Happy Holidays!

What a great way to celebrate the holidays -- The Outlet team surprised the President of Sears Outlet by getting a bobblehead of himself! Here are some clips from today's holiday celebration. Happy Holidays everyone!

Senator Harry Reid + Sears Outlet - Our new store in Henderson, Nevada

What a glorious grand opening in Henderson, NV. The Sears Outlet team had a wonderful time as Senator Reid sent an aide and a commendation for the store opening. We welcome our 93rd store into the Sears Outlet family, with many more to come!

Treadmills 101

Interested in buying a treadmill? Our team in Philadelphia gives you information about what to look for when buying one. Check it out!

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Retailers struggled last year with Black Friday sales amidst a struggling economy. This year, indications are leading me to believe that shoppers are still wary, but online sales have jumped. All the big box retailers have ramped up their online sales capabilities, aiming to take a piece of market share away from Amazon.com.

Sears Outlet's push into the e-commerce sphere took a big jump this Friday since this was the first year we took web orders on our site. What does this mean? It means you can go to our Sears Outlet website, add a product to your cart and check out. Several of the Black Friday promotions, as well as many of the crazy holiday deals will continue into Cyber Monday so check us out if you haven't gotten a chance!

New YouTube Videos!

Sears Outlet recently created a YouTube channel and we're working to add more content to the channel everyday. Vote for the best video and put in some comments!

Check out Sears Outlet on YouTube!

Halloween

What a festive way to celebrate Halloween by dressing up. Sears Outlet celebrated in style with associates in each one of our stores putting on some ghoulish gear. Check out the slide show and send us your comments!

Sears Outlet Halloween 2009

Check out our new Greenville, SC commercial! It's wonderful that we're moving forward on the social media front. We have commercials, videos, reviews, blogs and many other media outlets that are helping us gain traction with new customers. Our exclusive Facebook discounts and twitter presence allow us to connect with customers on a real-time basis. Let us know what you think!

The Big Warm-up

Today, Lands' End announced that it was teaming up with the National Coalition for the Homeless to collect coats for those in need across the country starting October 29 through November 30. It's a wonderful campaign that you can learn more about at www.bigwarmup.com

Lands' End selected Bolyston Plaza in Boston to develop an installation showing 768 stick figures. Each figure represents ten people (equating to 7681 homeless people in Boston). The goal of the campaign is to collect gently used coats to give to homeless people this winter. Check out the video. It's pretty cool!

Sears opens outlet inside Kmart - The Oakland Press Business: The best place for news in and around Oakland County

Sears opens outlet inside Kmart - The Oakland Press Business: The best place for news in and around Oakland County

What does it take to open a new store? Take a look at the before shots:

Work still in progress...

Now, the after shots

Grand opening is Saturday, 10/24/09...

Sears Outlet Rocks!!!!! Hope to see you on Saturday...

Sears Outlet's Home Office - An Insider's View

Yesterday, we celebrated the opening of our 87th store in Cincinatti. You probably would've guessed it, but we're really proud of our new stores, especially amidst the sluggish economy.

Each time a new store opens, the home office celebrates with a small ritual that goes something like this: 15 minutes before our weekly meeting, the team heads to a wall board showing our new store progress. The Cincinatti store was the 5th new store opening in 2009. Chad Ware (our National Manager for New Store Development) announced the news and then members of the home office proceeded to post some information about the store onto the board. I took part in the Arlington, TX home office celebration a few months ago and it was pretty fun to feel the excitement. Here are some pics from the day:


Caption: Grand Opening in Cincinatti



Caption: Chad Ware introducing our newest store to the Outlet Home Office.



Caption: Store number 87. We're in it to win it!

Caption: Our Business Analyst Jen adds information to our New Store Growth Wall Board.

Sears Outlet Announces New Store Opening in Cincinnati, OH!!

What a great feeling to have a new Sears Outlet opening! Below is the press release for the big news. We're almost to 100 stores! Let's keep it rollling!

