Can manly men save Sears?
The company is trying to reach out to its tool-loving male customers with a new clothing line.
These guys know Sears' tool section like the backs of their hands, but they don't spend much time browsing the clothing racks. Sears is trying to change that, adding more crossover products targeting manly men.
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The newest addition is the Outdoor Life line, which will begin selling this weekend at 800 Sears stores, reports Women's Wear Daily. Sears is also building small Outdoor Life shops-within-a-shop in its stores and will have the clothes on its website by Sept. 20.
The line features hunting and fishing clothing and other casual sportswear, including thermal crews, Henley shirts and canvas cargo pants. "This will be the first store-exclusive brand for Sears created particularly with the outdoorsman in mind," Lana Krauter, a senior vice president at Sears, told the site.
It's not a bad strategy. These customers are already in the store, but Sears wants them to linger instead of buying their circular saws and walking out the door. Can Sears get these guys to cross the aisle?
The company is partnering on the line with Outdoor Life magazine, which has a circulation of 750,000. Sears will run ads in the magazine in hopes of bringing readers into its apparel departments.
The move comes as Sears shuffles its brand lineup. The company is ready to say goodbye to its Lands' End line for the right price, reportedly shopping the brand around. But its collection from the Kardashian sisters is doing so well that Sears is expanding it to include eyewear and plus sizes. Sears has also added the Hart & Huntington and Bongo brands, WWD reports.
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I have most of a 255 piece tool set that I purchased in 1969. They have served me well. recently I abused a socket and took it in to be replaced. They replaced it with no problem. As I was walking out of the store I got to looking at the replacement. Turned around and took it back and traded back. The new one was junk. A little work with a file made the old one functional and taught me a lesson, to take better care of my tools. One can purchase made in China, with as good a warranty, for a lot less money. at Harbor Freight. I hate to see this old institution fail, but I believe the management has brought it on themselves.
Who really cares about the lone Hearts Club.
interesting.... I worked at Sears... in Div9 hardware. The tools were sold more often to women buyng for the man of the house to work with on the weekend or at night than directly to men.
Sears biggest problem (even store managers admitted it) was sticktooit-edness... could not make their mind up on a plan and go with... Chicago didnt see results in the company in two weeks... they would abandon it and go elsewhere....
seems that has not changed.
If they expect men to save Sears:
1. Bring Craftsman tools manufacturing back to the US. Reinstate the no-questions-asked immediate free replacement policy.
2. Back what they sell. I bought a washer a few years ago from Sears that DID NOT WORK THE FIRST TIME IT WAS USED. Fortunately, I had also purchased a five-year extended warrantee on it. After several attempts to get it fixed, whereupon it would quit a couple of months later, IT TOOK OVER A YEAR AND A HALF TO GET IT REPLACED, AND I WAS TOLD I HAD TO FIND MY OWN REPLACEMENT WITHIN SEARS PRODUCT LINE. Women may put up with this crap, but men won't. After SIX attempts to repair this washer, replacing the circuit board, the wiring harness twice, the motor, and a couple of other parts, I told them I would hound them until the end of the earth and would never give up, and they finally replaced it. With the effort I put into making them do the right thing, they should have replaced it AND given me a full refund for the purchase price.
I don't care what they try to do. I won't shop there anymore. I have not shopped there since they would not exchange a craftsman tool about 2 years ago that had broke. I had the receipt for it and only had the tool for about 2 months. I haven't been back to any sears store. I paid off the sears card and cut it up. I won't even walk through the store to enter or leave the mall.
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