Sears or JCP who will die first?

[bchris02]

I believe Fry's still sells parts, not sure because we haven't been in one since we left IL in 2007-ish, but the model still works, albeit in tandem with everything else sold at a big box store. It's a bummer we'll never see one here.

It still works. In the late '90s, there were too many players in the brick-and-mortar tech store market. You had at least Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, PC Club, Ultimate Electronics, TigerDirect, Fry's, and MicroCenter. The much-needed thinning of the herd came during the Great Recession. The market just isn't there for that many stores in addition to sites like Amazon and NewEgg as well as stores like Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Staples which sell plenty of low-end tech. Unfortunately, smaller markets like OKC have been left without a true computer superstore and the local hardware stores have not picked up the slack.

I would love to see a store like Fry's, MicroCenter, or TigerDirect open in OKC. I am not sure why they don't analyze markets without computer superstores and without decent mom-and-pop tech stores to discover that expanding into those markets might actually work.

[SoonerDave]

It still works. In the late '90s, there were too many players in the brick-and-mortar tech store market. You had at least Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, PC Club, Ultimate Electronics, TigerDirect, Fry's, and MicroCenter. The much-needed thinning of the herd came during the Great Recession. The market just isn't there for that many stores in addition to sites like Amazon and NewEgg as well as stores like Wal-Mart, Office Depot, and Staples which sell plenty of low-end tech. Unfortunately, smaller markets like OKC have been left without a true computer superstore and the local hardware stores have not picked up the slack.

I would love to see a store like Fry's, MicroCenter, or TigerDirect open in OKC. I am not sure why they don't analyze markets without computer superstores and without decent mom-and-pop tech stores to discover that expanding into those markets might actually work.

Because it won't work. Not anymore. You'll never see the big-box electronics guys like Fry's et al, because that era has passed. Best Buy barely survived one if not two rounds of near-bankruptcy as the retail market shook out and they learned how to adapt to an Amazon-dominated model. Combine that with the fact that very few people by big, desktop PC's anymore and it becomes clear how the piece-part market, with its razor thin margins at the outset, will never see a rebirth at the local strip-mall level. I can't see right now how a place like Computer Masters on S. Western survives; I remember how what I think of as the last really good piece-part shop in Computer Max finally died off: their owner said he couldn't survive with customers coming in and expecting Amazon- and related mail-order prices at a brick-and-mortar shop - particularly for components people weren't buying in the volume they once did with advent of smartphones and tablets and all the other non-PC devices that now share the computing world. You could argue that kind of store was the inevitable next-wave of hobbyist places to fade away.

I could be mistaken, but even the Fry's aren't Fry's anymore. I went into a Fry's in Arlington last summer and the place wasn't an electronics market the way you think of it; it was more of a flea market, with a hodgepodge of "As Seen On TV" garbage, one-off big-screen TV's, cables, UPS's, toys, just....amalgamated junk. I can't fathom the place will be around much more than another couple of years or so, making a living on high-volume consignment stuff. You could see the ghosts of what was once a huge retailer, but with chunks of the store that obviously used to sport demo showrooms and such just boarded up and partitioned off. Yeah, it was named "Fry's," but that was where the resemblance between it and the erstwhile retailer we're thinking of ended.

Best Buy still sells a few components - you can actually buy fans, heatsinks, laptop memory, and hard drives, but at 7-11 prices (if you get my drift - expense for the convenience), and the volume of what they sell now compared to what the Computer Max variety of store sold back in the day is night-and-day difference. Their bread and butter is now big TV's in volume, cell phones, and tablets - all of which are essentially disposable, with lots of higher-margin accessories, but virtually no secondary hardware market like the ol PC era fostered.

