So Fast Eddie actually said "we don't need any more customers." Seriously? How far detatched from reality do you have to be to think your business doesn't need more customers? The last time I was in a store it was in a an A-store in So Calif. In all those floors there was exactly 4 customers in the store, including myself. If he thinks that is "not needing more customers" then he is truly out of his mind crazy.
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1bx1- So Eddie said that he need people to buy more than they want to to be profitable? Well, doesn't every business need people to buy more than they need, or buy things they don't need so the business makes more money? That is the goal of every business-- to make more money, to have customers buy more than they intended etc. But the end game is to get more customers.
While I understand that you want people to buy more with every trip to the store, maybe if you had merchandise that people want to buy, make shopping in store a pleasant experience, make online shopping easier --- people would buy more. But as it is, anyone who shops in store can't find what they want, want to leave the store as soon as possible because the shopping experience is depressing because of the state of the stores and shopping on line is a journey into chaos and frustration.
Does Eddie Lambert have a point in the interview he did? Yes, he does, however, this companies downfall has been under his watch. Of course he's going to get blamed whether it's fair or not.
He needs to see first hand what goes on and stop getting info from his executives. The only people who lose in the end are the employees, shareholders, vendors. Not the customers or the CEO he made sure when everything tanks he's covered. So sorry can't feel to sympathetic, because he knows exactly what he's doing.
mis-led by his executives? that's insane. Eddie was the one who set up the absurd Ayn Rand competition that caused such miserable behavior on his team, and Eddie is the one who didn't approve any investments in the store or consumer experience. He's had 12 years to course adjust, and he didn't. He absentee manages from Florida, which never works. There is only one person to blame, and Eddie is his name.
I honestly don't know, but the move to San Francisco happened around 2010....so many years ago.
How many people are out in SF?
I don't think there is anything that EL hasn't heard....any criticisms of him that he hasn't heard...so I really think he is beyond worrying about himself. He even said he wished there was some way he could detach himself from Sears at times, so that everything wouldn't be focused on him but more on the hard working people at Sears. Of course the obvious answer is to hire a CEO other than himself, but that takes $'s that I don't think we have right now.
Honestly what I felt in the room was sort of sorry for EL. He is just one man. Yes he is crazy wealthy, but he was misled by many of the executives he hired. I guess shame on him for not having better judgment of some people, but who was the crazy man who led the apparel group out to San Francisco? I mean really? Keeping the entire corporate office together would have saved us so much money as opposed to renting out space in San Francisco and having to pay higher salaries out there. Shame on that guy wherever he works now for hurting the associates at Sears.
Eddie did go on a rant for a bit.....and he admitted it himself. One of the interesting things was he was complaining how hard it is to deal with vendors and how its unfair to employees when theirs rumors of bk...the same stuff you've already heard...yadda yadda.
The general response, I dont know how others took and am not completely sure that eddie took it, but the response was well have a better stock price and you wont have to deal with it......I really dont think he liked it.
I suspect everyone in that room had a "am i with this guy?" moment.
Oops. Worded
1bxl I agree. I'm definitely not an Eddie defender, but I got his point. He wants the members that are already there to spend more. Could have worse it a little better though.
His comment was taken out of context. What he basically said was he just needs the people who signed up for syw to actually buy things at Sears..,.so instead of just buying one shirt buying the pants, shoes, etc too. That is it. No one is delusional.
1 Amazon Customer
Well the customer base is shrinking and has been for years. Sales continue to plummet in store and online
--- he mainly orders online.
Probably uses Amazon
I don't think he gets to any stores often. He said in an interview that he mainly orders online.