Oct 8, 2009

Sears Outlet Announces New Store Opening in Cincinnati, OH

Hoffman Estates, IL, Oct 8, 2009 - Sears announces the Grand Opening of a new Sears Outlet location at 10200 Colerain Ave in Cincinnati, OH this Saturday, October 10, 2009.

The outlet will feature some of the best names in appliances, tools, fitness equipment, TV’s, mattresses sets, lawn & garden and more at 20-60% the retail price. Plus 60-80% off Lands’ End clearance apparel.

“Sears is the leading retailer for washers, dryers and refrigerators in the country,” said Jaime Brooks, vice president and president, Sears Outlet. “Sears Outlets provide a great format for shoppers to buy nationally recognized brands that are important to home and family life at significantly reduced prices while still receiving the customer service, access to the same warranties and credit solutions offered at Sears’ full-line stores.”

The Cincinnati outlet features brand names that include: Kenmore, Whirlpool, LG, and GE appliances, along with Craftsman, NordicTrack, Sony, Sealy and Land’s End. The merchandise is new, one-of-a-kind, out of carton, discontinued, used, reconditioned, or scratch and dented. Irregularities prevent many items from being sold as new, which means they’re available at a great value for our customers. Sears Outlets stores also carry name brands from other retailers and are the exclusive liquidator for Fisher & Paykel appliances which can be found in homes throughout Europe, New Zealand and Australia.

The Cincinnati outlet receives new shipments of merchandise throughout the week and prices are continually marked down so shoppers are encouraged to check back often. Customers can take the items home that day or have their merchandise delivered to their home.

Sears Outlets currently has over 80 locations throughout the United States.

The New Chic: Searching For A Bargain At An Outlet

The Bargain Hunter is always on the lookout for deals. So I asked myself: How many discount outlet stores can you think of that will sell refrigerators, washers and dryers and other home appliances alongside CLOTHING? I couldn't think of many except for Sears Outlet. In responding to customer needs, they've added new apparel-only and hybrid (apparel + appliance) stores across the country (most recently in Hendersonville, TN). Check out a picture of one of their stores in Marietta, Georgia:



In today's world, there are so many discount apparel options. There's burlington coat factory, JC Penney outlet, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, etc. But I've found that Sears Outlet is a little different from those guys and here's why:

Prices: Once you come visit, you'll see what I mean. I've seen Lands End shirts for as low as $3, and many of the clothes are up to 80% off everyday prices.

Assortment: They don't carry everything that the other discounters do. Sears Outlets have their own styles, brands and products.

Bargain Hunter's Shopping Experience: You can find really good stuff at these stores. The treasure hunt is part of the excitement when I go to an outlet. New merchandise comes in on a regular basis.

Home Appliances: You have the option to look for clothes, but you can also browse the selection of large and small home appliances in hybrid stores. It's a really convenient feature of these stores.

So if you're close by to one of the new hybrid or apparel-only stores, I recommend that you check it out. Let us know what you think. Happy bargain hunting!

If There's a Recession, It's Not Apparent In The Discounter's World

Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve board, said yesterday that the nation’s unemployment rate of 9.8 percent was “pretty awful” and expected the figure to climb even higher. He also suggested that a value-added tax (VAT), or national sales tax, might be necessary to raise revenue for the U.S...Does that mean that we're all doomed?

The economy is highly correlated to the revenues of big-box retailers and luxury boutiques, so most have had to adapt. Luxury brands have been hit the hardest, but the strongest, most innovative companies are surviving - what are they doing to withstand the downturn and what can we learn from this? A lot of companies have been migrating their brand, customer service and deals to outlets. Some retailers would think that this is a ludicrous idea. Why dilute your brand by placing merchandise into a bare-bones box built in a barren location? The evidence points us to a different conclusion: customers have migrated their shopping habits towards the best deal out there. Add to that some customer service and some good branding, and Voila! -- you have a new channel for making revenue in this economy. In some cases, it's become the MAIN channel for revenue generation.

