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Sears Holdings Corporation NASDAQ: SHLD is the third largest retailer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart and The Home Depot. It was formed in 2005 by the purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Company of Hoffman Estates, Illinois and the Kmart Corporation of Troy, Michigan.

The company operates 3,800 retail locations under the mastheads of Sears, Sears Grand, Sears Hardware, Kmart, Big Kmart, Super Kmart, The Great Indoors, Orchard Supply Hardware, and Lands' End stores.

The company maintains its corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates, and the Kmart brand from Michigan.

History

Kmart

Sebastian S. Kresge founded the S.S. Kresge Corporation, the predecessor of Kmart, in 1899 in Detroit, Michigan. Kresge's first retail establishment, a five-and-ten-cent store, resembled those operated by Frank Woolworth. The store grew into a chain known as S. S. Kresge. By 1912, the chain operated 85 stores.

By the 1920s, Kresge operated larger stores that offered a wider variety of merchandise and prices—precursors of the modern discount store. The first Kmart department store opened in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan. A total of 18 Kmart stores opened that year. Kmart Foods, a long forgotten, now defunct chain of Kmart supermarkets opened in in that same decade.

Kmart became known for its "blue light specials". They occurred at surprise moments when a store worker would light up a mobile police light and offer a discount in a specific department of the store. The phrase "attention Kmart shoppers" also entered into the American pop psyche. Kmart was also featured in the Oscar-winning 1988 film Rain Man, in which Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman both famously exclaim, "Kmart sucks!"

During the 1970s, Kmart put a number of competing retailers out of business. In 1977, S. S. Kresge Corporation changed its name to Kmart Corporation. In 1987, Kmart Corporation sold its remaining Kresge stores.

To compete with Wal-Mart's Supercenters, Kmart opened their first "Kmart Super Center" in 1991 in Medina, Ohio. They also opened their first "Big Kmart" in 1996. While many Kmart stores were converted to Kmart Super Centers, most were converted to Big Kmarts.

Trouble For Kmart

During the 1970s, the company's fortunes began to change; many of Kmart's stores were badly outdated and in decaying condition. Inventory piled up, checkout lines grew, and customers abandoned the stores.

In 1990, in an effort to change their image, Kmart introduced a new logo (dropping the old-style italic "K" with a turquoise "mart", created in the early 1970s), and gave many stores a very badly needed renovation. However, most stores were not remodeled until the mid-1990s, some of which are not completely renovated today. This then-new logo was replaced in 2004 with the current logo.

The company also began to offer exclusive merchandise by Martha Stewart, Kathy Ireland, and Jaclyn Smith. Other recognizable brands included Sesame Street and Disney. Rosie O'Donnell and Penny Marshall were among the company's most-recognized spokespersons.

In the 1990s, Kmart made a number of missteps, again. In 1993 Kmart closed 110 stores. Unlike its competitor Wal-Mart, it failed to invest in computer technology to manage its supply chain. Furthermore, Kmart maintained a high dividend, which reduced the amount of money available for improving its stores. Many business analysts also faulted the corporation for failing to create a coherent brand image.

The original "blue light special" had disappeared in 1991, due to changing consumer habits and misuse by individual stores (according to the company's official explanation). The company then brought back the "blue light special", which involved the manager announcing a promotion in-store every hour, on the hour—said special lasting for 25 minutes. When the announcement of the special took place over the public address system, music would fill the store and all employees would stop their current actions, clap twice and pump their fists in the air, shouting "Blue Light, Blue Light!". This scheme aimed to generate more interest in Kmart from shoppers and the media, but failed because stores did not follow the procedure. No records exist of anyone actually shouting "Blue Light, Blue Light!" It has since ended the "blue light special" again.

In 2001, the stock scandal involving Martha Stewart severely hurt the corporation's image. In addition, Kmart attempted to compete against Wal-Mart on price by introducing the "Blue Light Always" campaign, which ditched the original blue light concept for lower prices in general. The company could simply not afford to match Wal-Mart's prices. In August 2001, Target Corporation sued Kmart for false advertising; Target claimed that its "Dare to Compare" campaign routinely misstated both Kmart's and Target's prices.

Two days after the terror attacks of 9/11/2001, Kmart stopped all sales of guns and ammunition, citing their concern for the safety of their friends and customers. This move angered millions of law abiding gun owners and resulted in a boycott.

On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for bankruptcy protection; led into the bankruptcy by its then chairman Chuck Conaway and president Mark Schwartz. Similar to the Enron scandal, Conway and Schwartz were accused of misleading shareholders and other company officials of the company's financial crisis, while they were allegedly making millions and allegedly spending the company's money on planes, houses, boats, and other luxuries.

