Did Disney ruin Sears stores?

[bcla]

Hmmmm. Can't say I agree about the tools. We have some of my Dad's Craftsman tools (he died 20 years ago and had them for years before that) and they have outlasted everything. Dh bought some Craftsman tools for one of our sons. They didn't last 2 years. There is a difference in the quality and the guarantee.

I was thinking of the heavy hand tools. I was disappointed when I bought a 3/8" "flex handle" (breaker bar really) and it was made in China, but it looks almost identical to the 1/2" one I bought years ago. The fit and finish is just fine, but I don't know about how strong it is other than I haven't managed to destroy it yet.

Most of this stuff is machine made anyways, so as long as the materials are the same and the manufacturing equipment is programmed correctly, there isn't much of a difference. Granted I wouldn't want a Chinese made car, but these hand tools aren't too bad.

 

[goofyernmost]

Sears never made a single appliance though. They had manufacturers like Whirlpool, GE, Maytag, etc slap the Kenmore name and logo on their designs. My first refrigerator was Kenmore branded, but the label promoted an efficiency award that I knew belonged to Whirlpool.

Craftsman tools were somewhat different. Sears had some unique designs for some tools, which contractors like Stanley and Danaher made to their specs. Others were outside designs wwith the name printed.

Sears had a huge supplier network way back when. My mom worked for their West Coast detergent and paint supplier, and Sears was their only customer.

No they didn't manufacture them, I'm sorry if I implied that. They did have them built to specs though and even though they were built by other manufacturers, they were the high quality end of that line and in some ways built with different parts and methods.

 

[goofyernmost]

I don't disagree with that.
I spent my teens working for Sears, the stores catered to the older generations. Younger people were shopping elsewhere, when Sears tried to capture that market it was just too late, they were already an "outdated" store if you were looking for anything other than appliances or tools.
Their failure really can't be blamed on one specific thing, especially Disney LOL.

As a child we didn't really order through the Sears catalog, we were a Montgomery Wards family.

If you are talking about teens that is correct. But, I'm talking about about people in their early 20's setting up housekeeping. No it wasn't the place for teens, but, teens aren't the only young people. In Sear Roebucks hay day teens didn't have all that much money anyway.

 

[bcla]

No they didn't manufacture them, I'm sorry if I implied that. They did have them built to specs though and even though they were built by other manufacturers, they were the high quality end of that line and in some ways built with different parts and methods.

Well yeah. I'm still not quite sure exactly how it worked out. Some of what was sold as Kenmore was at the low end to meet a price point.

However, there's a certain segment of the Craftsman hand tool line that is uniquely their design. Their ratchet handles were unique. I've got a couple of these and some of the similar tools that have this specific style.

However, I've also got one of their novelty tools, which is a bottle opener that's built with the same style.

However, I remember buying some Home Depot Husky branded wrenches. They seemed to be identical to the Craftsman equivalent, and I suppose they were from the same supplier.

 

[goofyernmost]

Well yeah. I'm still not quite sure exactly how it worked out. Some of what was sold as Kenmore was at the low end to meet a price point.

However, there's a certain segment of the Craftsman hand tool line that is uniquely their design. Their ratchet handles were unique. I've got a couple of these and some of the similar tools that have this specific style.

However, I've also got one of their novelty tools, which is a bottle opener that's built with the same style.

However, I remember buying some Home Depot Husky branded wrenches. They seemed to be identical to the Craftsman equivalent, and I suppose they were from the same supplier.

I don't know exactly how they did that stuff either, but, I do know that I have owned a lot of Kenmore appliances that have run for years. I just sold my last Kenmore washer and dryer that was left in a home I bought and the seller made it a point of warning me that the wash and dryer combination was on it's last legs. I sold it in working condition 18 years after I acquired it. Not a single repair. Previous to that when I was first married, I bought a mobile home from a family of 6 that left behind a Washer that they had for years and ran the hell out of it through all the laundry that a family that size would have done, I had that through that location and two more houses and two babies. That did have a problem but it was easily fixed but my wife wanted a new one... so there you go. That was about 15 years later.

As for Craftsman tools that is all I ever had. I still have a Craftsman tool box (the big kind) full of Craftsmen stuff. I'm 70 years old so I don't use them like I used to, but, back when I did if one broke, which it almost never did, they replaced it... no questions asked. I have to confess that I only replaced screw drivers and those might possibly have been used for something different then they were designed to do. But, no questions, they just replaced them. There quality in the 50's, 60's, 70's through 90's, and before, they were always known for that quality. After that I didn't really have much of a need, but, I did buy a snow blower from them that started up the first time after a long summer and always started no matter how cold it was during those Vermont winters. Same thing for the Lawn Mower I owned. So however they were doing it, it worked, but, what I have already mentioned and the internet ended that joyous situation. Kmart bought them out, and now they are practically history.

