Will Eddie Lampert pull off the 4+ billion offer to take the company private or will the liquidate Sears/Kmart?
Will Eddie Lamper use his own cash to backstop the credit bid?
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/27/sears-may-need-to-liquidate-if-no-bid-comes-in-by-tomorrow.html
I can see the news, 68K employees out of work because of Trumps tariffs. No mention of course of the failing business model.
Sad to see but Sears was built servicing Rural America and Blue Collar middle class workers. As that percentage of the population has shrunk they’ve lost their customer base.
This has been a fairly steady decline since the early/mid seventies and the management just hasn’t been able to overcome it.
Thrown in Walmarts across the country, on line shopping an antiquated marking plan and there you have it.
This failure rests with the CEO and corporate leadership team. They had the resources and manpower to change their business model and decided not to.
I am sure after 60k people lose their jobs he will land gently thanks to his golden parachute.
It’s too bad they don’t off themselves like their Japanese counterparts do.
Eddie Lampert isn’t a CEO of retail but a hedge fund wizard. He sold K mart properties to Sears and they bought sears with their own money.
Both stores needed an updated marketing plan. Sears leadership wanted an online retail outlet and bought Lands End. They quickly moved manufacturing overseas and began selling substandard product at premium prices. The sold Lands End after trashing it for a fraction of the purchase price.
From a purely consumer viewpoint, I can’t say I’m surprised.
Sears stores were not really laid out well and I came to only think of them in terms of tools ( probably due to Home Improvement ), large appliances and, to a lesser degree, electronics.
As the big names in appliances and electronics fell in quality and reliability, but not in price, Sears suffered with them. Other brands at lower prices won the day.
Selling off their tool line was the first indicator to me that they would soon be gone.
K Mart just always seemed dirty. Yech.
Tools the only reason to visit a Sears store.
I remember the “old” Roebuck Blue Jeans. Tough as nails, and you had to wash them 1/2 dozen times to soften them up; then they lasted forever. So far the only other jeans close are the Texas Jeans. 100% American made. Maybe $30, a pair, and free shipping.
30 bucks for a pair of jeans is cheap.
Levi 501 regular cut, 79.95.
There are so many stores specifically dedicated to home improvement now that I don’t believe their tool line alone would be enough to keep them afloat, unless quality was above par.
These days, name brand or no, quality and support seems to be a crapshoot.
I try to buy high end tools at yard sales. Most people who put the tools up for sale, do not really know what a high end tool looks like. Same with cast iron frying pans ( Wagner & Lodge ). Best place to find one is at a yard sale. They are already seasoned. I bought 6 different sizes for $3.00. Four different Ridgid pipe wrenches ( aluminum handles ) for $10.00. A complete set of New Britian sockets & ratchets for $7.00.
Quality is cost as nothing is repaired today. Drill stops working, toss it buy another as it’s far cheaper.
My Metabo 18v drill is now about 30+ years old. Batteries now failing. I think it was about $450. new. I dropped it from a 60 foot high scaffold. Still worked perfectly ( Germany ). FIL’s drill fell off the workbench; and it cracked, never worked again ( China ).
That’s great, if you know what to look for. 
That’s one thing that I see being lost as we move away from brick and mortar.
There have been several times where I’ll be shopping on Amazon and there will be just too many items that are similar and varying degrees of quality. Then I will go to several brick and mortar store websites to shop for the item because I expect their buyers to weed out the junk. Sometimes they do. Sometimes I just forgo the purchase.
I think quality control, customer assistance, and customer relations will be brick and mortars strengths going forward.
Another superb tool company is Fein ( Germany ). [
https://feintools-online.com/
](https://feintools-online.com/)
Fein Tools are precision, German manufactured cutting and drilling tools, including the first oscillating tool, the Multimaster. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Hilti tools.
Maybe it’s cheaper. When I figure in the cost of my time, disruption of workflow, and aggravation, I can’t be certain of that.
I bought a DeWalt 1/2 inch hammer drill on eBay, but forgot to ask where it was manufactured. I was concerned until it arrived - Made in England; so all is well. Used and like new condition, for $32.00.
See, that’s the stuff that, as a consumer, I shouldn’t have to know.
A mechanic in some way, shape, or form, my entire life. I learned quickly, just buy it once. OK, power tools, anything made in USA before 1950 & even into the 50s. Hand tools, anything made in USA before 1950 & even into the 50s. Newer hand tools: Knipex ( Germany ) - Snap On - USA made Craftsman - AEG power tools ( older & German ). Pretty much any modern tool made in Germany - England - Italy - Switzerland - Spain or Western Europe. An exception are high end tools made in Japan. A terrific source of high end micro tools - surgical tools is Precise Canadian - Precision Canada. I’m not 100% on where they are all manufactured; but the few I purchased were top quality. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- These are the best modern pliers type tools. [
www.knipex-tools.com/
](http://www.knipex-tools.com/) KNIPEX Alligator® Water Pump Pliers
DIN ISO 8976
88 01 180
black atramentised pliers, polished head, handles with non-slip plastic coating
88 02 300
black atramentised pliers, polished head, handles with multi-component covers
88 02 300 T
black atramentised pliers, polished head, handles with multi-component covers, with integrated tether attachment point for a tool tether
88 02 250
black atramentised pliers, polished head, handles with slim multi-component covers
88 02 250 T
black atramentised pliers, polished head, handles with slim multi-component covers, with integrated tether attachment point for a tool tether
88 08 250 US
polished, insulated with two-colour dual component handles, VDE-tested
IEC 60900DIN EN 60900
LOL! Those all look like the exact same thing to me, except the first and last ones have different colored handles (to match one’s purse and shoes I assume) and the third and fifth ones appear to have a keyring on their handles, so I can carry it with my house keys in my purse.
