When I was growing up, my Dad and I would often spend our Friday nights going shopping. Not grocery shopping or to a mall (they really didn’t have them back then) but to G-E-M, E.J. Korvettes and Sears in St. Louis. The first 2 stores have been gone for many years but no matter what, they stood for well spent time with my Dad.
I liked Sears because they had the best popcorn.
Every time we went to Sears, my Dad and I would buy a large box and walk around with a lot of the kernels hitting my mouth and then found strewn on the floor creating a a path to where I was in the store. My Dad would go to the hardware area and look at the latest Craftsman tools and lawnmowers, and I would go to the sporting goods area and literally drool over the Ted Williams baseball gloves, bats and baseballs. I am not sure many people even remember Ted Williams, but when I was growing up he was big time.
It’s hard for me to imagine the U.S. landscape without Sears, however there has been a lot of press recently that they are standing on their last leg.
I have worked on the Sears advertising business in the past and it was very clear when I went to a store to do an “exploratory” that they were not in good shape. Doesn’t this sound like I was doing something really important? It wasn’t. A team of us all went together to get a feel of what we knew about Sears--- which was pretty much nothing. I stopped going to Sears when they no longer sold popcorn---however Target does!
So back to the “exploratory”--- for those of you with a good memory we went to several stores when Sears launched a campaign known as the “Softer Side of Sears.” It was a fantastic campaign, with a catchy jingle, and because our publishing group had a contract with Sears we were getting a boatload of their business. Probably a good idea to go make a visit and capture a memory.
Unfortunately the experience in the store did not live up to the campaign.
The “Softer Side” was all about bringing Sears into the contemporary world of fashion---all the while reminding consumers that they still sold Kenmore, Craftsman and other Sears brands. (Ted Williams was long gone.) I knew something was amiss when we were going up the escalator and noticed a mannequin wearing one of the featured outfits from one of their advertisements. It really did look good; only problem was her head was not screwed on properly and she had a slit across her neck. I suspect they didn’t sell many of those outfits that day.
The photo above is probably not the future of Sears---but knowing Sears’ roots, you just never know. We were in Galena, IL driving along when I noticed this building; it had a lot of antiques in front of it. (For those of you who are not into antiquing---it is also known as “someone else’s trash.") On the top of the building was a “Sears, Roebuck and CO” sign, but what really caught my attention was the lone cowboy boot on the pole. I had to have this photo!! I have more pictures of this boot than you will ever want to see, but I just needed to make sure it was clear---from the boot to the building and all of “someone else’s trash.” (Oops I mean antiques.) I wonder, if like the mannequin's outfit, the boot is still there?
I do miss going to Sears with my Dad. We now go to Dillard’s and Macy’s when I am in town----however, neither sells popcorn. Darn.
Just a quick note to Eddie Lampert, the CEO of Sears. Would you please sell popcorn again? I promise to come back and buy some and maybe a Ted Williams baseball glove if you have any in the storeroom.
I am going to have some popcorn today. Thanks for stopping by.
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