Sears Hometown Store to Bethany

[metro]

Guess there is no thread for Bethany/Warr Acres anymore (Pete should you change to West Metro suburbs?). I noticed while driving the past week or so that on the SW corner of NW 39th and Council that a Sears Hometown Store (new construction) is going in on the vacant parcel on that corner.

[Pete]

Here are some details. This will be on the southwest corner of 39th & Council:

[Spartan]

I'm starting to wonder if Sears is a money laundering front for something lol

[rezman]

I really like the "new" Sears concept. It's a return to the old days of the Sears catalog stores and personal service that seemed to be in all the small towns. I just purchased a new dishwasher and hot water tank from the Sears Hometown store up by May & Memorial. My wife and I were immediately greeted when we walked in the door, and led to their selection of dishwashers, showed the different options, and then left alone to discuss and make our decision. When were ready, we were immediately assisted with check out. The water tank, which I had already picked out, was in stock and was brought right out the front door to my pickup and loaded by their employee, and myself. The dishwasher had to be ordered, and was in the store waiting for me after I got off work two days later. When I went to pick it up, The store's owner personally brought it out and helped me load it, shook my hand and thanked me for shopping at his store. That's the stuff that will keep me as a return customer.

[Pete]

Here in California, we have Orchard Hardware Supply (OSH) which was owned by Sears (has since been sold to Lowe's) and it operates very much like the hardware, garden center and appliance department of an old-school Sears: Smaller and lots of personal service. I suppose a lot like Ace Hardware but not franchised like Ace.

I love OSH because I've done massive home improvement and often I just need a few small things and it's not only easier to find them, the place is staffed by mainly older dudes who live hardware. Those guys are amazing! Will spend as much time as you need and really know their crap.

I suspect the Sears Hometown Stores are very similar and if so, there is still a very strong need for that sort of thing instead of spending two hours in Home Depot trying to find one or two small things.

[Zuplar]

I think this would fit more in the Northwest OKC section. When I think west I think stuff west of County-Line Rd.

[White Peacock]

Do these Sears concept stores also carry clothes, or just appliances? I'm a flannel freak, and I love Roebuck brand flannels (typically around $15 each!), but hate having to go all the way to the south side to stock up.

[rezman]

No, no clothing. Mainly tools, lawn & garden, appliances, some bedding, and other houshold items. But they have computers set up at the register where you can sit down and order just about anything, and have it shipped in, just like the old catalog stores.
I think as the rebirth of these independantly owned small stores take a foot hold, you'll see floor plans evolve. Not long after the Quail Springs store closed, I talked to the owner of the Hometown store at 33rd & Broadway, and she said she wished she could knock out a wall and expand, becuse her business had inproved that much.

[White Peacock]

No, no clothing, mainly tools, appliances, some bedding, and other houshold items. But they have computers set up bu the register where you can sit down and order just about anything, and habe it shipped in, just like the old catalog stores.
I think as the rebirth of these independantly owned small stores take a foot hold, you'll see floor plans evolve. Not long after the Quail Springs store closed, I talked to the owner of the Hometown store at 33rd & Broadway, and she said she wished she could knock out a wall and expand, becuse her business had inproved that much.

That's a shame. I can order the shirts from sears.com myself. Had my hopes up there for a bit! Good that they have a concept that's helping them out though. I like the fact that Sears still exists, and it sucks that every time I go, I'm only one of just a handful of people there.

[rezman]

That's a shame. I can order the shirts from sears.com myself. Had my hopes up there for a bit! Good that they have a concept that's helping them out though. I like the fact that Sears still exists, and it sucks that every time I go, I'm only one of just a handful of people there.

That's what I felt like the last time I was at the Sears at 44th & Western. It was like a ghost town.

[SoonerDave]

Sears Holdings announced today the acceleration of their plan to shutter underperforming stores - once about 100, the number is now up to 235. Though their balance sheet is marginally better in terms of liquidity, they're hemorrhaging sales and won't even release early Christmas season figures.

Sears is a twitching corpse. Enjoy what's left while you can. As a kid, trips to the 44th street Sears were nearly a weekly occurrence. These days, I wouldn't go in there without a machete and a manifest sense of desperation that no other store on planet Earth could possibly have what I'm looking for.

Sears to accelerate closings, shutter 235 stores

[Pete]

I can't imagine the 44th and Western Sears is going to be around much longer.

It will be a sad day when that store closes, but it seems inevitable.

[catch22]

I went into it a month ago, no machete and didn't have any issues. That neighborhood is beginning to mature. The large Hispanic community there is getting older and actually fixing up houses a mile south. Rent houses are drying up and homeowners are coming into the area.

I wouldn't walk around out there at 10pm, but I went in at 630 near closing time on a Sunday and wasn't worried for my safety at all. I do agree that Sears is almost dead though.

[bchris02]

I wouldn't be worried about safety at 44th and Western, especially during the daytime, but I still think that store isn't long for this world. Sears is a dinosaur. When I walk in there I feel like I am transported back to the late 1980s. I expect to walk back to the electronics section and see huge stereo systems with double cassette desks and CRT TVs (as well as rear-projection big screens) with Reagan giving a speech on them. It seems like they've made no attempts to modernize or stay relevant in the 21st century. The only reason they've probably made it this long is Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliance. The new Sears Hometown stores is the direction the company needs to go and the sooner they shutter the big department stores the better in my opinion.

[bombermwc]

You can always go to the MWC store too. I can't say the staff just impresses me much, but when you work for a crap company, and you're treated crappy, it sort of goes with the territory. They are owned by K-Mart afterall. I have experience as a lowly K-Mart employee from my teenage years, and even to a 19 year old, I could tell the company was going to go under soon (and within a few years it did). Anyway....

[rezman]

One of the things that hurt Sears, especially in regards to Craftsman tools, is that they started selling their cheap K-Mart hand tools right along side Craftsman. And if the fact that Craftsman quality was going in the dumper wasn't enough, you could buy the equivalent Evolve brand tool on the shelf right next to it, of the same quality, for half the price.