Thread regarding Sears layoffs

More fake news from some sick demented POS.

Ba-Bye LOSER!

@1swt-- SHC is self insured. They eat every loss themselves.

STEAL-A-THON is next promotion.

"I wonder though, do the tax rules and insurance companies require a good faith effort in mitigating loss?"

Tax rules don't care whose fault a loss is, just that it happened. Insurance companies would probably care, but companies as large as Sears are typically 'self-insured'. In Sears' case, that's apparently through their 'Sears Re' subsidiary.

One has to wonder what's next for the stores if they really do eliminate all leads and have one SGM between two stores. Naturally, cashiers would be next on the chopping block since they're stating to disappear in other stores but self checkout stations are like $15,000 a pop and they'd still need someone to do the softlines adset, set typicals, fold and straighten and put merchandise away.

They can't take away consultative sales because that's their bread and butter, You need an effective salesperson to sell the big-ticket items. Commissions are definitely in jeopardy though. They might cut commission rates again or make everyone go hourly, it could go either way.

Can't take away store support because they are the ones unloading trucks and getting it floor ready and taking merchandise out to customer's cars. They also are a critical part of the online business since most Sears.com orders are fulfilled by stores. Let's not forget that they do all the planograms, resets and adsets in tools, lawn and fitness.

They might cut the office associate position but they would have to streamline all of the reports and paperwork big-time and pawn the work on to the supervisors or the manager. Most OAs only see 10 hours a week at most so it isn't like sacrificing the OA position is going to net a whole lot of money. Managers are used to doing the work anyways because nobody wants the OA position when they find out they are only getting 10 hours a week so the OA position is vacant most of the time.

AP is an easy target since the majority of their stores don't even have AP and they figure they would just take the tax writeoff or insurance money for the higher shrinkages that follow as a result. I wonder though, do the tax rules and insurance companies require a good faith effort in mitigating loss? You would lose your homeowner's insurance or your car insurance if they found out you didn't make an honest effort in preventing your house from burning down or avoiding car wrecks. Or does the remote monitoring, as ineffective as it is, satisfy those requirements?

If you cut zone supervisors, well, the ONLY management in the building would be the store manager, now that leads are said to be in jeopardy. And if that store manager is split between two stores, who's running the store in their absence?

You just can't accept the truth. That's the real problem, this slow motion destruction of the company has everyone thinking it won't happen to them. That if it was true, all of the stores would be closed by now. That your store is different, you care, you are golden. Live in that dream bubble, people, and you will see it all crashing down around you very soon.

@U3xJQqO-1muq Well as OP said it would happen to some stores (in my are we have 2 stores that are 50 minutes apart). It can work like 2 days in one store and 3 days in another store. The only thing I can see them offer is maybe a small pay increase or losing the position (being a threat to make you quit and not give you severance and unemployment). I find it ridiculous how desperate the company is getting honestly.

Also to add I find it disgusting how mangers do take advantage of the leads/coordinators. I remember seeing a co worker she was a coordinator and than a lead killing herself for the company (at the end all her hard work never got a pay increase when she got the position and her position eliminated this past July). I swear to god she was making probably no more than a $1 extra for all her extra work. I found it ridiculous how they basically abuse you and take advantage of you for pennies extra. The only advice I would give if your in that situation and dont want to quit stand up for yourself. Do whatever you can and call it a day. If they ask why you didn't finish it than you respond that your assigned way to much work to handle

@U3xJQqO-rux yes, they ruined Lands End too, everything they have touched for the last 35 years has fallen apart.

@1igr- We have about three cart push-outs on a "slow" week. Tools, clothes, work boots are our door busters. I think it's funny that they're stealing work boots and tools, since they don't, you know, WORK, but they sell them and all the other stuff they steal, probably to fund their drug habit. For some reason they are drawn to the cheap, crappy costume jewelry as well, and I don't know what it is with the tags but they tear them off in the dressing rooms. Every night there are a few on the floor. It's not like those tags have alarm strips in them and we don't even have alarms at our doors. But what do I know, stupid people will be stupid.

When it was announced that we were losing AP in our store, remote monitoring was touted to be the best thing since sliced bread by our AP market manager. Please. They only call to thank us for putting out caution cones in the winter or to let us know that Ruby Sue in softlines did a good job with SAM, BOB and LISA when checking out a customer. And yes, they have all the thievery on film but what can they possibly do from 500 miles away? Reach out of the camera lens and grab the shoplifter by his collar?

