Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Talk about shooting a dead horse about a 1,000 times.

Sears, get it done, already.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Eddie Lampert's hedge fund ESL submitted the $4.4 billion bid for the auction of Sears assests. It also has in interest to submit a $1.8 billion bid for the Sears Real Estate if their first bid fails.

https://therealdeal.com/2019/01/02/s...ion-bid-fails/

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

At a mall in Michigan I've visited regularly visited for several decades when I cross the border, the Sears closed about a year ago. At one point, a portion of it was the temporary home to what looked like a traveling animatronic dinosaur museum/exhibit (!). Pretty low rent, and the people running it seemed rather carny-ish, but hey, it's a job. This particular mall had FIVE anchor department stores in its prime just a few years ago: Sears, Macy's, Younkers (later Carson's), JCP and Target. Now it's just those last two, and I keep reading dire things about JCP. All of this points to the likelihood of this sizeable shopping hub becoming yet another Dead Mall down the road. In the past, this kind of thing was cyclical, especially when Big Box stores killed off many malls a couple decades back and forced the survivors to become upscale "destinations" to survive, but I'm not so sure there's another cycle left in the concept.

For those who really wanna feel wistful for this dying era, and maybe a little creeped out: Dead Malls Youtube Channel

The rest of this post is possibly a little off-topic, so feel free to skip it if you prefer to stick to the subject of Sears.


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I'm sure these books have been mentioned elsewhere around this forum (maybe that "Landlord's on my case" thread??) as they're not exactly new (well, new-ish), but they're seriously recommended reading for those who've become unwitting slaves to possessions, or closets and basements full of "stuff", and apparently economists find much to admire in the whole movement:

by Marie Kondo (2014)

by Fumio Sasaki (2017)

The first one's the undisputed heavyweight in its category; the second is just one of the more personally-useful recent takes on the same theme: getting rid of stuff. I'd been unwittingly moving in this direction for years -- but ever so slowly -- when I stumbled across these books via articles online and some friends who mentioned one of them, and now I'm even more resolved to unload, streamline, whatever. It's not as easy as you'd think, especially when you're a lifelong "collector" like so many of us here, but I'm forever thankful now, in my early middle age, that I only have to declutter a spacious one-bedroom apartment. My goal of late has been to drop off items to the local charity centre every week or so, whether it's just a grocery bag with a handful of things inside, or a big box I can barely lift. As much as it may have disappointed some folks in my life that I never fell into the status quo trap of a house in the burbs with that much more space to fill with crap, I can't imagine the migranes that accompany any attempt at downsizing or decluttering in those circumstances. :(

Millennials, in a sense, are lucky that a lot of them, if they're smart, won't end up in a situation where they'll need to "minimalize" or whatever. I think Gen-X'ers were the first generation wherein a decent sized segment was able to resist the status quo, possibly paving the way for Millennials to embrace it more fully, if they choose to do so. They/we may take flack for pursuing "experiences" -- not all of which need to be expensive, not by a long shot, especially if they live in bigger cities where there's many to be enjoyed and new ones always popping up -- but they're not wrong.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Yeah, been recommending Goodbye, Things for months over in the Landlord thread. Glad you're getting good use out of it.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Useful for many folks, I'm sure -- moreso for difficult cases like "Alan" in that other thread -- although that particular author goes further than I ever could. He basically eliminates everything except a few (very) basic fundamentals, but who knows, maybe long term I'll see the value of going all in like he did. My most useful personal takeaway has been to take (and back up) pictures of everything I get rid of, for nostalgic or other reasons. Very handy.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

If you're going so far as to eliminate everything except a few fundamentals, I would suggest that living in the USA is not for you. Join the millions on pilgrimage to India, China, or Nepal and find your "guru" to live a life of Asceticism, steeped in the Eastern traditions.

I'm in the middle, in fact I deny myself "stuff" and a lot of "first-world" nonsense convenience things, because I don't want to support all these greedy, capitalistic companies.

But, ask me to do without my vast library of books, or movies and I'll never yield!!

I also say that a home is man's castle, and it should have a *lived-in* look, and not look like an office building, museum, or minimalist nightmare. So, some stuff is GOOD.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Eddie Lampert's bid will more than likely come up short. A decision should be made by Tuesday and if it fails Sears will be liquidated.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/07/sear...esday-fix.html

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Sears to ask bankruptcy judge to approve its plan to liquidate.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKCN1P218J

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Well, Sears is now considerating a revised bid from Eddie Lampert's Hedge fund company. The catch is that he has to raise $120 million in cash by tomorrow.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/08/busin...lay/index.html

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Does any of this affect K-Mart?

