1956.In 1950, Detroit was the 5th largest city in the country....almost bigger than 4th place Los Angeles.
68 years is a long time ago and things change big time. Sears didn't change and they had a slow, protracted death spiral. Eddie Lampert made it much worse. Interesting article below:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/warrenshoulberg/2018/10/15/reasons-2-10-why-sears-and-kmart-failed/#21e2562acef4
@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees.In 2017 Sears employed 140,000 people. From CNN Money- "Amazon has added nearly a quarter million employees to its headcount in a single year.Oct 26, 2017" A total of 541,900.
The jobs aren't dying, just changing.
@"muydnbejydk" said:@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. In 2017 Sears employed 140,000 people. From CNN Money- "Amazon has added nearly a quarter million employees to its headcount in a single year.Oct 26, 2017" A total of 541,900.The jobs aren't dying, just changing.
does writing fake reviews for amazon count as a job? :p
@"muydnbejydk" said:@"Vikergirl" said: It was inevitable. Retail is dying. I feel for the employees. In 2017 Sears employed 140,000 people. From CNN Money- "Amazon has added nearly a quarter million employees to its headcount in a single year.Oct 26, 2017" A total of 541,900.The jobs aren't dying, just changing.
Changing drastically from a face-to-face service interaction like at a Sears/Kmart/department store to warehouse fulfillment job behind the scenes. Pretty drastic change for folks who may have been working at department store type jobs to have to transition into basically warehouse jobs. Glad it is not me that is for sure. I know I would have a hard time adjusting to that.But I have been in face-to-face sales my whole life so could not imagine working in a giant warehouse with only coworker interaction and no customer interaction.
I hope those 170,000 Sears employees can find jobs somewhat similar too the department store set-up because they are all dying. I think most will have to go pure retail like Walmart/Target etc.
Edit Post (mod action — author will see a notice)
Warn Poster
Suspend User (3 days)
The user will be suspended for 3 days and will receive an email with the reason and information about how to appeal.