Craftsman and Kenmore could be the only real reason to shop at Sears. What will put the hurt on sears is Lowes and Home Depot sell Husky and Cobalt tools. What really hurts is if someone want say screws, bolts, wood. And now that Home Depot and Lowes are selling appilances, Home Depot sells Maytag, GE, Hotpoint Jenn Air, Where Lowes carries those along with Whirpool. Home Depots D29 dept is non commision where sears is where would you shop.

Sears also sold their most profitable division a few years ago which was credit cards.

The new Sears Kmart deal I give 5 years before they are defunct. Clothes most people I know either buy from Wal Mart for the basics or go to shops that only sell clothes and shoes.

Not to brag but my portfolio has a 18% return this year and does not have any tech stocksh:

 

youre definitely bragging h:

 

One problem I have with Walmart's cloths is they are constructed to Walmart standards, which seem to be lower than the standards set for other stores. For example, I went to look at a pair of Levi jeans and they seemed like they were more cheaply built than the pair I was wearing from Kohls.

We have a local chain in the mid west here called Menards. Menards has become huge around here giving Home Depot, Lowes, and other large stores like them a big run for their money to the point they can't compete. Why and how does Menards do this? The product Menard's sells is packaged, produced and bagged by the same company that their compeditors get their product from. But what's inside the bag at Menards is different from what's inside the bag at Lowes. Menards buys enough that they can demand how the product should be built to save costs and sell it at a cheaper price. I don't know about you, but I don't want a salesman telling an engineer how to make redi-mix cement.
Obviously I know it's not that extreme, but what's to say it couldn't become that way?

 

Concrete, bolts, structural hardware, roofing, plumbing products, tools all have to meet certain government standards for safety and performance.

UPC, NSF, ANSI, NEC ect set the standards for building material product performance not the retailer.

 

Kmart pulled out of the Dallas area, and I have read that Walmart has been nailing them hard, taking mucho business away from them. All the Kmarts are closed around here, but more WMs are going up. We even have WM grocery stores here, or as they are called, "Walmart Neighborhood Market"

I read a magazine article recently (sorry don't remember where) about how Walmart works with their suppliers. They will first get a supplier to sign on to fill very large orders. The supplier seeing dollars signs (or maybe survival) gears up production meet WM's demands. Then, at some point the supplier is spending more time filling WM orders, and less time keeping other customers' needs met. WM basically gets them into a position where they are dependant on WM for a large chunk of their profit. WM then comes in and demands lower prices, at the threat of pulling their business out if the price is not met. The supplier, not wanting to lose the business lowers their price (and their own profits) to accomodate WM. The article said that WM is ruthless doing this. Do you ever wonder why the price drops on items? Now you know. Since they buy tremendous quantities from suppliers, they take preference over other buyers, and this puts them in a position to undercut anyone else. They also make tough demands on special item packaging, and shipping rules.

I remember one particular business mentioned that they ruined was Huffy.

Look at the label on clothes or stickers on items next time you're at WM and see how much of it is "made in China" or somewhere else besides the U.S. The sad fact is that once one buyer starts undercutting by purchasing from China, the competitors must do the same to compete, and survive. With someone as large as WM utilizing China, it's causing a freakin' snowball effect on the whole country.

 

They may set the standards, but the retailers can dictate the safety factor. The stuff that Lowes sells may have a SF of 6 where the stuff Menards sells has a SF of 3. It still meets guidelines, but is also still weaker.
At least that's the way I look at it. :dunno:

 

I also remember a story along that line. The one I heard was that Walmart would buy large orders of a product basically on consignment from a company. When the product didn't sell, the company went bankrupt buying all the unsold product back because Walmart incorrectly forecasted the sales figures or the product didn't sell like it was predicted to.


Another question. Has anyone ever seen something "on sale" at Walmart. I know I've seen clearance stuff and they do price matching, but I don't ever recall seeing "All mens watches 25% off through Friday" type of sale at a Walmart?

 

Walmart does shaddy stuff. But you know what, they are a corporation, so there shouldnt be any big surprises.


I still shop there because I am a smart consumer and am cheap. h:

 

so we should all boycott walmart, microsoft, gasoline, diamonds, and insurance companies

 

I don't shop at Wal Mart unless I'm desperate for cheap shit. I hate the atmosphere and their products suck.