 

[bcla]

I don't know exactly how they did that stuff either, but, I do know that I have owned a lot of Kenmore appliances that have run for years. I just sold my last Kenmore washer and dryer that was left in a home I bought and the seller made it a point of warning me that the wash and dryer combination was on it's last legs. I sold it in working condition 18 years after I acquired it. Not a single repair. Previous to that when I was first married, I bought a mobile home from a family of 6 that left behind a Washer that they had for years and ran the hell out of it through all the laundry that a family that size would have done, I had that through that location and two more houses and two babies. That did have a problem but it was easily fixed but my wife wanted a new one... so there you go. That was about 15 years later.

As for Craftsman tools that is all I ever had. I still have a Craftsman tool box (the big kind) full of Craftsmen stuff. I'm 70 years old so I don't use them like I used to, but, back when I did if one broke, which it almost never did, they replaced it... no questions asked. I have to confess that I only replaced screw drivers and those might possibly have been used for something different then they were designed to do. But, no questions, they just replaced them. There quality in the 50's, 60's, 70's through 90's, and before, they were always known for that quality. After that I didn't really have much of a need, but, I did buy a snow blower from them that started up the first time after a long summer and always started no matter how cold it was during those Vermont winters. Same thing for the Lawn Mower I owned. So however they were doing it, it worked, but, what I have already mentioned and the internet ended that joyous situation. Kmart bought them out, and now they are practically history.

However, the thing with the Kenmore appliances is that they're virtually identical to some equivalent from the actual manufacturer. I know traditionally they were from one of the big American appliance manufacturers, but for quite some time they've contracted from Korean manufacturers like Samsung/LG, Japanese companies like Panasonic/Sanyo, or even Chinese companies like Haier. And Haier bought GE Appliances, although it seems like they've left them alone for now.

The thing about hand tools is that it's not that hard to make a good quality tool, but it's going to cost more to make. The Craftsman tools were robust and priced considering how much they cost to make. When I was in college I bought a few Craftsman screwdrivers - strangely out of a $1 "special purchase" bin that I used for assorted stuff including my bikes. They looked, felt, and smelled (yeah - they had this specific smell when fairly new) like the ones with the clear plastic handles, but they were opaque red or orange. My dad probably used them in ways they weren't intended (where the slotted got bent and the Phillips got stripped), and when I tried to return them I got the standard retail version as a replacement since those bargain ones were limited editions. But yeah they were true to their word that they could be replaced if one went bad.

Strangely enough, I remember maybe in the 80s, Sears ran one commercial showing a Chinese man working on commercial jet aircraft using some of his Craftsman tools. They didn't quite hint at how he acquired them, but the commercial said something about the lifetime warranty, even though he couldn't specially take advantage of it given his location. There was another commercial in that series that mentioned the lifetime warranty, although it didn't cover what happened in the ad which was someone dropping a tool in a lake.

 

[luvsJack]

I was thinking of the heavy hand tools. I was disappointed when I bought a 3/8" "flex handle" (breaker bar really) and it was made in China, but it looks almost identical to the 1/2" one I bought years ago. The fit and finish is just fine, but I don't know about how strong it is other than I haven't managed to destroy it yet.

Most of this stuff is machine made anyways, so as long as the materials are the same and the manufacturing equipment is programmed correctly, there isn't much of a difference. Granted I wouldn't want a Chinese made car, but these hand tools aren't too bad.

The only tools I can name are a hammer and a screwdriver lol.

My dad’s tools are quite a variety. He worked on cars, repaired mobile homes, did home repair on their home and the childcare center we had, built cabinets, did electrical repair and plumbing.

The tools dh bought our son were for minor home repair and car mechanics.

The quality is not the same. Nor is the guarantee.

 

[SRQ57]

I think when Sears merged with K-mart it went down the crapper.

 

[mefordis]

[GALLERY=]

 

[IheartBroncos]

As someone who works with Walmart, Amazon, and Sears/Kmart, Sears/Kmart is the worst. Honestly, it feels like they are just ready to shut it down and be done with it.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

I remember Sears being real popular with shoppers , mostly with families who had young children and with Mexican shoppers. I love to buy Winnie the Pooh outfits. What happened? Why did Sears stop selling Winnie the Pooh ? Did Disney stop the contract?

Sears is a tale of a company that fell on some hard times but nothing it couldn't get out of. But, a vulture capital company moved in, leveraged it to the hilt and bled it dry all to their own benefit.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

As someone who works with Walmart, Amazon, and Sears/Kmart, Sears/Kmart is the worst. Honestly, it feels like they are just ready to shut it down and be done with it.

They'll see if they can bleed it some more or if it is totally dry first.