Sears appliances showroom

Sears to open standalone appliance store. What took so long?

Retail industry watchers have long urged various regimes running Sears, including those pre-Eddie Lampert, to dump clothing and other poorly performing categories to focus on the chain’s strengths in major appliances and power tools. While management has tinkered in the past (Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, spun off by Sears Holdings in 2012, have appliance stores), Sears is now putting the advice to the test with its own standalone appliance store.

The pilot location, a 10,000-square-foot store in Fort Collins, CO that will open on May 19, will feature a simple Sears Appliances banner on its façade. Sears said the store will feature a wide assortment of products from the top 10 brands of appliances, including refrigerators, dishwashers, washers, dryers, ranges, wall ovens and vacuums. Sears bills itself as the only retailer offering all 10 of the top selling appliance brands.

The retailer is also touting a 122-inch interactive display that will enable customers using a tablet to create kitchen settings with appliances that best match their own homes.

“We’re using digital innovation and this new store space in a different way which will enable us to deliver a superior shopping experience to our members,” said Leena Munjal, senior vice president, customer experience and Integrated Retail, Sears Holdings, in a statement. “The store in Ft. Collins is a great example of how we are focusing on our best categories, stores and members and how the right blend of a physical store with Sears’ digital capabilities can deliver a fresh, innovative and convenient way for our members to shop.”

Sears will also offer a variety of services in the test store, including appointment scheduling with in-store experts.

Customers can also purchase items on sears.com and pick their orders up for free at the location. This includes items not sold in the test store.

BrainTrust

"Yes! This category has been the face of Sears to many families over the decades."

Mohamed Amer, PhD

Independent Board Member, Investor and Startup Advisor


"I think hardware and tools should be sold in the stores too. Those have always been Sears’ strong suit (I feel like a broken record somehow!)."

Paula Rosenblum

Co-founder, RSR Research


"The retail cognoscenti have been urging Sears to capitalize on the Kenmore, DieHard and Craftsman brands for many years."

Cathy Hotka

Principal, Cathy Hotka & Associates


Discussion Questions

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Do you think standalone appliance stores will prove successful for Sears? How likely is Sears to quickly roll out a chain of these small stores following the Fort Collins opening? Do you expect other chains selling appliances to open their own standalone stores?

Poll

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Dick Seesel
Dick Seesel
7 years ago

There is a Sears Appliance and Hardware store in the Milwaukee suburbs — I’m not clear whether it is owned-and-operated or a franchise outlet. (There is also another appliance store that is definitely franchised.) So I’m a bit surprised to read about this as a “new” concept, unless what’s new is the direct ownership by Sears. Maybe another BrainTruster will know the facts.

The question with Sears Appliances is whether a rollout of freestanding stores can offset the bleeding of its core business and the continuing amount of excess square footage that the company operates. But Sears’ appliance business has probably not been compromised by the overall collapse of the brand — so it’s not a bad idea on its own merits.

Mohamed Amer
Mohamed Amer
7 years ago

Yes! This category has been the face of Sears to many families over the decades. The only problem is that Sears has ceded their leadership to DIY giants such as Home Depot and Lowe’s so that the upside potential is not what it could have been 10 years ago.

I don’t expect other chains selling appliances to open their own standalone stores, their sales mix is different and they do not have an appliance history associated with their brands.

Paula Rosenblum
Paula Rosenblum
7 years ago

I think hardware and tools should be sold in the stores too. Those have always been Sears’ strong suit (I feel like a broken record somehow!).

The roll-out will be hampered by the lack of one very important commodity: Cash. And there remains no evidence that Mr. Lampert knows how to run a retail chain. Ruin it, perhaps. Run it, not so much.

I think it’s too late, but miracles do happen.

Max Goldberg
Max Goldberg
7 years ago

If Sears has any shot at success, this is it — a small footprint store selling items that made Sears successful. I would except the company to quickly roll out this format, should the Ft. Collins test succeed. The key for potential success will be the customer experience and Sears’ ability to carry all of the top-selling brands. Sears should do the same with home improvement tools under the Craftsman banner.

