Case Study: The failure of Sears Essentials

Sears Essentials. Almost everybody that has an interest in retail knows what it is, or has at least heard of it. But despite Sears Holdings' attempts to make the new name stick, it never really did. Here's the story of the beginning of the end for Sears Holdings.

To get started, here's a basic history of Sears Essentials.

In 2005, the newly-formed Sears Holdings Corporation must've been under the impression that Kmart was the weaker brand (compared to Sears), so they decided to remodel about 50 Kmart stores into a new format called "Sears Essentials". Unfortunately, Sears Essentials turned out to be a miserable failure for the company and ultimately ended up killing many popular Kmart stores before they actually were in a position that they were unprofitable. Most Sears Essentials stores were gone by 2010, and any locations that made it past that point were converted back to Kmart in 2011 or early 2012.

Kaylin Wilson sets up children's clothes in a Kmart in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 2005. The store was the first Kmart in the country to begin receiving Sears merchandise. (https://cnn.com)

Grand opening ad for the Sears Essentials in Marlton, New Jersey (John on Flickr)

And so, in Spring 2005, they started the remodels. About 50 stores received the new Sears Essentials signage. All of those stores were acquired by Sears from Kmart or walmart in 2004. While the Kmarts weren't converted until 2005, the walmarts were remodeled and reopened in late 2004.

A Sears Essentials in Mobile, Alabama (Gulf Coast Retail on Flickr)

The Mobile store looks decent on the exterior. But what about the 70s Kmarts? How did they look as Sears Essentials?

Well, not as nice. The facades look faded and the buildings look run down (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Photo by Josh on Flickr)

Certain customers would take a peek inside and see what's in the pictures below, but others would just avoid the store altogether. In the Bethlehem store's case, that probably meant going to the walmart across the street.

Interior of the Sears Essentials in Mobile, Alabama (Photo by Holcombe of Hidalgo on Flickr). From this view, it doesn't look too bad, although as you look at other parts of these neglected stores, the opinion changes. 

Another view of the Mobile, Alabama store. More than half the lights in the television section are out. (Photo by Holcombe of Hidalgo on Flickr)

In 2011, Sears Holdings pulled the plug on the concept and closed or converted the around 40 remaining Sears Essentials stores back to Kmart. Luckily, they all received a fresh remodel. But the damage was already done and the last of the conversions closed in 2017.

The Sears Essentials in Parsippany, New Jersey was converted back to a Kmart and closed in 2017. (Photo by styertowne on Flickr)

A Sears Essentials in San Diego, California as it was holding a liquidation sale in early 2012 in order to be converted back to a Kmart. (Photo by dirtyblueshirt on Flickr)

And here's a list of Sears Essentials stores I created. If you notice any incorrect information or any missing stores, please leave a comment below. 

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIST