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Is forlorn a word? I think it's forlorn. |
(With apologies to Rod Serling.) The Sears store
on Route 22 closes September 17 forever. The Watchung location was
built in the post-WWII boom era to replace a much smaller store at West
Front and Grove Streets in Plainfield. The closing marks the end of more
than a hundred years of Sears, Roebuck & Co. presence in the Queen
City.
From its storied beginnings as a mail order company, Sears was adept at keeping its finger on the pule of consumer needs and wants.
As America became more urban, Sears planted stores in choice downtown locations. Their merchandising tactic was simple: offer goods in three quality levels (good, better and best), buy from leading manufacturers but apply a Sears brand name (Kenmore appliances, Craftsman tools, DieHard auto batteries).
As the suburbs mushroomed after World War II, Sears quickly caught on to building huge stores on major highways, with everything under one (or two) roof(s). Sears offered credit for large purchases. Many GI families furnished their new suburban homes completely with Sears purchases.
When I moved to Plainfield in 1983, a friend who was an executive with Macy's told me that the Sears Watchung store was then the most profitable per square foot in the whole Sears empire.
But nothing lasts forever.
Demographic changes led to shifts in the market structrure. Specialty retailers sprang up with which Sears could not compete (for instance GAP, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, etc.) for depth of offerings.
Then there was the disastrous merger with Kmart. Sears' response to the Internet was clunky at best.
Amazon is knocking the stuffing out of bricks & mortar retailers everywhere, including Sears. Ironically, however, Amazon just bought Whole Foods supermarkets -- because in order to epand their tentacles to the grocery business they need to have a bricks & mortar presence.
I took a tour of the Sears store last Sunday. There were throngs of people, but the showrooms were mostly empty.
There were displays of expensive Craftsman toolboxes, a fair assortment of treadmills and step machines, and a few racks of clothing items.
Sears itself has not given up the ghost -- yet. But it seems only a matter of time.
If you want to see one of America's great mid-20th century marketing marvels, go take a look. It'll be something to tell the grandkids about.
From its storied beginnings as a mail order company, Sears was adept at keeping its finger on the pule of consumer needs and wants.
As America became more urban, Sears planted stores in choice downtown locations. Their merchandising tactic was simple: offer goods in three quality levels (good, better and best), buy from leading manufacturers but apply a Sears brand name (Kenmore appliances, Craftsman tools, DieHard auto batteries).
As the suburbs mushroomed after World War II, Sears quickly caught on to building huge stores on major highways, with everything under one (or two) roof(s). Sears offered credit for large purchases. Many GI families furnished their new suburban homes completely with Sears purchases.
When I moved to Plainfield in 1983, a friend who was an executive with Macy's told me that the Sears Watchung store was then the most profitable per square foot in the whole Sears empire.
But nothing lasts forever.
Demographic changes led to shifts in the market structrure. Specialty retailers sprang up with which Sears could not compete (for instance GAP, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, etc.) for depth of offerings.
Then there was the disastrous merger with Kmart. Sears' response to the Internet was clunky at best.
Amazon is knocking the stuffing out of bricks & mortar retailers everywhere, including Sears. Ironically, however, Amazon just bought Whole Foods supermarkets -- because in order to epand their tentacles to the grocery business they need to have a bricks & mortar presence.
I took a tour of the Sears store last Sunday. There were throngs of people, but the showrooms were mostly empty.
There were displays of expensive Craftsman toolboxes, a fair assortment of treadmills and step machines, and a few racks of clothing items.
Sears itself has not given up the ghost -- yet. But it seems only a matter of time.
If you want to see one of America's great mid-20th century marketing marvels, go take a look. It'll be something to tell the grandkids about.
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