Cathy Hotka
Cathy Hotka
7 years ago

At this point, I don’t see any hope of success for any Sears format, but the retail cognoscenti have been urging Sears to capitalize on the Kenmore, DieHard and Craftsman brands for many years. There’s a lot of missed opportunity there.

Bob Phibbs
Bob Phibbs
7 years ago

No it will not be successful. It’s no mystery why J.C. Penney is adding appliances. They sold off all they can, the vultures are circling and I doubt if Sears is going to last past 2017.

Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
7 years ago

Sears is trying whatever they can to remain relevant. has their time passed? Probably, but many Boomers own Sears appliances and this may work. But the giants will not take this lying down and will get very aggressive on pricing to maintain their market share.

Richard J. George, Ph.D.
Richard J. George, Ph.D.
7 years ago

Sears, “where America used to shop,” is running out of options. While Sears has enjoyed a good reputation with its appliances, the competitive landscape has changed dramatically. Home Depot, Lowe’s, Best Buy, hhgregg, Costco and other brick-and-mortar retailers have made appliances a mainstay of their product offerings. Plus Amazon and the other online retailers have moved into this space.

Will be interesting to see the results of this test store. This may be the last hurrah for Sears.

I do not see any of the above chains selling appliances following the Sears approach.

Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken
7 years ago

Sears is struggling. It’s a public fact. I can’t predict with 100 percent certainty if their new strategy will work or not, but I’ll share why I’d bet on it. First, they aren’t changing who they are. They are playing to their strengths. Appliances are one of their strongest categories. The experience my wife and I had when we bought our washer, dryer and refrigerator at Sears was excellent.

I think of what has happened to RadioShack. They did a complete image change — a re-branding of what they were known for — other than their name. They confused their customers. They stopped focusing on what they did best. Now they are coming back to that, and I hope it works.

Unlike RadioShack, Sears is staying in their lane. Emphasizing what they are really good at. Looking forward to seeing positive results (and for RadioShack too).

Tina Lahti
Tina Lahti
7 years ago

Sears has a long history of poor implementation, squandering the equity of their own brands and ignoring the obvious. I see no evidence of a turnaround, especially if the photo above is their concept store — horrible. This is way too little way too late. Just sell Kenmore and Craftsman and close the doors already. This slow march toward an inevitable demise is painful for all of us.

Joel Rubinson
Joel Rubinson
7 years ago

I think this has a real shot at succeeding. I would add in tools as well. Think of it this way … if you needed an appliance or garden tools who WOULDN’T check out this store if it were in the neighborhood or on their navigation route? Why go to Home Depot where it is hard to find what you are looking for because the store is so massive? Where else would you go for appliances? I think this is a great idea. Keep the core of Sears and strip away all the tacky, sad stuff they sell where you see the tattered image of the store on your way to the departments that make sense.

Kim Garretson
Kim Garretson
7 years ago

One unique customer-centric thing that I could see Sears doing to set itself apart in these standalone stores is to have a focus on its outlet inventory across the country. Its competitors basically have to display “scratch and dent” items in individual stores, but Sears has the largest inventory in the industry on these goods and charges reasonable delivery rates on online orders from a variety of nearby stores, roughly $100 for under 75 miles I believe. I can imagine sales associates in these stores, as a way to sell a house full of appliances, suggesting looking at outlet goods on items where appearance isn’t so important, like laundry, making the sale and then having these goods added to truck for the full delivery.

Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly
7 years ago

First a little history … Sears had “Brand Central” stores during its ’80s vertical business phase. All the businesses were fleeing the reservation. There were also “Kenmore and More” stores. And they put appliances into the Hardware standalone as well as the broader home assortment “dealer stores.”

At this point, like any store, success will be determined by the volume of transactions and profitability of each transaction. With J.C. Penney jumping into the fray (500 stores by EOY), it is suddenly an over-stored category. And Amazon hasn’t jumped in yet.