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

If Sears liquidates so will Kmart.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Okay. I wasn't sure if there might be some accounting arrangement that could (temporarily?) save K-Mart. That's gonna be a lot of vacant real estate. :(

And thanks for the play-by-play, BTW.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Eddie Lampert upped his bid to $5 billion dollars, the auction for all of Sears assets will be on Monday. The bid will go up against Sears creditors.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKCN1P41TJ

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

OK, admittedly I have not followed the Sears saga in much detail ...

So, the guy is the chairman and CEO ... and he just happens to become both their biggest creditor AND their biggest shareholder ... and other companies he is involved with have loaned money to Sears ... and other creditors want to sue him over "past deals" he has done with the company ...

Is this shady as f*** or does it just sound that way?

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

I only have an interest because I'm a former employee. I'm not a big business guy, but I'll try my best to explain it. Eddie Lampert merged both Sears and Kmart in 2005, and he became CEO. Sears Holding Corporation hasn't turned a profit since 2010. It's been widely believed Eddie Lampert never wanted to save Sears, he only has a vested interest for the real estate. With the upcoming auction his $5 billion dollar bid is up against the creditors who want to liquidate the company to pay off Sears total debt. I think I explained it right.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

But if Lampert succeeds, I assume Sears and K-Mart are still going under? Or will he be choosy in which real estate he sells/develops? Does anybody know why he wants the real estate?

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Well the bankruptcy auction was supposed to happen yesterday. I can't seem to find any news about what happened.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Here ya go:

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/1...-eddie-lampert

"The company's chairman and largest shareholder, Eddie Lampert, won a bankruptcy auction for Sears, averting liquidation of the iconic chain, according to a source familiar with the negotiations."

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

That is a good explanation of what's happened. Finance people don't believe that Lampert was managing the chains to keep them alive. He's a metaphorical monetary vampire that has been feeding off their corpses for over a decade. He now wants to resurrect them from the dead for his own gain.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

A similar (but not exact) thing happened with TRU, where they were just loaded with debt and sent out to fail. I'm surprised there isn't bigger outrage over this kind of crap.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

At this point I want to see the company liquidated because I don't want Eddie Lampert to continue on with the company. The Bankruptcy judge still has to approve it.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Well, it won't save my local Sears, which is closing now, too. At this point I'm not entirely sure where the next closest one is because it still appears on their Store Finder...although it won't for long. It's weird because the local economy is able to sustain an Apple Store, a Whole Foods, and a Barnes & Noble.

I just bought several pair of jeans from their web site, which is marginally cheaper than the "going out of business" price at the store.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Looks like Sears is down to six stores nationwide.

The last remaining store in California is in Concord.

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article...d-20786481.php

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

I should go check that out. The one at Arden in Sacramento has been empty for a few years, I often enjoy a Cinnabon sitting at its front and looking into the empty store remembering where stuff used to be. It’s supposed to become an indoor sports thing soon.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

I'm surprised there are still six stores.

Sort of fascinates me how these old chains can dwindle down to the point where there are only a handful of locations left instead of just going tits-up. I think there are still one or two K-Marts open out there in the wild.

Seems like most of these places rely so heavily on their own store brands that I don't know how they survive when those go away. Makes me wonder what the point of a K-Mart is when they can't carry their own brands, and it's just a bunch of over-priced name brand stuff that Walmart will be able to undercut them on. What's the point of even going there?

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

AI claims it is only 5.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

The Green Dilemma: Can AI Fulfil Its Potential Without Harming the Environment?


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/dvdtalk...36eb6ab023.png

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Is there anyone here who lives near a remaining store location? What do the interiors actually look like? Craftsman tools on the shelf? Kenmore appliances? Pretty much empty shelves like Big Lots a few days before their final closing?

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

I thought Sears was gone gone. Sears was my first credit card.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

I considered Sears to be gone when K-Mart purchased them. I never understood how a poorly run company like K-Mart could purchase Sears, who seemed to do a.really good job. The K-Mart here *never* had sales items in stock, rarely fulfilled a "rain check," and was disorganized and dirty inside. Sears was the opposite.

Re: Rumor: Sears prepares to file for bankruptcy
 

Maybe in your area but by the time Kmart bought Sears, both were shells of their former selves. Not sure how doubling down on that was supposed to help. It would've been like Circuit City buying Radio Shack near the end.