tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post3020988792655417790..comments2024-03-21T01:17:34.038-05:00Comments on Pleasant Family Shopping: Sears, Roebuck and AmericaDavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-7733603569785110612023-06-19T15:49:46.049-05:002023-06-19T15:49:46.049-05:00First, sears on Geary blvd, Then mervyns, now targ...First, sears on Geary blvd, Then mervyns, now target, 2013 to 2023,James hardennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-60271926568428977322008-04-18T23:50:00.000-05:002008-04-18T23:50:00.000-05:00Jim - It looks a bit different, but is still hangi...Jim - It looks a bit different, but is still hanging in there,and that's great. I also looked at Windows Live Local and noticed that the small "window" details are still there, despite the extensive remodel. Looks like a huge store!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-27311882307905712372008-04-17T14:07:00.000-05:002008-04-17T14:07:00.000-05:00I drive by that Sears in North Hollywood every day...I drive by that Sears in North Hollywood every day (it's at the corner of Victory and Laurel Canyon Boulevards). Looks a little bit different now, 55+ years later -- <A HREF="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=victory+and+laurel+canyon+north+hollywood,+ca&jsv=107&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=45.197878,81.210938&ie=UTF8&ll=34.192485,-118.395774&spn=0.01159,0.026865&z=16&layer=c&cbll=34.186679,-118.396743&cbp=2,324.4651090945561,,0,-4.22508715504315" REL="nofollow">in theory, this link will get you to a Google Street View photo</A>.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17517190353763315342noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-77184082229059403192008-02-29T22:20:00.000-06:002008-02-29T22:20:00.000-06:00Pika23, My grandparents did the same thing! Indoor...Pika23, My grandparents did the same thing! Indoor bathrooms and Charmin were two great inventions, that's for sure!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-87643943898243827222008-02-28T12:58:00.000-06:002008-02-28T12:58:00.000-06:00Funny story about sears catalogs...My grandmother,...Funny story about sears catalogs...My grandmother, growing up in a rural area of NJ in the 1930's-40's had no indoor toilets so they used out houses...and toilet was- you guessed it! Sears catalogs!!! They used to rip the pages from the catalogs when they were done with them and use it as toilet paper.pika23https://www.blogger.com/profile/12818184628417705596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-81110851583435836372008-02-25T19:16:00.000-06:002008-02-25T19:16:00.000-06:00Peterb - Glad to have you here, and thanks!Peterb - Glad to have you here, and thanks!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-66000688950452945352008-02-25T14:10:00.000-06:002008-02-25T14:10:00.000-06:00very nice here I feel right at home, even some fam...very nice here I feel right at home, even some familiar folks from the MOA site--Hi everyone, love the hardware department shopAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-19483973436043417392008-02-13T11:33:00.000-06:002008-02-13T11:33:00.000-06:00I am no business genius but I do think that spinni...I am no business genius but I do think that spinning off the one real thing that people can only get exclusively at Sears is a very bad idea. Lampert does this and loses the rest of the last customers they have. Then what?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-81232886741435924512008-02-12T19:31:00.000-06:002008-02-12T19:31:00.000-06:00Sears created the mall/big box prototype period, a...Sears created the mall/big box prototype period, as can be attested from these pictures. You could easily build mall attached to one side or build a shopping center around any of these stores and they wouldn't appear out of place(assuming the additions would be contempory to the architecture of the store).<BR/><BR/>I too am a little distraught that Lampert really has no clue of where to take the iconic retailer. It seems his strategy of cost cutting/corner cutting can only go so far, which it pretty much has and the new plans regarding Sear's key private brands seems to be only a plan to ultimately make Kenmore, Die Hard and Craftsman national brands sold anywhere or either solely to generate a favorable response out of Wall Street without rescuing the vetern of American retail.<BR/><BR/>Despite past problems, the Sear's name is fairly trusted by most shoppers, it simply doesn't have the excitement or trendiness of many of its competitors and its soft lines which have the highest margins are laggards while its hardlines have a virtually unscathed reputation. Modernizing the stores and improving the quality of selection of softlines shouldn't take a miracle, but getting customers back may. A promised KMart-Sear's hybrid, Sears Grand and Sear Essentials has been poorly executed, lacking discount prices in a discount store environment which looks like a cheap paint job on an old Kmart, other than the initial prototypes.<BR/>If the stores had a contemporary panache and pricing competitive with Wal-Mart and Target and the big boxes, Sears hardlines would separate them from the pack.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-85249413796399134222008-02-11T16:51:00.000-06:002008-02-11T16:51:00.000-06:00Dave, I will get going on posting hopefully someti...Dave, I will get going on posting hopefully sometime this week.<BR/><BR/>Derek, I agree with so much of what you say especially the last part. No one out there can seem to get them back in shape. I believe that Lampert is running them to the ground with his focus on not really changing anything. The plan that he supposedly devised recently is not much of a plan and everytime Sears made changes, like a few years back with new layouts that had the competing against Walmart and Target it was way too late. Getting out of the slump will be short of a miracle for them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-12566927269709953492008-02-11T11:06:00.000-06:002008-02-11T11:06:00.000-06:00didi; Because they were backed by the strength of...didi; Because they were backed by the strength of their catalog and delivery operations, Sears could match the size of their [urban] stores to their surroundings. Until they closed the catalog department, even suburban stores had a catalog desk. Largely because the catalog department was 'senior' and carried a great deal of political clout within the organization until the 1980's.<BR/><BR/>Between this, and a never ending series of attempts to diversify, control of retail operations lay largely with the regional managers with little oversight from Chicago. By the time this began to be corrected in the 1980s, Sears was already sliding - caught between Kmart, WalMart, and the other discount chains on one hand and the growing power of Federated Department Stores, Target, and their ilk on the upper. The squeeze continues to this day - and Sears persists in being unable to maintain a clear vision of their market.<BR/><BR/>The problem is, I think, institutional. Sears spent so long as the 900 pound gorilla of American retail that they really can't concieve how greatly the world has changed around them.DerekLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10901229675436228122noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-10824968236716793342008-02-10T21:46:00.000-06:002008-02-10T21:46:00.000-06:00Taubman was the main developer. Sears real-estate ...Taubman was the main developer. Sears real-estate subsidiary, Homart (I guess the name had something to do with Sears original Homan Av. headquarters address)co-developed it with them.<BR/><BR/>I'd love to see pics of the Lawrence Av store. I'm with you, and hope that Sears makes it. They really are a part of American history.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07788722183424550052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1033289293807518844.post-47229515390268641182008-02-10T21:34:00.000-06:002008-02-10T21:34:00.000-06:00Wow, interesting history on Wood. I am confused th...Wow, interesting history on Wood. I am confused though, I thought Woodfield was a Taubman mall.<BR/><BR/>There is a Sears store on Lawrence, a little bit west of Clark street in Chicago's Uptown Neighborhood, it is very old, very tiny and a very cute and still used store. It is a bit small though but I recently took photos of the outside and hope to feature it soon. I was inside not long ago and was amazed at the small escalators and stairs that led up to really small showrooms. It is a shame that Sears has not worked harder over teh years to keep in the game. All the changes they made were for the worst and I really fear what comes next.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com