After firing Conaway and Schwartz, It shut down more than 300 stores in the United States and laid off around 34,000 workers as part of a badly-needed restructuring. On May 6, 2003, Kmart officially emerged from bankruptcy protection as Kmart Holding Corporation and on June 10, 2003 it began trading on the NASDAQ as "KMRT". Kmart introduced five then new prototype stores with a new logo, layout and color scheme (lime green and gray) in 2002 with one in White Lake, Michigan and four in Peoria, Illinois. The new layout has wider aisles, better selection and better lighting. However, Kmart could not afford a full-scale rollout. The lime green prototype was abandoned for the new Kmart "Orange" concept that rolled out at 9 test stores nationwide.

Kmart was once a major presence in Canada. However, after being sold to Zellers' parent Hudson's Bay Company in the late 1990s, all Kmart stores there were either closed or converted to the Zellers brand.

1479 stores operate today under the Kmart banner.

Sears

In 1886, the United States contained only 38 states. Many people lived in rural areas and typically farmed. Richard Sears was a railroad station agent in Minnesota when he received a shipment of watches which were unwanted by a local jeweler. Sears purchased them himself, and sold the watches at a nice profit to other station agents up and down the line, and then ordered more for resale. Soon he started a business selling watches. The next year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he met Alvah C. Roebuck who joined him in the business. In 1893, the corporate name became Sears, Roebuck and Company.

Richard Sears knew that farmers often brought their crops to town where they could be sold and shipped, and then bought supplies, often at very high prices, from local general stores. The catalog business grew quickly. By 1894, the Sears catalog had grown to 322 pages, featuring sewing machines, bicycles, sporting goods and a host of other new items. Organizing the company so it could handle orders on an economical and efficient basis, Chicago clothing manufacturer Julius Rosenwald became a part-owner in 1895. Alvah Roebuck had to resign soon after due to ill-health, but the company still retained his name. By the following year, dolls, icebox refrigerators, cook-stoves and groceries had been added to the catalog.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. soon developed a reputation for both quality products and customer satisfaction.

People had learned to trust Sears for other products bought mail-order, and thus, sight unseen. This laid important groundwork for supplying a home, possibly the largest single investment a typical family would ever make. In 1908, the company began offering entire houses as kits, marketed as Sears Modern Homes, and by the time the program ended in 1940, over 100,000 had been sold.

Sears issued many catalogs and didn't open its first retail store until 1925, when the business was already 32 years old. The first free standing department store was opened October 5, 1925 in Evansville, Indiana. In addition to mail-order or rail shipment of large purchases, items could also be picked up at the Sears Store in a nearby town when retail outlets were opened.

The Sears, Roebuck catalog was sometimes referred to as "the Consumers' Bible." The Christmas Catalog was known as the "Wish Book", perhaps because of the toys in it. The catalog also entered the language, particularly of rural dwellers, as a euphemism for toilet paper. In the days of outhouses and no readily available toilet paper, the pages of the mass-mailed catalog were used as toilet paper. "I'm going to read the Sears catalog" was a polite way of saying "I'm going to the outhouse."

After World War II, the company built many department stores in suburban shopping malls. The company was the largest retailer in the United States until the early 1980s but had dropped significantly in rankings by the time it merged with Kmart.

Sears diversified and became a conglomerate during the mid-20th century. It established several major brands of products such as Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard, and Tuff-skin. The company started the Allstate Insurance Company back in 1931 and had representatives operating in its stores as early as 1934. It purchased Dean Witter and Coldwell Banker real estate in 1981, and started what became Prodigy as a joint venture in 1984. It also introduced the Discover credit card in 1985. During the late 1980s, and as late as 1993, the Discover card was the only accepted credit card at many Sears retail locations.

Roebuck was dropped from the name of the stores, though not from the official corporate name in the 1970s.

The current Sears logo used as store signage was created in 1984. Previously, the Sears logo consisted of the name "Sears" in a rectangle. Now it consists of the blue text, Sears, with a white line separating each letter down along the length of its strokes. In late 2004, the logo was switched from all upper case to upper and lower case for catologs and other marketing methods.

Sears formerly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker of "S", which is now used by the Sprint Nextel Corporation.

Trouble for Sears

Adam Walsh, the son of reporter John Walsh (America's Most Wanted), was abducted from a Sears department store in Hollywood, Florida, in 1981 at the age of six; his severed head was later found in Vero Beach, FL.

As a result of the incident, Wal-Mart responded by creating Code Adam, a set of procedures to locate children that are reported missing while in the store. Similar procedures have been implemented by other retailers.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the company divested themselves of many non-retail entities, which were creating a burden on the company's bottom line.

In 1993, Sears stopped production of its general merchandise catalog because of sinking sales and profits. However, Sears Holdings does continue to produce speciality catalogs and the Holiday Wish Book.

