Sears/Kmart share or 2 ounces of Silver.
MGLICKER
Posts: 7,995 ✭✭✭
...I will take the silver.
Sad tale as I kind of like the nearby K-mart store. Problem is, what I like about it is also the problem.
A mile away from a kind of tired Wal Mart, this newer Super K is always empty or near empty. Wal Mart is packed.
Stopped into KM on Saturday morning and as I approached the checkout area, only one lane was open, with the friendly cashier greeting me and frankly happy to have a customer to check out.
Looking for some hardware security products, the section had about 25% empty pegs, and the used pegs had a single item on each. Clearly K-Mart is having trouble getting goods from vendors.
The Sears side is no better, hemorrhaging money in the face of a long term recession, stagnant consumer income and brutal online competition.
Hell, Walmart has suffered declining same store sales for 5 consecutive quarters. SHLD will most likely be toast by Q1 2015.
Sad tale as I kind of like the nearby K-mart store. Problem is, what I like about it is also the problem.
A mile away from a kind of tired Wal Mart, this newer Super K is always empty or near empty. Wal Mart is packed.
Stopped into KM on Saturday morning and as I approached the checkout area, only one lane was open, with the friendly cashier greeting me and frankly happy to have a customer to check out.
Looking for some hardware security products, the section had about 25% empty pegs, and the used pegs had a single item on each. Clearly K-Mart is having trouble getting goods from vendors.
The Sears side is no better, hemorrhaging money in the face of a long term recession, stagnant consumer income and brutal online competition.
Hell, Walmart has suffered declining same store sales for 5 consecutive quarters. SHLD will most likely be toast by Q1 2015.
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Keep stacking
Tom
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
Went into K-mart last week to get a small wading pool for a grow box. (Walmart doesn't carry them.) This store is right across the street from Walmart since they made the wrong choice on which one to close. Wasn't but 10 cars in the parking lot. Walmart was packed. My wife had a small shopping list but said K-mart did not have the item or was higher priced. Went across the street so she could get what she wanted.
I am surprised this particular K-mart has lasted as long as it has.
Got quoins?
I hate the place with a passion. Take care. jws
I'm officially blaming silver performance on the weather.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
Do you have a members card.
What is your phone number.
Do you want to donate a dollar to gold for geezers.
Please press no then.
Would you like a paper receipt or an e receipt.
At Wal Mart.
That will be $48.77
Thank you.
1. They put the slowest checkers in the world at the fast lanes. Most are seniors and they work there because they will show up for work (work ethic) unlike the teens of today.
2. The self check out machines never seem to work. Its always something . I always swear to never use them again and cave in and the same issues......
The plus side is being retired I can go in there at 1AM and take my time with empty aisles......
Tom
Buy silver, K-Sears is going to be history soon.
<< <i>Buy silver, K-Sears is going to be history soon. >>
Unless the FED declares them too big to fail.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
<< <i>
<< <i>Buy silver, K-Sears is going to be history soon. >>
Unless the FED declares them too big to fail.
That would be interesting.
.....and possible.
<< <i>My Walmart has a real nice selection of Auguson Farms dehydrated food in #10 cans that I store because Im a delusional paranoid freak . They also usually have lead and brass in my preferable size. Except .22 lr, that stuff rarer than a chain cent these days. >>
Agreed, finding .22lr anywhere is pretty much impossible.
I tried to contact corporate to express my displeasure and got NOWHERE.
<< <i>Can anyone produce a list of stocks that have outperformed silver over the last 10 years? >>
I know of one...KLS.V.* May 19, 2004 (.14), May 19, 2014 (6.25)
Silver ranged from 5.90 to 19.36 in that same period.
*Owned it since 2002.
https://www.pcgs.com/setregistry/gold/liberty-head-2-1-gold-major-sets/liberty-head-2-1-gold-basic-set-circulation-strikes-1840-1907-cac/alltimeset/268163
Now is a day I do feel better about owning PMs even though down a bit.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
<< <i>Oh, how soon to we forget. JCP was in a similar negative mindset not that long ago. With imminent forecasts of collapse, etc. It has gone up by approx 30% since. I'll take the minority view and pick K/Sears. >>
<< <i>Sell the real estate, sell the great brands (Craftsman, Kenmore) and close the lights. >>
With a relatively small market cap of $4B (less than Dick's sporting goods), Sears/Kmart holds many potential assets. Rather than bleed them out and folding, selling off the brands (including Diehard) and real estate may make a lot of sense. Problem is, closing 2000 plus stores is hugely expensive and may consume the remaining equity.