[bchris02]

Because it won't work. Not anymore. You'll never see the big-box electronics guys like Fry's et al, because that era has passed. Best Buy barely survived one if not two rounds of near-bankruptcy as the retail market shook out and they learned how to adapt to an Amazon-dominated model. Combine that with the fact that very few people by big, desktop PC's anymore and it becomes clear how the piece-part market, with its razor thin margins at the outset, will never see a rebirth at the local strip-mall level. I can't see right now how a place like Computer Masters on S. Western survives; I remember how what I think of as the last really good piece-part shop in Computer Max finally died off: their owner said he couldn't survive with customers coming in and expecting Amazon- and related mail-order prices at a brick-and-mortar shop - particularly for components people weren't buying in the volume they once did with advent of smartphones and tablets and all the other non-PC devices that now share the computing world. You could argue that kind of store was the inevitable next-wave of hobbyist places to fade away.

I could be mistaken, but even the Fry's aren't Fry's anymore. I went into a Fry's in Arlington last summer and the place wasn't an electronics market the way you think of it; it was more of a flea market, with a hodgepodge of "As Seen On TV" garbage, one-off big-screen TV's, cables, UPS's, toys, just....amalgamated junk. I can't fathom the place will be around much more than another couple of years or so, making a living on high-volume consignment stuff. You could see the ghosts of what was once a huge retailer, but with chunks of the store that obviously used to sport demo showrooms and such just boarded up and partitioned off. Yeah, it was named "Fry's," but that was where the resemblance between it and the erstwhile retailer we're thinking of ended.

Best Buy still sells a few components - you can actually buy fans, heatsinks, laptop memory, and hard drives, but at 7-11 prices (if you get my drift - expense for the convenience), and the volume of what they sell now compared to what the Computer Max variety of store sold back in the day is night-and-day difference. Their bread and butter is now big TV's in volume, cell phones, and tablets - all of which are essentially disposable, with lots of higher-margin accessories, but virtually no secondary hardware market like the ol PC era fostered.

I can somewhat agree on Fry's. Last time I was there, it wasn't near as impressive as it used to be. MicroCenter is still awesome though.

You make a good point about PCs. While I think the dominance of tablets and smartphones is sometimes overstated, nearly the entire low-end PC market has shifted to mobile devices. People who would have bought the $300 eMachines desktop bundles in the 2000s will now buy a surface tablet or an iPad. All they need is a way to access the Internet and don't need the power that a higher-end PC will provide. Gamers, power users, and businesses still prefer desktop machines however and as long as there are those markets, I don't see the PC completely dying off. I think metro OKC could support at least one store that specializes in it. MicroCenter would be preferable.

[bradh]

Their bread and butter is now big TV's in volume, cell phones, and tablets - all of which are essentially disposable,

This rings true in everything. No one wants to fix/keep anything anymore. Lawn mower breaks? Trash it and buy a new one. Everything is so cheap it's more cost effective to just buy another crappy mower then to have them repaired. Which is sad, because I won't replace my 35 year old Snapper push mower

[jn1780]

I can somewhat agree on Fry's. Last time I was there, it wasn't near as impressive as it used to be. MicroCenter is still awesome though.

You make a good point about PCs. While I think the dominance of tablets and smartphones is sometimes overstated, nearly the entire low-end PC market has shifted to mobile devices. People who would have bought the $300 eMachines desktop bundles in the 2000s will now buy a surface tablet or an iPad. All they need is a way to access the Internet and don't need the power that a higher-end PC will provide. Gamers, power users, and businesses still prefer desktop machines however and as long as there are those markets, I don't see the PC completely dying off. I think metro OKC could support at least one store that specializes in it. MicroCenter would be preferable.

The point is there are not many people building their own machines anymore. If someone buys a desktop or laptop odds are its going to be a cheap Dell, HP, etc that uses proprietary motherboard/power supply you have to buy through them.

And on another note, people who build their own PC are usually smarter or more resourceful and do much of their shopping online.

[bchris02]

The point is there are not many people building their own machines anymore. If they buy a desktop or laptop odds are its going to be a cheap Dell, HP, etc that uses proprietary motherboard/power supply you have to buy through them.