In 2003, they sold their retail credit card operation to Citibank because the credit cards were draining profits from the company. The remaining card operations was sold to J.P. Morgan Chase in August 2005.

In the early 1980s, Sears ceased selling shotguns, which had previously even been sold under their internal J. C. Higgins sporting brand from 1908 until 1961, and this alienated them from their historical core of rural and working-class consumers.

In the late 1990s, the company's market share in many areas deteriorated rapidly as Wal-Mart drew away working-class consumers, and Federated Department Stores attracted wealthier consumers. Sears has also been shouldered with the problem of keeping a sound legal basis for its actions. A number of class action lawsuits have been prepared and successfully won against the company.[1]

While this was a negative impact, in 2004, Sears improved many of their image by selling designer merchandise, renovating many deparment stores, and launching "Sears Grand", a type of hypermarket. All these changes made Sears a more upscale place to shop on par with Macy's and Dillards.

Sears Tower

Sears, Roebuck and Company built the famed Sears Tower, which was completed in 1974. This building, located in Chicago, is the tallest building in the United States. The company, however, no longer owns the building.

Merger of Kmart and Sears

On November 17, 2004, Kmart announced its intentions to purchase Sears. As a part of the merger, the Kmart Corporation would change its name to Sears Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands.

The two companies cited several reasons for combining forces:

• Sears had begun investing in new, larger off-mall stores, called Sears Grand. Earlier in the year Sears had purchased dozens of current Kmart locations; the merger permited the combined company to accelerate that process.

• Proprietary brands held by both companies could be made more accessible to their target demographics by leveraging their combined real estate holdings. This was estimated to be an expected $200 million a year in revenue synergies.

• At least $300 million a year in cost savings was expected annually, particularly in the supply chain and in administrative overhead.

• The establishment of a shared customer-focused corporate culture between the two companies was estimated to yield improvements in revenue per unit area.

• Preservation of two brands after the merger allowed Sears Holdings to continue focusing on different customer demographics, without alienating either group.

The new company is directed by a board of directors comprised of members from the two companies: seven members from Kmart's board, three from Sears. Shareholders in the Kmart Corporation received one share in the new company. Shares of Sears, Roebuck and Company stock was converted into a combination of 55% stock and 45% cash (at $50 a share). Stockholders had a choice of receiving either stock or cash, subject to the pre-defined ratio.

The merger was completed on March 24, 2005, after receiving regulatory approval from the government and approval by shareholders of both companies.

The Sears Holdings Corporation then remodeled many outdated Kmarts and Big Kmarts by changing their signage to "kmart". The "K" in Kmart was made lower-case to make Kmarts feel and look more high tech for the 21st century.

Sears Holdings today

Sears Holdings continues to operate stores under the Sears and Kmart mastheads. In 2005, Sears introduced a new store format, called Sears Essentials; Some Kmart locations are to be converted to the Sears Essentials format, while new locations will also be built. This new store format combines the Sears store concept with the Kmart format, which allows the company to better compete with Wal-Mart and Target.

In 2005, Nike announced that it would no longer allow its products to be sold in Sears stores. Analysts speculated that Nike did not want its shoes and apparel sold in Kmart stores, and terminated its sales agreement with Sears Holdings to prevent this.

Sears Holdings has began cross-selling merchandise between its two brands. For example, Craftsman tools are now available in Kmart stores; they were previously exclusive to the Sears brand.

Sears Holdings owns 55% of Sears Canada, a large department store chain in Canada, similar to the U.S. stores. Like Target stores, Kmart-branded stores in Australia belong to Coles Myer; Coles Myer also holds the rights to the Kmart brand in New Zealand.

Because Kmart Corporation changed its name to Sears Holdings and because it is converting some Big Kmart stores to Sears Essentials stores as a test, there is speculation that Sears Holdings may drop the Kmart name entirely in the next decade.

Chains

• Kmart: Discount department stores that are usually free-standing or located in strip malls. They carry electronics, music, movies, bedding, hardware, sporting goods, clothing, toys, jewelry, office supplies, health and beauty products, home décor, and a limited selection of food. Many stores also have a pharmacy and snack bar. About 84,000 to 100,000 square feet (7,800 to 9,300 m²).

• Big Kmart: They carry everything a regular Kmart carries, but with an emphasis on home decor, children's clothing, and more food items. About 84,000 to 120,000 square feet (7,800 to 11,000 m²). Big Kmart stores also feature Garden Shop, and Kcafe or Little Caesar's Pizza station. Sears Holdings no longer builds these stores, but many Kmarts are still signed as Big Kmart or Big K. Many were changed back to plain Kmart or closed.

• Kmart Super Center: They carry everything a regular Kmart carries, but has a full grocery section with meat, bakery, and deli. The Super Centers are about 140,000 to 190,000 square feet (13,000 to 18,000 m²). These stores are also known as Super Kmart, Super K, and Super Kmart Center. Several also include Kmart Express gas stations.

