# The Kmart/Sears merger - thoughts? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2004, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326 "2004-11-17T19:53:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/21 "2004-11-17T22:58:50Z")
Maybe they can get rid of the “ears” and the “K” for a really cool new name, slogan, and spokesman. Bruce Campbell: “Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.” ---
**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/22 "2004-11-17T23:17:51Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Pity the Chicago folks…what with that 100,000 Watt KMart Blue Light Special being installed on the top of the Sears Tower and flashing over the city whenever ladies underwear is half off. Sears Tower isn’t owned by Sears any more. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/23 "2004-11-17T23:27:02Z")
Right. It’s owned by K-mart. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/24 "2004-11-18T00:35:37Z")
> [@ColonelDax](#): > > Two companies without futures hoping to stave off the inevitable for a bit longer. If either Sears or Kmart did not exist today, would anyone invent them? This seems kind of like the automotive merger of Hudson and Nash. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/25 "2004-11-18T01:25:30Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maybe they can get rid of the “ears” and the “K” for a really cool new name, slogan, and spokesman. > > Bruce Campbell: “Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.” If they did that, I would become a very loyal consumer. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/26 "2004-11-18T02:11:35Z")
When my husband heard this, his first reaction was: “Will K-Marts be cleaner now?” As for me, I can’t recall the last time I shopped in either store, so I don’t see any effect on my life. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/27 "2004-11-18T03:47:02Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Maybe they can get rid of the “ears” and the “K” for a really cool new name, slogan, and spokesman. > > Bruce Campbell: “Shop smart. Shop S-Mart.” I said that this morning. Great minds think alike. Mediocre ones do too, but I’m not good bring that up if you don’t either. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/28 "2004-11-18T03:54:21Z")
My mind boggles. Just a few years ago, K-Mart was about to take the financial dirt nap and now they’re buying one of the biggest retailers in the world? What will Wal-Mart do? Buy Target? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/29 "2004-11-18T04:39:03Z")
Well, I suppose not much will change - Sears and K-Mart both have that nasty grimy feel to them, even when you go into a Sears in a nice mall. They’ve got the same incoherent floor plan thing going on too - kinda seemed like they were the same company _before_ the merger. ---
**Author:** ![Poonther](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Poonther](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poonther)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/30 "2004-11-18T04:52:28Z")
> [@Mr. Blue Sky](#): > > My mind boggles. Just a few years ago, K-Mart was about to take the financial dirt nap and now they’re buying one of the biggest retailers in the world? > > What will Wal-Mart do? Buy Target? Nooooooooooooo! Wallyworld keep your filthy world domination hands off my Target! ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/31 "2004-11-18T05:20:26Z")
> [@Doug Bowe](#): > > This seems kind of like the automotive merger of Hudson and Nash. Which, ironically, wasn’t supposed to happen the way it did. Nash and Hudson merged, while Studebaker and Packard merged, and the ultimate goal was for the two new corporations to then later merge and become American Motors. That fell apart because the president of Nash-Hudson died and his replacement didn’t like the president of Studebaker-Packard. All I can say is: Stock up on Craftsman tools now, they’re going to be incredibly collectible when Sears-Mart folds in about five years. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/32 "2004-11-18T14:37:06Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > All I can say is: Stock up on Craftsman tools now, they’re going to be incredibly collectible when Sears-Mart folds in about five years. Actually, I see Craftsman as so potentially valuable for sale/spinoff on its own right that it survives the parent companies. Unless, of course, they do something in typical daft corporate “we just care about upping the stock price this quarter” fashion like selling the name to one company and the product line to another one. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/33 "2004-11-18T15:26:08Z")
- - - My first thought is that I am having a hard time imagining K-Mart moving upmarket. In my area they were significantly below the Wal-Mart level of merchandise, in price and quality. The nearest “Super-K” store in the area is still the same way–I can _afford_ anything in the place–but I walk around in there maybe twice a year and look, and don’t really see anything I’d want. Everything in there is cheap, ugly and poorly-made. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/34 "2004-11-18T15:48:57Z")
I am so buying a Kathy Ireland drill press as soon as they become available. Martha’s time in prison may have her eschew the softer side of Sears in favor of Toughskin linens. I still have scars from the summer my mother bought me Toughskins jeans. They were made of aluminum. The Waltons couldn’t have thunk this up in their darkest, most diabolical, imported from China, wet dreams. One company, with a plan (however poor) to reinvent themselves gets sacked in the endzone by a company with no plan and no future. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/35 "2004-11-18T16:53:16Z")
What I’m really dreading is that Kmart will close out the Sears product support system. The “Let’s help our customers keep their stuff running for decades.” philosphy is now completely un-American and Kmart will want to introduce the “Let’s have it break the day after the warranty expires so they have to buy a new one.” business style. I basically suspect that this merger is merely for Sears-destruction puposes. Close it down, sell off the pieces. That’s the mindset of the Kmart holding company execs. ---
**Author:** ![Servo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/49beb7/32.png) [@Servo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Servo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/36 "2004-11-18T17:42:11Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I basically suspect that this merger is merely for Sears-destruction puposes. Close it down, sell off the pieces. That’s the mindset of the Kmart holding company execs. Except that they kept the name. The new company will be Sears Holding Corp. I think **Finagle** has the right idea and this is K-mart trying to “move up.” ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/37 "2004-11-18T17:46:22Z")
I don’t shop at Kmart. I find their selection poor and their stores dirty. Plus, there’s a Super Tar-jhay in town. 😃 I have a Sears credit card. I’ve found Sears useful for appliances and car repair. I shop there maybe once every six months. I’m not sure what the merger will mean for the stores. It still won’t make me shop at Kmart though. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/38 "2004-11-18T18:22:12Z")
Eddie Lampert has been “reinventing” K-Mart over the last year or so, and with the acquisition of Sears, it’s now conceivable that Sears-only merchandise (Craftsman, Kenmore, etc.) will now be sold in K-Marts. He’s a sharp guy, and he did manage to pull K-Mart out of bankruptcy. One of the tricks he used was to sell retail locations _to Sears_. Think about that: ditch your ballast for cash; use the cash to make capital improvements; watch your “leaner” company’s stock soar while the buyer spends tons of capital trying to salvage your stinker locations. You’re getting rich while they’re wearing themselves out making lemonade from your lemons. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/39 "2004-11-19T01:10:57Z")
Can someone tell me how a company that was only worth 2.5 billion can buy another company worth 11.8 billion?? And how so right after coming out of bankruptcy? And just after Sears had bought some stores from K-Mart for 640 million this past summer? Logically and economically how did these things happen… ---
**Author:** ![TWOTfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de053/32.png) [@TWOTfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWOTfan)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2004, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326/40 "2004-11-19T01:20:01Z")
Sears might as well fold right now. Any association with K-mart means I won’t darken their door again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-kmart-sears-merger-thoughts/275326.md?page=3)