The build-your-own-machine crowd has always been quite small though. It has always consisted of mostly PC gamers and hobbyists and in actuality, that market has improved quite a bit over the past few years compared to the dark days of the Vista/Xbox 360 era.

Most people have always bought Dells, HPs, Gateways, etc.

One major, often overlooked factor is that PCs today need upgraded far less frequently. In the '90s, if your PC was more than two years old, chances are it couldn't run the latest software. Today, a 10-year old laptop will be a little long in the teeth but will still do most of the essential tasks that people need from a computer. I think this factor has been just as detrimental to PC sales if not moreso than the shift to tablets and smartphones has.

[jn1780]

One major, often overlooked factor is that PCs today need upgraded far less frequently. In the '90s, if your PC was more than two years old, chances are it couldn't run the latest software. Today, a 10-year old laptop will be a little long in the teeth but will still do most of the essential tasks that people need from a computer. I think this factor has been just as detrimental to PC sales if not moreso than the shift to tablets and smartphones has.

That's true. This becoming more evident in the smartphone market. I have always said Apple better actually invent something "new" or there sales growth is going to start to suffer. They will probably come out with new phones in the future where the on board battery only lasts two years.

[bchris02]

That's true. This becoming more evident in the smartphone market. I have always said Apple better actually invent something "new" or there sales growth is going to start to suffer. They will probably come out with new phones in the future where the on board battery only lasts two years.

Apple has floundered in my opinion since Steve Jobs passed away. Each new iPhone upgrade is less impressive and less necessary than the last. I remember the huge jump in performance and features between the iPhone 3GS and 4, and then the huge jump from 4 to 5. Since the iPhone 5, its been evolutionary and there hasn't been a real must-have upgrade. They need a new phone that has a must-have feature or people aren't going to upgrade.

[Snowman]

Because it won't work. Not anymore. You'll never see the big-box electronics guys like Fry's et al, because that era has passed. Best Buy barely survived one if not two rounds of near-bankruptcy as the retail market shook out and they learned how to adapt to an Amazon-dominated model. Combine that with the fact that very few people by big, desktop PC's anymore and it becomes clear how the piece-part market, with its razor thin margins at the outset, will never see a rebirth at the local strip-mall level. I can't see right now how a place like Computer Masters on S. Western survives; I remember how what I think of as the last really good piece-part shop in Computer Max finally died off: their owner said he couldn't survive with customers coming in and expecting Amazon- and related mail-order prices at a brick-and-mortar shop - particularly for components people weren't buying in the volume they once did with advent of smartphones and tablets and all the other non-PC devices that now share the computing world. You could argue that kind of store was the inevitable next-wave of hobbyist places to fade away.

I could be mistaken, but even the Fry's aren't Fry's anymore. I went into a Fry's in Arlington last summer and the place wasn't an electronics market the way you think of it; it was more of a flea market, with a hodgepodge of "As Seen On TV" garbage, one-off big-screen TV's, cables, UPS's, toys, just....amalgamated junk. I can't fathom the place will be around much more than another couple of years or so, making a living on high-volume consignment stuff. You could see the ghosts of what was once a huge retailer, but with chunks of the store that obviously used to sport demo showrooms and such just boarded up and partitioned off. Yeah, it was named "Fry's," but that was where the resemblance between it and the erstwhile retailer we're thinking of ended.

Best Buy still sells a few components - you can actually buy fans, heatsinks, laptop memory, and hard drives, but at 7-11 prices (if you get my drift - expense for the convenience), and the volume of what they sell now compared to what the Computer Max variety of store sold back in the day is night-and-day difference. Their bread and butter is now big TV's in volume, cell phones, and tablets - all of which are essentially disposable, with lots of higher-margin accessories, but virtually no secondary hardware market like the ol PC era fostered.

I could see PC components fitting in hardware stores model more in like twenty or more years from now, when we really have hit the smallest you can physically print circuits, so there is not as rapid a change between cpu/motherboard sockets and RAM interfaces, and the the components could sit on the shelf and hold it's value instead of having to cut the price month by month and clearance it around six months.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

The idea that the lifetime guarentee on Craftsman tools will soon be totally void, is most distressing. . .

