|
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should. I learned this the hard way when I was about 10 years old and found out I could stand up on the frame of my bicycle with no hands.
After doing this stunt down a sizeable hill in our neighborhood several times, a car ran a stop sign and pulled out in front of me. I hit the ground hard and slid about half of a block on my face, breaking my wrist in several places and requiring plastic surgery on my chin. I could do it, but I shouldn’t have.
Sears Holdings Corp. (NYSE: SHLD) is doing something equally stupid, in my opinion. Okay, maybe not equally stupid, but close. After years of sluggish sales, the once-great retailer has decided to house some of its Sears stores under the same roof its K-Mart sibling, which it acquired in 2005. So far, five of these concept stores have been launched nationwide.
I’m sure a boardroom full of out-of-touch executives were patting themselves on the back for all of the marketing and real estate “synergies” this idea would create. But perhaps they should have asked their children or grandchildren what they thought of K-Mart prior to making the move. Why would anyone in their right mind decide to so closely align their already struggling brand with K-Mart?
K-Mart has done a lot to try and salvage its reputation. Despite the unfortunate timing, the retailer’s Martha Stewart Everyday collection was certainly a step in the right direction. But it will take a lot more than a partnership with domestic diva everyone loves to hate in order to pull K-Mart out of the Blue Light Special bargain bin. K-Mart is a still a third-rate discount retailer synonymous with cheap – not affordable, not value, but cheap.
Sears, a brand once synonymous with quality and service, quickly is becoming irrelevant to today’s consumer. Unless you still listen to big band music on the 8-track of your Grand Torino with vinyl interior and grew up when Sears & Roebuck was a retail powerhouse that sold everything from Cushman/Allstate mopeds to modular homes, you probably don’t think Sears is cool. But pairing up with the king of cheap isn’t going to pull Sears out of the doldrums.
As if the pairing of these two lackluster brands wasn’t enough, they’re not even properly leveraging their own core competencies. In an article announcing the opening of a Sears/K-Mart location in metro St. Louis, a Sears Holdings Corp. spokeswoman said, “There won't be a hardware section [in Sears]. K-Mart has a good selection." Pardon my French, but WTF? If Sears still has credibility in anything, it's Craftsman tools and power equipment. But then again, what can you expect from a corporation that brings you advertising like this?
I think you should wake up, SHLD, and pull both of your brands out of the 1980s marketing mindset. I hate to be the one to tell you, but The Sears/K-Mart combo is a case of the blind leading the blind. It’s time to seek professional help, SHLD.
 |
E.