Though I would take the silver, I wouldn't short the company either.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
""'Heavy snow in the Rockies and flooding in the East held down chain-store sales in the May 17 week which fell a sharp 1.3 percent. The report notes that this was the wettest second week of May in 23 years.""
First the snow, now the rain.....in two weeks it will be the sizzling Summer temps.
Maybe the economy just sucks.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
<< <i>Consumers still consume regardless of what it is like outside. If they can't get to the store this week, they will buy twice as much next week. Retailers and Washington number crunchers use the weather as a scapegoat for a poor economy. >>
Very true, and we will always have weather.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>If the internet was around in 1991 people would have written about the failure of Eastern Airlines as a sign the economy sucked. The next 10 years were miserable....for those folks. LOL >>
At least the politicians of that era allowed the non competitive entities to fail. The brash and efficient Southwest Airlines flourished in that era, as the 1960's mentality carriers were forced to improve or vanish.
Today we have a retread US auto industry as well as a banking system that is rewarded for sloth inefficiency and reckless risk taking.
They would have said the same thing in 1991, four years after an stock market crash and the beginning of a war. The more things change the more they stay the same.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Today we have a retread US auto industry as well as a banking system that is rewarded for sloth inefficiency and reckless risk taking.
They would have said the same thing in 1991, four years after an stock market crash and the beginning of a war. The more things change the more they stay the same. >>
In early 1991 the national debt was $3.4T and the administration maintained a nexus to protecting the constitution.
<< <i>
<< <i>Today we have a retread US auto industry as well as a banking system that is rewarded for sloth inefficiency and reckless risk taking.
They would have said the same thing in 1991, four years after an stock market crash and the beginning of a war. The more things change the more they stay the same. >>
In early 1991 the national debt was $3.4T and the administration maintained a nexus to protecting the constitution. >>
And financial regulators did their job of keeping banks from becoming too big to fail.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
<< <i>How do you say "craftsman" in Chinese? >>
They've been saying that for years already unfortunately. A lot of their line is made in China now.
I'd take the 2oz silver.
<< <i>
<< <i>How do you say "craftsman" in Chinese? >>
They've been saying that for years already unfortunately. A lot of their line is made in China now.
I'd take the 2oz silver. >>
I recall attending a sales meeting for Oxwall Tool in 1981. With great fanfare the Vice president presented their first made in China tools. A couple of hammers and a line of hatchets/axes. Sort of primitive looking steel but solid and well made. Could not have imagined where we would be a third of a century later.
Which had tripled from 1982.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcYZlRWWxO0
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>In early 1991 the national debt was $3.4T
Which had tripled from 1982.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcYZlRWWxO0 >>
Yes, the spending was reckless in the 1980's. Still though the debt was half of GDP. Now we are a bit over GDP which can only throttle down the economy.
That oughtta keep inflation in check.
Knowledge is the enemy of fear
<< <i>Oh, how soon to we forget. JCP was in a similar negative mindset not that long ago. With imminent forecasts of collapse, etc. It has gone up by approx 30% since. I'll take the minority view and pick K/Sears. >>
The second half of this year is looking brutal for the economy. There's going to be many familiar retail names disappearing over the next 1-3 years along with considerable consolidation. I strongly suspect JCP and Sears / Kmart will be among them.
I don't want either the stock or the silver for the near term. I'd just as soon hold cash for now.
In contrast a few years ago Sears turned the thermostat up in the summer to 80" and turned the lights down in their stores to save money. That worked out real well for them too - managed to scare off a few more customers.
<< <i>One retailer that was on the skids back in the mid 1980s was Target Corporation. Somehow they had a new dynamic leadership team refloat that sinking ship and turn it into an upscale version of K-Mart. >>
Very true. As you folks recall, K-mart went bankrupt and the company was essentially turned over to the creditors. K-Mart had been poorly manage for years (I had done business with them in the 80's and early nineties). I truly thought that the new management team would have cleaned up the problems and prospered. Face it though, we can do fine with one or two less big box chains.