• Sears: Upscale department stores that are located in shopping malls; they carry clothing, jewelry, appliances, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, lawn mowers, paint, sporting goods, automobile repair, and supplies. Sears stores are usually multi-level. There are 870 full-size Sears stores in the US.

• Kmart Foods: Kmart Foods was a grocery store that was found in 1962. Most Kmart Foods were together with K-Mart stores. They all closed in 1970s. The brand was reinvented in 1991 with K-Mart's launch of the Super K-Mart Center concept.

• Sears Hometown Dealer: Smaller Sears stores that are operated as franchises; they are usually located in smaller markets that do not support a mall or full-size Sears. They are signed as Sears, and they are usually free-standing or located in a strip mall. They primarily concentrate on hardware, appliances, and lawn and garden supplies.

• Sears Hardware and Appliance: Stores that carry the whole line of Sears hardware and appliances and are usually freestanding or in strip malls. Typically these stores are about 25,000 sqft.

• Sears Parts & Repair: Sears service centers that typically sell parts for appliances and also a carry-in point for customers to bring merchandise in that needs repaired either in or out of warranty. Typically labeled Sears Service Center or Sears Home Central, two names that also refer to the Parts and Repair centers. Sears has started closing many of these down as more and more of its service and repair business is home-based.

• Sears Grand: Located away from shopping malls (often free-standing); carries everything a regular Sears carries, plus health and beauty, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, home décor, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines, electronics, and a limited amount of food. Sears Grand stores are about 165,000 to 210,000 square feet (15,000 to 20,000 m²).

• Sears Essentials: Stores that are about 70,000 to 100,000 square feet. These stores are essentially hybrids of a Sears and Kmart store. All stores will become Sears Grand after 2006 is over. [2]

• Sears Home: A defunct Sears store which sold furniture which closed in 2001. Some stores were branded HomeLife, HomeLife Furniture, or Sears HomeLife.

• The Great Indoors: Free-standing home décor stores that carry appliances, bedding, and kitchen and bath fixtures. These stores are about 130,000 square feet (12,000 m²).

• Lands' End: Aside from carrying the Lands' End clothing line at Sears stores, Sears Holdings also operates 16 Lands' End stores that carry only Lands' End clothing. These stores are located in outlet malls and regular malls.

• Orchard Supply Hardware: free-standing hardware stores that carry home repair, hardware products and lawn and garden supplies. Orchard Supply Stores are about 40,000 square feet (4,000 m²). There are currently 84 stores, all of them in California. Sears now owns 80.1% of the chain, and revealed intentions in May 2005 to spin it off.

• PACE Wholesale Club: PACE was K-Mart's try at a wholesale club until Sam's Club took over the brand and coverted all the stores to Sam's Club stores.

• Builders Square: A former big box home improvement store owned by K-Mart then was sold to Hechinger which went bankrupt.

• Payless Drugs: A drug store chain formally owned by K-Mart until it was sold to TCH Corporation. The resulting entity, Thrifty PayLess was acquired by Rite Aid in 1996 which turned all of the Payless stores into Rite Aid stores in 1999.

• Waldenbooks: Waldenbooks is a book store which was acquired by Kmart in 1984. In the 1990s Kmart sold Waldenbooks to Borders Books. Kmart also ran Waldenbooks stores inside Kmart stores until the mid-1990s.

Brands

• Craftsman tools

• Kenmore appliances

• DieHard car batteries

• Martha Stewart-branded home decor, kitchen and home improvement items

• Jaclyn Smith-branded clothing

• Sesame Street-branded clothing

• Thalia Sodi-branded clothing and jewelry

• Lands' End clothing

• Route 66 clothing

• Joe Boxer underwear and home decor

• Ty Pennington STYLE home decor

Major sponsorships

The Sears Holdings Corporation sponsors the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The company is well-known for its charitable contributions, which it tends to keep quiet about.

Diversity

• Sears Holdings received a 57% rating on the 2004 Corporate Equality Index published by the Human Rights Campaign.

• Sears Holdings was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 by Working Mothers magazine.

Further reading

• Katz, Donald R. (1987) The Big Store: Inside the Crisis and Revolution at Sears Viking Press; New York
• Stevenson, Katherin Cole, and Jandl, H. Ward, (1995) Houses By Mail: A Guide to Houses from Sears, Roebuck and Company John Wiley & Sons; Hoboken, New Jersey

See also

• Sears Canada - Canadian unit

• Kmart Australia

External links

• Sears Holding Corporation website

• Sears retailing brand

• Kmart retailing brand

• Company presentation about the merger

• CNN/Money article announcing the Kmart-Sears merger

• Sears, Roebuck and Co Political Contributions and Company Rating

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