I used to stand vigilant and offer "customer service" whenever one of our regular shoplifters came in to steal but I just think to myself, I'm wasting my time, there's nothing I can do unless I want to lose my job for being the hero, and they don't pay me to be the hero, and besides, they know the game around here, they know we can't do anything or touch them. So I ignore them, especially if I have a chance at making a sale from someone who's wanting to buy something. The managers ignore them too, because I've called them numerous times and let them know and they just say "oh, okay" and never come out to deter or distract them. It's really sad, this crap would not fly in other stores.

@1cmr - I don't know how that's going to work. So many stores are more than 50 miles apart, especially now that so many stores are shutting down. And now that there is word that Sears is pushing to get rid of all leads, what happens when the supervisors leave one by one without getting replaced? Who is going to mind the stores then? We've been through five zone supervisors (three hardlines and two softlines) in less than a year. I almost took the job until I realized that the job was not worth the stress for what it paid.

So who is next in the chain of command? Key carriers? They're not classified as managers but they are being used all over the place as a fill-in because Sears has found a way to fill the gaps left by the salaried and hourly managers they laid off. Basically free labor because they still have to cashier or sell in hardlines on top of their "managerial duties". Everybody I've known to be a key carrier hated having the "privilege" because they quickly learned that they were given all these extra responsibilities with no extra pay. Most were left with no choice but to quit their jobs because the store manager wouldn't let them give up their extra responsibilities as a key carrier because it would cause a huge shortage in management coverage. After about a month they want to give their keys back and feel cheated because they are responsible for opening the store, closing the store, running the cash room, making approvals, being the MOD that gets yelled at when there's an angry customer who wants to see a manager when none are working, sitting in on conference calls, running interviews, sending emails to upper management -- and they don't see a blessed cent more than any of the rest of us who know better not to take on manager duties for what amounts to free.

We used to be 35 miles apart from our closest Sears store until it closed. Now we are almost 90 miles away to the closest Sears store. We can't be the only store with some considerable distance between its closest FLS. I don't know if anyone would want to drive that far and take on the responsibility of running two stores at the same time. I wonder if they would pay accordingly, probably not. I guess the only people who would be willing to do this are the retail management rejects our competitors tossed out on their behinds or the die-hard Sears loyalists who will bend over backwards for this company no matter the cost.

This does sound pretty real honestly what the OP has mentioned, but my question is I don't know about #4 I would assume it would be after xmas (but who knows can be right). I just don't know if OP is basing on the intel that has be posted or he has some inside intel about this.

@U3xJQqO-oix Also I have heard that their are some Sears that are runned by 1 SM running 2 stores. Maybe they will once again do the whole demotion and mention supervisor position (I mean thats what they did they cut the ASM's and basically to cut the pay and put them on supervisors lowering the pay and benefits).

At this rate the company keeps burning cash like crazy they are losing every day 3 to 5 million dollars a day the company has no more valuable assets to give enough collateral to Mr. Lampert this might be the year finally we will just wait and see if some big stuff unfolds this July as OP has mentioned.

Lands End WAS good until Sears bought them. Then the quality declined within a couple quarters.

It's true about AP, has been gone for a couple of months in a Oklahoma Store.

@U3xJQqO-oiz it's been going on far longer than 2012. The decline started in the 1980's.

It was a constant game of getting beat by the competition on EVERYTHING they tried because they only went halfway. It seems like the only real winner that has ever been in the stores between 1985 and current is Land's End and they are running away fast. The market that LE attracts is the market they should have been going after. In the 90's the competitors for Land's End were Northern Reflections, LL Bean, J Crew, and Simon the Tanner. Sears missed out on the VW driving, Birkenstocks and camping crowd. They also missed out on the fashion-forward crowd. By the mid 90's they refused to catch up and stagnated. Now we see the results of that.

Sears has been losing massive amounts of money for years.

https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/imMjyj.32c90/v1/-1x-1.png

And every year, people say surely this is the last year. But then it isn't. Eventually it will be, but there isn't enough evidence at this time to believe that this post isn't just trolling.

I can fathom AP being gone since so many stores don't even have an AP department, but just how could they eliminate the store manager? Who will run the store if there are no longer ASMs and they are planning on cutting leads too? Just the two zone supervisors?