It really isn't that great of a warranty these days anyway. Hasn't been for a long time. You still get a lifetime warranty on things like a wrench or a hammer...But try stripping out a ratcheting wrench and see if they replace it. None of their power tools have lifetime that I know of. They're spotty.

But...You can already buy Craftsman at Ace. Been at least 5 years since that happened.

[jerrywall]

You have to purchase the ones that say "CRAFTSMAN HAND TOOL FULL WARRANTY". I've taken in rusty sockets and had them replaced.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Yeah, but they'll probably deny the same claim on a ratchet.

My experience says that if it has moving parts, it will probably be a more difficult return. More so as the price goes up LOL.


/breaks quite a few tools

[Pete]

Last Christmas for Sears?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...for-sears.html

[pure]

JCPenney in Lawton was damaged by heavy rain in June and had been closed for 5 months to gut and remodel. They open back up this weekend so it seems they are doing much better than Sears, If this happened to Sears, I'm sure they would just keep it closed and move on. I do believe the K-Mart down there is on the list to close soon if it hadn't already.

http://swoknews.com/business/jcpenne...ter-june-storm



JCPenney has also started selling appliances, noticed this at Penn Square this past weekend.

[jn1780]

Last Christmas for Sears?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...for-sears.html

It will be really funny if the SW 44th street Sears is one of the last stores to go. They even outlast Target somehow. I'm sure Target has the bar set a lot higher than Sears at this point in deciding which under performing stores to close.

[rezman]

Last Christmas for Sears?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2...for-sears.html

I can see it happening with the corporate stores, but I wonder how it will affect the Hometown Sears stores, which are privately owned and seem to do well. They mostly stock the more popular items, and keep it basic, but they do catalog sales through Sears corporate.

[SoonerDave]

I can see it happening with the corporate stores, but I wonder how it will affect the Hometown Sears stores, which are privately owned and seem to do well. They mostly stock the more popular items, and keep it basic, but they do catalog sales through Sears corporate.

I can't see them surviving. If "Big" Sears is gone, there's nothing upstream to tie the "name" to anything relevant. The guy running the thing hasn't made any legit effort to save that brand and, in fact, it could be argued he's been in the process of an orderly selloff of assets for a couple of years now.

As someone who, as a kid, grew up at Christmas time with a Sears Christmas Wish Book and thought it was a treasure trove of toy goodness, and remember the Reding store decked out in red Christmas lights, to see Sears just cast into the dustbin like this is kinda sad. The irony is that they were really the Amazon of their era - catalog shopping, just without the Internet. The right person could probably have transformed Sears into an Internet marketing behemoth.

[rezman]

I can't see them surviving. If "Big" Sears is gone, there's nothing upstream to tie the "name" to anything relevant. The guy running the thing hasn't made any legit effort to save that brand and, in fact, it could be argued he's been in the process of an orderly selloff of assets for a couple of years now.

As someone who, as a kid, grew up at Christmas time with a Sears Christmas Wish Book and thought it was a treasure trove of toy goodness, and remember the Reding store decked out in red Christmas lights, to see Sears just cast into the dustbin like this is kinda sad. The irony is that they were really the Amazon of their era - catalog shopping, just without the Internet. The right person could probably have transformed Sears into an Internet marketing behemoth.

It is sad. I grew up the same way. Sears and Montgomery Ward at Christmas time were a kids dream.

[SomeGuy]

Sears is apparently downsizing some of their stores including the one in Sooner Mall.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...ess/161109764/

[Swake]

After my grandfather retired from playing pro hockey he was a general contractor. His main business from the time when my father was kid up to when I was a teenager was he rebuilt Sears stores in Tulsa, OKC, Little Rock, and other locations in the region. My grandfather's company traveled store to store as they needed redoing. New carpet, painting, new fixtures, whatever they needed up until the early 1980s. He had the worlds greatest Craftsman tool set as Sears only allowed him to use their tools when he worked on their stores. It was really sad to him when Sears closed the huge beautiful art deco flagship store by the Tulsa fairgrounds that he had largely built for a generic big box store in the early 90s. He passed about 10 years ago at 101 years old, but this seems like the very end of his era, an era that he contributed to and is forgotten.

