The Sears - Kmart Merger: Sears Holdings

Many people are under the false impression that Sears owns Kmart, when in fact Kmart bought-out Sears. The merging of these two companies formed what is known today as Sears Holdings. A brief history of this merger is important to understand this failing company today.

Sears began as a mail-order catalogue in the 1800's and became one of the most profitable retail companies in the 1900's. The fatal flaw of Sears is when they began expanding, trying to compete in department store retail with Walmart and Target. Around the time of the new millennium, both Sears and Kmart were failing companies. Eddie Lampert acquired Kmart in 2002 when the company had filed bankruptcy, then bought Sears in 2005, hoping that a merger of the companies would make a huge impact. Sears Holdings was born. According to Eddie Lampert:

"We don't want two separate cultures but to blend it into one great culture. The idea is to make the stores more competitive while staying focused on the customer."

Lampert's plans did not work. In 2003, Kmart closed over 300 stores and laid-off 34,000 workers. Fast-forward to today, and the Sears Holdings Corporation is still failing. America's failing economy is not helping the company, either. On February 26, 2009, Sears Holdings announced the closing of 24 stores, which is much better than everyone expected. 

Lampert thought that size, strength and stock price would make a company powerful, but he was wrong. 

The Corbin Kmart is not in extreme danger of being closed down. Many employees realize that as the company continues to fail, they lose job security. As many people keep come in to evaluate the store, it is clear that Sears Holdings may not be in existence much longer.

Spring at Kmart

With the beginning of Spring fast approaching, Kmart has been preparing their stores nationwide with new additions. These new additions are something that customers see every year as the weather begins to change and people break out of their winter blues.

The lawn and garden shop is now open at Kmart for the season. During off season, this area of the store is used for seasonal items such as Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations. Over the past few weeks, this department has been transformed into the home of plants, grills and patio furniture, along with tons and tons of bird seed. 

The lawn and garden department is every gardener's dream. We carry everything you need to make your home landscaping look it's best. We also have a wide variety of lawn furniture that sell rapidly. Our associates have been working hard to put together all of the displays of furniture. Kmart usually carries only the Martha Stewart line of lawn essentials, but this year they have picked up Jacklyn Smith's new line as well. The most popular new item we have is the Martha Stewart Pacific Palisades Set which boasts a table with a lazy susan.

Our grills for outdoor cooking are mostly Kenmore brand, and we have both gas grills and charcoal ones. Items for Easter can also be seen throughout the store including hundreds of Easter baskets and Cadbury eggs (which are smaller than they use to be).

Other items that come along with the beginning of the Spring season can be found in the toy department; large bouncy balls. Kmart associates are not very excited to see the addition of large bouncy balls to the store. These bright, multi-colored balls are $2.99 and are a favorite of children. Due to this, the balls can be seen spread throughout the stores in various wrong places and bounced up and down the aisles, knocking over other merchandise. We hate the bouncy balls.

Dustin (Kmart Associate) is upset about the bouncy ball in the toilet paper aisle.

A Simple Policy Made Difficult

As with all retail stores, Kmart has a specific return and exchange policy for customers who are dissatisfied with their merchandise. The points of this policy may seem simple to understand, but at Kmart they cause a whirl of trouble for everyone. 

These are some highlights of our return and exchange policy:

• With a receipt, the customer has 90 days to return their merchandise to receive their money back. 
• With a receipt, the customer has 90 days to exchange their merchandise. A direct exchange may be done if the new item is the same as the old item, just different size or different color. However, if the customer is not exchanging for the same item, a difference in price may have to be paid. 
• With a receipt, the customer may bring back damaged items within 90 days. 
• The above three rules apply to all merchandise except jewelry and electronics.
• Jewelry items can only be exchanged or returned within 30 days after purchase, with a receipt.
• Electronic items have special rules. Customers can only return an electronic item within 30 days after purchase, with a receipt. Any type of video game, CD or DVD can not be returned if has been open. If a video game, CD or DVD is damaged but has been open, the customer can only exchange for the exact same thing and must have a receipt. 

These rules are stated on the receipt of every purchase and are also displayed above the service desk. Most items in the store give the customer the option of purchasing a replacement plan. These plans range from $4.99 to $49.99 depending upon price of the item being purchased. Replacement plans guarantee that if the item becomes damaged or parts are lost, the manufacturing company (not Kmart) will replace the item or fix it. 