<< <i>
<< <i>One retailer that was on the skids back in the mid 1980s was Target Corporation. Somehow they had a new dynamic leadership team refloat that sinking ship and turn it into an upscale version of K-Mart. >>
Very true. As you folks recall, K-mart went bankrupt and the company was essentially turned over to the creditors. K-Mart had been poorly manage for years (I had done business with them in the 80's and early nineties). I truly thought that the new management team would have cleaned up the problems and prospered. Face it though, we can do fine with one or two less big box chains. >>
The more big box chains, the merrier. Competition is the consumer's best friend. We need about 500 more big banks. Unfortunately that would require about 100 more Federal Reserves to keep them bailed out.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
<< <i>
<< <i>One retailer that was on the skids back in the mid 1980s was Target Corporation. Somehow they had a new dynamic leadership team refloat that sinking ship and turn it into an upscale version of K-Mart. >>
Very true. As you folks recall, K-mart went bankrupt and the company was essentially turned over to the creditors. K-Mart had been poorly manage for years (I had done business with them in the 80's and early nineties). I truly thought that the new management team would have cleaned up the problems and prospered. Face it though, we can do fine with one or two less big box chains. >>
Back in the late 1990s I was a credit manager for a small manufacturing firm that sold store equipment to retail stores - the company hadn't done business with K-Mart for years. I changed that when K-Mart was turned over to the creditors - even changing our invoices to suit their wants( K-Mart is a bit of a dictator from an earlier era, pre-Wal-Mart) to help make the sale. For several years they were good customers, paid quickly if I kept on them - and then they fell off the wagon again and started stringing out past 90-120 days.
<< <i>
The more big box chains, the merrier. Competition is the consumer's best friend. We need about 500 more big banks. Unfortunately that would require about 100 more Federal Reserves to keep them bailed out. >>
I don't bank, I credit union. In a credit union you are a member, not a customer. You ARE the shareholder, not Wall St.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>One retailer that was on the skids back in the mid 1980s was Target Corporation. Somehow they had a new dynamic leadership team refloat that sinking ship and turn it into an upscale version of K-Mart. >>
Very true. As you folks recall, K-mart went bankrupt and the company was essentially turned over to the creditors. K-Mart had been poorly manage for years (I had done business with them in the 80's and early nineties). I truly thought that the new management team would have cleaned up the problems and prospered. Face it though, we can do fine with one or two less big box chains. >>
Back in the late 1990s I was a credit manager for a small manufacturing firm that sold store equipment to retail stores - the company hadn't done business with K-Mart for years. I changed that when K-Mart was turned over to the creditors - even changing our invoices to suit their wants( K-Mart is a bit of a dictator from an earlier era, pre-Wal-Mart) to help make the sale. For several years they were good customers, paid quickly if I kept on them - and then they fell off the wagon again and started stringing out past 90-120 days. >>
My couple of years in the advertising industry taught me that an early indicator of a business's pending demise is a massive, expensive advertising blitz that will either work or never get paid for.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
<< <i>
<< <i>
The more big box chains, the merrier. Competition is the consumer's best friend. We need about 500 more big banks. Unfortunately that would require about 100 more Federal Reserves to keep them bailed out. >>
I don't bank, I credit union. In a credit union you are a member, not a customer. You ARE the shareholder, not Wall St. >>
I too am a CU shareholder. Unfortunately even credit unions are under the shackles and whims of the Federal Reserve and its sidekick the Treasury Dept. and as we know they are controlled by Wall St.
"Interest rates, the price of money, are the most important market. And, perversely, they’re the market that’s most manipulated by the Fed." - Doug Casey
I brought in a line of restaurant quality pepper mills. The buyer was impressed and took a few samples.
Chairman at the time, Joe Antonini walked into the merchandising presentation (as the buyer relayed it) and said that he was looking for a decent mill and grabbed one of the samples.
They never did buy the line.
Which ultimately was a good thing as the company I represented would have most likely suffered a heavy hit.