[Decious]

After my grandfather retired from playing pro hockey he was a general contractor. His main business from the time when my father was kid up to when I was a teenager was he rebuilt Sears stores in Tulsa, OKC, Little Rock, and other locations in the region. My grandfather's company traveled store to store as they needed redoing. New carpet, painting, new fixtures, whatever they needed up until the early 1980s. He had the worlds greatest Craftsman tool set as Sears only allowed him to use their tools when he worked on their stores. It was really sad to him when Sears closed the huge beautiful art deco flagship store by the Tulsa fairgrounds that he had largely built for a generic big box store in the early 90s. He passed about 10 years ago at 101 years old, but this seems like the very end of his era, an era that he contributed to and is forgotten.

Great post.

[SoonerDave]

The environment at Sears was tremendous when I was growing up. Amid the multitude of times my mom would pickup (and then, quite often, return) a catalog order, we'd go in that east entrance to Sears on Reding and the awesome aroma of hot popcorn and roasted nuts from the candy counter just hit you like a ton of bricks. Later, there was the ol PONG setup in the sporting goods department (and I'm glad to say I was UNDEFEATED at Pong at the Reding store LOL). They had a huge electronics department directly across from the candy counter and appliance area, and I remember as a somewhat older but-not-quite-teenager going through the electronics area to visit this extremely attractive, tall brunette salesgirl. I knew in my heart she was too old for me (which meant I was probably 12 - maybe 13 - but she was probably closer to 17), but she was SOOO nice...never wanted to buy a TV so much LOL. I have this memory that she told me she was a niece or cousin of Bobby Murcer....

Anyway, the loss of Sears is just a sad ending to an era. Not unexpected, because everyone saw how they were heading, but it's still sad. I think some of us still held out hope of some miracle that might restore them to some fraction of their former stature.

[stile99]

Not to diminish the memory of your grandfather, but I don't agree that the Sears era is 'forgotten'. In my experience (and no, I do not know everyone in the entire world) there are two very VERY distinct classes. People who went to Sears in their heyday and people who have never been. The first class, every single person has a similar story as SoonerDave's, with the associated clear as crystal just like it happened yesterday memories. The second class has never set foot inside a Sears at all, let alone back in the heyday. They have not 'forgotten' anything, because they never knew it.

My distinct memories are the small electronics, the computers and the video games. I was fiddling around with a C64 one time. Kinda laughing at it, because I had a CoCo. The Atari 2600 display was fun, but kind of annoying. While it had tons of games. you could only play a couple minutes of a game as a demo, then it stopped. This was in a different world, one where leaving your kid alone for two seconds didn't get the police and CPS called on you, so most times my parents would just leave me there to play and go do whatever.

Forgotten? Hardly. When I'm 99 and drooling into my oatmeal (assuming I'm so lucky) I'll be dreaming of that darn Atari 2600 display. Either that or the time when I was even younger than that and my favorite show in the whole world was Lost In Space. Mom wanted to go shopping when it was time for my show, I didn't want to go. So we compromised by parking me in front of a TV set that was taller than I was (console TV set, the kind that when it went out, you just left it there because it weighed 800 pounds so you just put the new TV on top) so I could watch.

[OKCbyTRANSFER]

Growing up in Philadelphia, we had a huge Sears mail distribution center on "the boulevard" Driving, you would round the slight curve and see it looming in the distance, tall smoke stack behind it. Complex had a Sears store & a firehouse. Very sad when it was demolished foraa Home Depot. Today only the smoke stack & firehouse remain.

[ljbab728]

The only Oklahoma closing for this round is in Muskogee.

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/s...213148758.html