I remember when the softer side campaign was started, with the purpose of appealing to women. Instead of cosmetics and fragrance counters, they put in beauty salons. It was one or the other, not both like most other department stores. At the same time, JC Penney brought in beauty salons that were full service with nails, hair, facials, waxing and makeup artists. Sears was also the only place you could find bell bottoms in the 1980's other than the three styles of bb jeans they had at fashion bug. Anyone remember polyester pull-on pants? Sears had those too. Sears refused to modernize their stores AND their product lines. They had the perfect opportunity to leap into the future and appeal to the upper middle class. When everyone else went high they went low and they lost. They also let Macy's beat them on stuff like vacuum cleaners lol.

@rja - "I could write a book on insanely stupid Sears business decisions, but no one would believe it."

Believe me, I would! If I received a dollar for every "insanely stupid" business decision Sears made during my 40+ year tenure I would be as rich as Eddie. Even more insane was Sears habit of refusing to acknowledge, modify, or abandon those flawed business decisions. Sears upper management always seemed to accept, defend, and honor failure!

There are already many, many stores with no AP. That is why shrink has skyrocketed to insane levels. Just because something makes no sense, don't assume Sears wouldn't do it. They usually do, and in this case already have in most stores. I could write a book on insanely stupid Sears business decisions, but no one would believe it. There is one and only one explanation for it all that makes any sense: Eddie is trying to hasten the company's demise. You are a fool if you believe otherwise.

OP says AP will be gone. Does that mean no AP in stores? That seems crazy!

Heck with cart push-outs. I can already envision boosters in rental trucks loading up in bulk. With staffing so low, they'd likely get away with it with no resistance at all.

I suppose writing off stolen goods may be more profitable than AP staffing, but that presumes Sears is going away very soon. In that regard, if AP is truly eliminated, the OP may be spot on. Still hard to believe that Sears will liquidate this year, but then many thought the same with Toys R Us.

What are suppliers doing?... Are more demanding cash upfront, cutting back shipments, refusing to do business.

Also, keep an eye on what credit factors charge businesses for Sears / K-Mart receivables... If rates have increased lately or worse, they're refusing to factor, that's a strong signal liquidation is near.

Any news abt SHI ?

Kenmore and Diehard do not have enough value to make a difference. Nobody is going to pay anything for those names. Nobody has bought them yet and nobody is going to buy them before it all comes crashing down. At best selling BOTH Kenmore and Diehard at roughly the same time MIGHT be enough cash to operate for one more quarter.

And I've got news for you too on the real estate....it''s not going to make any difference. Real estate will be sold off after it all comes crashing down. DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT CASH IS ALMOST GONE?.....WHEN CASH IS GONE IT'S OVER. The point is not to keep SHLD going as a business. Do you people actually believe that Eddie wants SHLD to be in business for another year? NO....Real estate, Kenmore, and Diehard names will be sold off to make Eddie money not to keep SHLD in business.

SHLD will be GONE by end of year....or sooner. WAKE UP PEOPLE AND GET OUT WHILE YOU CAN!

Kenmore, Diehars and RE have been for sale for years, no one wants them. The RE is a huge albatross, lots of empty buildings in dead locations that they either pay taxes or leases on. They are burning their cash flow and have been at an alarming rate. The Q2 reporting period could be their last.

Now it's already a different news than previous post.

So Kmart stores will still be open and only Sears stores would close.

What is your source ?

It seems strange to me when ESL is trying to buy the remaining assets including real estate (to make a master lease and continue operating) to announce that all Sears stores are closing.

"There is no more assets to sell off"

Of course there is. They haven't sold all the real estate, they haven't sold Kenmore, they haven't sold Diehard, etc. Whether they can or will actually do so in time, I have no idea.

When the money is gone it's all over. Can't pay employees, can't pay suppliers, can't pay lease, can't pay utilities, can't operate....available cash on hand is pretty much gone. What don't some of you understand about that? There is no more assets to sell off and there is no money coming from another source. It doesn't matter if a loan payment was renegotiated for 2020, because SHLD will run out of operating money long before that anyway.

At this point SHLD probably doesn't have enough cash available to operate for even another quarter....SHLD is losing an increasing amount of money at an increasing rate. End is near.

So that much money a day would not keep any store open at all. But the doors open every morning. Understood.

Everything the OP posted is true. Sears/Kmart is losing anywhere between 3 to 5 MILLION DOLLARS PER DAY. Do you understand that? 3 to 5 MILLION PER DAY! Losing billions of dollars per year....the cash on hand is ALL GONE. It doesn't matter if it's not end of quarter or end of year. When the money is all gone then the money is ALL GONE....end of story, end of SHLD!

Wow the fake sh** is getting deeper.