According to industry insider Twice Magazine, Sears stores are going to be stocking consumer electronics again. The retailer is reputedly re-embracing consumer products after it posted low margins, and its pursuit of smart home tech led to CE abandonment more than three years ago. At that time, the chain began shifting its traditional TV-centric assortment into a more holistic, connected-solutions approach under then category president Ryan Ciovacco.
Even though Sears remains committed to smart home (and Ciovacco now heads the company’s Wally Labs sensors and services subsidiary), Dean Schwartz, president of hardlines for Sears Holdings, thinks it’s time to re-enter mainstream tech, although this time more profitably.
Following what he described as “a substantial pullback” in CE that led to steep same-store sales declines, Schwartz began rebuilding Sears’ electronics assortment last fall by leveraging two-step distribution and third-party sellers. (Kmart, he said, never really exited the category.) “We’re definitely getting back into the CE business, just in a different, more profitable way,” he told TWICE.
To date, 175 of Sears’ 570 stores now feature what Schwartz described as “a relatively wide selection” of TVs, headphones and accessories, and another 45 locations are expected to join the tech brigade by early May. “It’s a smaller assortment than Best Buy’s,” he said, “but it’s larger than it was five months ago and is considerably expanded online, where there’s a much broader range.”
Sears has reentered the gaming business with console, headphone and accessories bundles online, and is matching up Apple iMacs, MacBooks and Mac Minis with cases, headphones, cords and other accessories to create computer packages that sell for upwards of $3,600. Both categories are provided by distributors.“We saw an opportunity,” said Schwartz, who is considering additional Sears stores for CE conversion.
Still, it’s a long way from Sears’ “Brand Central” days, when the chain went toe-to-toe with past CE leaders like Circuit City and Montgomery Ward, based on its wide assortment of tier-one tech.
What are your experiences of tech purchases at Sears? Will you go back to buying at Sears, or are there other bricks-and-mortar outlets you prefer? Let us know in the comments. below.
Martin, a seasoned journalist and AV expert, has written for several notable print magazines. He’s served in key roles at Lucasfilm’s THX Division, NEC’s digital cinema division, and has even consulted for DreamWorks. Despite his illustrious career, Martin remains rooted in his passion for cinema and acting, with notable appearances in several Spielberg films, Doctor Who, and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. He currently resides in San Francisco.
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