The rules are simple. So why do they cause such commotion? One if the problems resides in management. We as associates are told to follow the policy, bottom line. However, a majority of the time, if a customer complains, management adjusts the policy to fit the customers' needs. We are told to give gift cards for the merchandise if they do not have a receipt. We are told to let them exchange an item that is electronics. We are told to do all kinds of things that DO NOT FOLLOW POLICY. In my opinion, this leads to Kmart management looking like push-overs and the associate looks as though they do not know how to do their job. 

However, sometimes the policy is followed and the commotion then comes from the customers. Customers do not seem to care what the policy is. They often get very angry when we simply explain that we can not take back their merchandise. Some customers understand, but others are very irrational. An example of an irrational customer is one that tries to bring back a Playstation 3 and expects to get a new one without a receipt and after having it for several months. When told that this is not allowed, the customer threatens to call corporate, the same people who implemented the policy.

Customers do not understand that some of these policies are not just for Kmart but are a result of laws put into place to protect people from theft of serial numbers and rules put into place by electronic companies to diminish piracy of their material.

Because of the customers' lack of abiding by the  policy, I often find myself saying, "No, Curtis Customer, we can not take back the boots you have had for 3 years and give you a new pair", when I really want to say much more. The customer is not always right.

No Twilight at Kmart

In the retail world, new release movies are typically placed on the shelves in electronic departments on Tuesdays. Occasionally, a production company will choose to release a film on a different day for a variety of reasons. A recent blockbuster hit, Twilight, was released on March 21, which happened to be a Saturday.

The movie is based on the book series written by Stephenie Meyer. The series highlights the love story of Bella, an ordinary teenage girl, who falls in love with Edward, a modern day vampire. Avid readers of the series were ecstatic about the making of the movie. Twilight the movie made $70.5 million in it's opening weekend. 

I was really excited about the DVD release of the movie. I knew that Twilight lovers around the country would be standing in line to get their copy. Retail stores would be able to bank on America's love for the Cullens and sale a lot of copies...with the exception of Kmart. 

The day after the release, I went into work and rushed back to the electronics department. New releases are usually played over the television system there. Knowing how much the associate working in this department loves the Twilight series, I expected it to be playing. I was disappointed when I found out that not only was the movie not playing, but Kmart had no intentions of selling the movie. Twilight was nowhere to be seen in the upcoming weekly advertisement, and there were no copies in the stock room.

The lack of the major release was weird. Upon research, I have found that the studio, Summit Entertainment, has exclusive release rights with Target, Walmart and Best Buy. Summit told the Sears/Kmart corporation that they could only sell the two-disc version of the movie, not the single disc. Since the single disc version is the top seller, Sears/Kmart decided to not do business with Summit for this release.

It's a sad week at Kmart. 

Josh (electronics worker) is upset about not having Twilight.

The March of Dimes

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and its premier event, March for Babies, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

Kmart is the longest standing coperate partner for the March of Dimes. Kmart has been supporting the March of Dimes for 26 years, having raised over $71 million during this time. In 2008, Kmart raised $8 million for the March of Dimes. This accomplishment was possible with the work of employees as well as customers.

Donating is easy; when a customer purchases merchandise through any register in the store, the Kmart associate asks is they would like to donate $1, $5 or $10 to the March of Dimes. This amount is scanned and added into the customer's total for their merchandise. The customer is given a card that states they donated to the March of Dimes; they can put their name on the card and the associates hang them around the store. I have noticed that children love to have their own name put on the donation card and see it hanging in the store. 

 

At the Corbin Kmart we have been working very hard to develop creative ways to promote donating. We have had a pie throwing contest in which pies are purchased by donating to the March of Dimes and are thrown at managers. If associates donate to the March of Dimes, they are allowed to wear jeans to work. The newest idea we have had is a raffle. If anyone donates $2 to the March of Dimes, they are entered in a raffle to win a Martha Stewart mosaic bird bath and bench.

Donating to the March of Dimes ends May 12. 

<---Jen - #1 March of Dimes Employee in the store















Martha Stewart Mosaic Bench

Retail : Paying for my Higher Education

Hello fellow bloggers! I am new to the blogging world and created my site for a class assignment. As a requirement of this assignment, my posts will have a theme present throughout them. When I became a college student at University of the Cumberlands, I found out how stressful the life of a college student can be. When I picked up a job in retail to help pay for my education, I realized I wanted to quit school and join a circus as a lion tamer. Due to lack of lion-taming experience and fear of my parents, this was not an option.

Two years later, here I am. I am ready to graduate in May and begin student teaching in the Fall...and I am still working at Kmart. Through my experiences in retail, I have learned a lot about people and business in general. I will use this blog to share these adventures with you. I hope you enjoy the world of retail a little better than I have!