Originally set up as a way to clear out excess inventory from a parent company, outlet stores are today's discount retailers. Not only do outlets sell discontinued, overstock and refurbished products, many outlets developed exclusive contracts with third party vendors to produce new in-box items that are exclusive to that outlet. Brooks Brothers has the "346" brand, while Sears Outlet has a Fisher & Paykel washer and dryer brand called "Elba". Many of these outlet-specific products can be manufactured at lower costs because they don't include the frills that full-price store products include. Lower costs generally lead to lower prices and more customer traffic. Though there is a hit on margins, analysts have seen healthy sales numbers for outlets. This strategy is a winning formula for many retailers today.

Growth Amidst an Economic Downturn

Doesn't it feel good to be part of something successful? In fact, if your team wins, you feel like you've contributed, and that counts a lot for your psyche. The Minnesota Vikings won last week on the last second heroics of Brett Farve. I'm sure every Viking fan feels great that their team is 3-0 on the season.

I have the same feeling at Sears Outlet. Our team is on a roll this year. We're opening new stores, growing, and feeling like the hard work is paying off. We're getting close to the magical 100 store mark, and we'll hit that in the next year hopefully! Don't get me wrong -- we still feel the economic crunch, but we're adapting to the realities of the downturn. We're providing customers a channel for cheaper merchandise, and placing our organization on a different cost curve from other retailers. Who else sells refrigerators, washers, dryers and fitness equipment at 20-60% off everyday? Not many. Nordstrom did something wise last year by shifting its resources towards opening more Rack outlets than full-line stores. Sears did too. When the economy does come back though, Sears Outlet is planning to adapt again. We're in it to win it.

Shopping at Outlet Stores: Is it right for me?

Don't you love getting a deal? There was a Consumer Reports study done a few years ago that concluded that outlets generally provide good deals. Outlets can be great places to shop because you can save money on quality items. If you don't care too much about in-season merchandise, these stores can be treasure-hunting playgrounds. I find that the best experiences come when I have something specific that I am searching for. Finding a major discount on a product that I wanted would make any shopper ecstatic. Recently, I went to an apparel outlet and found a pair of shoes that was $40 (originally priced at $150). I couldn't believe I found such a great deal and it brought me back to shopping at this outlet again.

While finding a great deal at an outlet makes many shoppers happy, the economy's health has forced some people to rely on outlets more and more. Outlets and discounters like Walmart and Dollar General are doing quite well nowadays. Are they crowding out the original players in the Outlet space?

NPR has a pretty good audio clip on outlets and how they came to be. Some outlets sell clothes that are of lower standard, while others are channels for selling overstock or refurbished inventory. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97750547

If you haven't been to one lately, I suggest that you check out an outlet and see what you think. Let me know your thoughts.

Bloomfield Hills, MI is next!!!

Construction underway in Bloomfield Hills, MI - Here you go, Detroit!!!



Looking good - Product on the way! Who wants to save 20-60%, EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!



Watch for updates...

More Pictures From Greensboro, NC

Here’s a picture of the facade of our new building in Greensboro, NC. ust to let everyone know, the Outlet we’re building is in the same building as a KMart. You can barely see it on the right of the picture, but there’s a KMart sign on the facade.

Sears Outlet in Greensboro, NC

Here's some pictures of the construction activities in Greensboro, NC! As you can see, our team has been doing a lot of work to get this store ready. We’re opening several stores this year, and many in 2010. It’s such an exciting feeling to see new stores being built!

Sears Outlet: Who are we?

Are you looking for a deal? Sears Outlet has an amazing assortment of home appliances and apparel at 20-60% everyday prices. We have 87 locations nationwide so if you are on a budget, like bargain hunting, or want to check out a new Sears store format, come visit us. We don’t have the frills that many of our competitors have, but we like to be no-frills so we can provide you the best possible prices on the products that you want. In the next few weeks, we’ll be posting deals, pictures, and excerpts about some of the things we’re doing. We hope you come visit us soon.