This morning, Mr. Ellison, CEO of J.C. Penney claimed the short term profitability of appliances will be a detriment to store gross margin. Right, making money in this category is not easy. CAP was $1,200. The bright spot in the J.C. Penney test is that 50 percent of transactions were made by new customers and most were bought with its new private label credit card.

Success in “white goods” is complex. It is a consultative sale. Trained, empathetic and capable sales folks are crucial.

Product + insurance + delivery + service + credit revenue = profit.

Tinkering with any of the five components will reduce transaction gross margin. Product can be sold at skinny margins and the transaction can be very profitable. The genius of the Sears model a la 1950. Those days are long gone. No one holds their credit portfolio any more.

No I do not expect other chains to open standalone appliance stores.

As Ken More might say, “retail ain’t for sissies.”

Lee Peterson
Lee Peterson
7 years ago

Where’s this been? Perfect example of why a great brand is disappearing: lack of speed towards innovation to market.

Having said that, it IS a good idea. The proof of the pudding will be in what happens if it works. Is there capex to blow this up? Will other regions react just as strongly as the test? You know, can Sears handle “good problems”? (It’s been a while since they’ve had to).

Peter J. Charness
Peter J. Charness
7 years ago

If Sears years ago had taken its well-respected brands and put them into economically sized standalone stores they might have a thriving and profitable and completely different business than their traditional one, or the one that they have today. Something say the size of a RadioShack, or even a Sports Authority perhaps. They would have had the valuable real estate assets of the traditional Sears store to sell off, and gotten out of all those “other products” that they’ve danced around selling for years without any profit to show for it.
Instead they’ve pretty much turned the brand to mush, so it’s probably too late.

Richard Layman
Richard Layman
7 years ago

Sears already has some of these stores. At least there is one in the Tenleytown neighborhood of DC, ironically less than one block from an old Sears that has been closed for a few decades. It’s on the back side of the commercial district, poorly located and poorly marketed.

According to a Sears website, they are called “Sears Appliance Showrooms.”

Also, Sears has run ads on national or regional television (or was it radio) promoting these stores as a great place to get unbiased advice and recommendations.

But Sears appears to be really lousy at marketing generally. So it’s not likely that they will succeed with this, irrespective of whether or not it is a good idea (I would think it is ordinarily).

At the very least, stores need to be prominently located and adequately marketed. I bet few people in DC even knows that the Sears Appliance Showroom store exists in the city.

Ed Rosenbaum
Ed Rosenbaum
7 years ago

Yes, I would think this has a chance to succeed. No, I do not think it will. Even if they come out of the gate strong, the best they could hope for would be a very distant fourth behind Best Buy, Home Depot and Lowe’s. This makes me think of the race starting and Sears has to be awakened to remember to get going. My take is, too late. Smart boards should have known this avenue was available many years ago.

Lee Kent
Lee Kent
7 years ago

Here’s the duh from me. See what this tells you. I had no idea that the Kenmore, DieHard and Craftsman brands were even relevant anymore.

Assuming I am not alone in this, they haven’t a shot. I see no ads for these products anymore. Does the younger generation even know about them?

Sure these were great products with great reputations in my day, but if no one is touting them now, how to stake your business on them? Am I just way off base?

For my 2 cents.

Craig Sundstrom
Craig Sundstrom
7 years ago

Nothing, repeat — nothing — Sears does will prove successful as long as the current ownership is in charge (and I use the term “in charge” for want of something better).

And, alternately, if there were new management, we probably wouldn’t need to discuss Silver Bullet strategies … though so much damage has been done I’m not sure anything can work anymore.

Kai Clarke
Kai Clarke
Active Member
7 years ago

Focus, focus, focus. These should be the keywords for Sears success mantra. Sears is trying to do so many things, that they are forgetting their key products and contributors to their bottom line. Appliances and tools should be their focus, and this model of increasing their exposure through opening more standalone appliance stores is a great idea, whose time is here.