Kmart to buy Sears

[DenverChief]

Color me suprised I thought Kmart was on its way down and out of the retail business

DES MOINES, Iowa - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is widely referred to among its suppliers as the 800-pound gorilla. What the giant retailer wants, it usually gets.

Now, many manufacturers must be wondering whether Kmart Holding Corp.'s pending acquisition of Sears, Roebuck & Co. will create a second behemoth that demands lower prices for their goods or, worse, drops them altogether.

In announcing their marriage intentions Wednesday, the two retailers said they expect to save $300 million a year through "improved merchandising and non-merchandising, purchasing scale as well as improved supply chain, administrative and other operational efficiencies."

For suppliers, the key words are "purchasing scale" and "improved supply chain." Those goals might translate into such buying power that to retain Sears/Kmart's business, manufacturers may be forced to go overseas to make products at a profit.

"When they say they need a $49 price point for an electric drill, people have to come up with ways to do it," said Bill Drumm, president of Establish/Herbert W. Davis, a supply-chain consultant in Fort Lee, N.J. Significant U.S. manufacturing went offshore in order to meet the prices that Wal-Mart dictated, he said.

Moreover, whereas several companies may be making drills for Sears and Kmart now, in the future the combined company may seek a single source.

"Say today Sears has three suppliers of (something) and Kmart has three. Combining them you don't get six," Drumm said. "If I was No. 4 or 5, I would be concerned. If I was one of the top three I'd be thrilled."

Indeed, Sears' biggest supplier of major appliances, Whirlpool Corp., believes the merger "will be a plus for us, absolutely," said spokesman Steve Duthie.

He expects Sears will convert more Kmarts into Sears outlets, which means more locations where customers can buy Kenmore washers, driers and other appliances that Whirlpool makes under Sears' house brand.

Asked whether Whirlpool expects the combined retailer to exact cheaper prices from it, Duthie replied, "We don't foresee that at all." He noted that Whirlpool has announced plans to increase its prices to retailers between 5 percent and 10 percent next year to reflect higher costs of steel and other raw materials.

Sears now buys from more than 10,000 suppliers. The number of Kmart suppliers — and their overlap with Sears — couldn't be determined.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...rs_suppliers_1

[milkman]

Originally Posted by mmaddog

So are we.....and it is irritating what they get away with being as large as they are.

You work in the Credit or Compliance Departments?

mmaddog
*******

I work in the route sales department.
My post regarding the paperwork goes to the detail we, as route salesmen, have to put into it before we can submit it AR.

[Inspector]

Keep fuckin doubting K-sears!!

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by milkman

I work in the route sales department.
My post regarding the paperwork goes to the detail we, as route salesmen, have to put into it before we can submit it AR.

I can tell you that all of the paperwork you are asked to file becomes absolutely necessary to be able to support the A/R Department whenever it has to fight Chargebacks and Deductions that have become the new Revenue Center for companies.

mmaddog
*******

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Inspector

Keep fuckin doubting K-sears!!

Don't you mean SearsMart?

mmaddog
*******

[Mr. Kotter]

Does anyone REALLY give a sh*t?

[KcMizzou]

Originally Posted by SDChiefsfan

Does anyone REALLY give a sh*t?

50 posts would indicate that someone does...

[Mr. Kotter]

Originally Posted by KcMizzou

50 posts would indicate that someone does...

That or DC is just an attention whore....NTTAWWT...

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by SDChiefsfan

Does anyone REALLY give a sh*t?

Actually I do.....

Your problem now is that you have one large company that has no idea what it truly wants to be. And one that will now use it's buying power to force smaller profits margins down to it's suppliers while it tries to figure out what business model it wants to function under.

The people this hurts....Sear's & Kmart's vendor community, which in the end will cost your friend and neighbor's their job.

mmaddog
*******

[KCWolfman]

Originally Posted by mmaddog

Actually I do.....

Your problem now is that you have one large company that has no idea what it truly wants to be. And one that will now use it's buying power to force smaller profits margins down to it's suppliers while it tries to figure out what business model it wants to function under.

The people this hurts....Sear's & Kmart's vendor community, which in the end will cost your friend and neighbor's their job.

mmaddog
*******

Innovative business owners will find new outlets. My wife's boss started in internet sales only 5 years ago to adapt and a company that was going bankrupt only a few years ago is now a thriving business once again.

There is always a market for the small businessman, just not a market that is consistent in one field.

[Mr. Kotter]

Originally Posted by mmaddog

Actually I do.....

Your problem now is that you have one large company that has no idea what it truly wants to be. And one that will now use it's buying power to force smaller profits margins down to it's suppliers while it tries to figure out what business model it wants to function under.

The people this hurts....Sear's & Kmart's vendor community, which in the end will cost your friend and neighbor's their job.

mmaddog
*******

Sorry 'bout that dude; but I still don't give a sh*t.

As long as I pay LESS for products in the end; otherwise, I'll go to Wal-Mart anyway.

Maybe, subconsciously, this is my way of gettin' even for the bastards that say "teachers only work 9 months a year" and they are just "glorified baby sitters."

Maybe, just maybe that's it....

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by SDChiefsfan

Sorry 'bout that dude; but I still don't give a sh*t.

As long as I pay LESS for products in the end; otherwise, I'll go to Wal-Mart anyway.

Maybe, subconsciously, this is my way of gettin' even for the bastards that say "teachers only work 9 months a year" and they are just "glorified baby sitters."

Maybe, just maybe that's it....

Eventually, you'll end up "giving a shit"....but by the time you do, it will be too late for you to do anything about it.

You're paying less, because in many cases it is an inferior product with a limited life...

Plus, i guess it doesn't matter to you that the jobs being lost now aren't manufacturing jobs....they are the service jobs that we all thought would never leave the mainland.

As for those "stable" teaching jobs you are comfortable with....I guess I won't "give a shit" when the school systems lose more teaching jobs becasue of a smaller tax base....or when home schooling becomes even more popular and teaching jobs are lost due to lost funding.

I guess we shouldn't give a shit about anyone then....

mmaddog
********

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

They are both "ghetto" to me. Target is what I like.

They're all the same...

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

really?? wow...All of the ones I have ever been in are nice and clean and they never clog the aisles with pallets of junk. Wal-Mart is notorious for that. I cant stand it.

Not in any Wal-mart in my area. FWIW, they just built a Wal-mart in a mostly affluent town, not far from me. The place is packed everytime I'm there.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Lzen

I like Walmart. They aren't ghetto. They are a pretty clean store. They have pretty much everything I need which means I only have to go to one store. This is a definite plus for someone like myself who hates going shopping.

That right there is my reason for shopping at Wal-mart. One stop. Their prices don't hurt, either...

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by milkman

Insterstate Brands.
We are one of the vendors that have to deal with them.

Ah, your employer makes Ding-Dongs and Suzy-Qs...