Sunday, January 15, 2017

Sears not closing in Bethesda - and here's one reason why (Photos)

Sears-is-closing lists seem to pop up every six months or so, but our local Sears Roebuck here in Bethesda has eluded the guillotine every time, so far. The store is well run and organized, Kenmore appliances are still in demand, and whoever plans the displays for the holiday shopping season should get a promotion.

Along high-traffic aisles where mall patrons not necessarily shopping at Sears use the venerable department store as an entrance pass, genuinely great gift ideas that appeal to the impulsive (a.k.a. desperately running out of time) shopper are stacked and displayed. I happened to notice some gift baskets on display recently that weren't the same old candy-and-nuts-in-a-plain-basket model.

Iconic retailer Sears called on fellow American icons Budweiser and Coca-Cola for some branding heft, as well as newcomer Chef's Cut for upscale beef jerky. This past Christmas may have sadly been the first in my life that didn't find a Sears Wish Book coming in the mail, but Christmas shopping was alive and well in the bricks-and-mortar Sears here at Westfield Montgomery Mall.




8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do you plan to report your income from this ad on your tax returns?

Anonymous said...

Good morning, @7:41AM
Do you plan to report your income from YOUR comment on YOUR tax returns?

Kinda crazy to think that one has to be paid to say anything nice. Maybe that's how you run your life, but it's not necessarily the same for others.

Robert Dyer said...

7:41: You must be thinking of the glossy magazine. #EditorsChoiceAward

Anonymous said...

Sears?

That's really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-that-show-why-sears-is-vanishing-2013-10

Anonymous said...

6:44 PM The Sears at Westfield Montgomery is actually clean, organized and well managed.
Those Business Insider photos are tragic, but don't reflect the Bethesda Sears.

In contrast, the Macy's at the same mall is a mess. I can confirm that all of the men's dressing rooms at Macy's are a disaster: dirty, with plenty of used chewing gum stuck in most of the stalls. Hardly a place you'd want to try on clothing, so you may as well order from a competitor online.

The Macy's at Wheaton Plaza in much cleaner.

Obviously department stores are in decline, but some locations are run better than others.

Robert Dyer said...

10:50: Yeah, I'd like to see an episode of Undercover Boss at the Montgomery Mall Macy's store. "SHUT IT DOWN!!!"

6:44: I leave scraping the bottom of the barrel to the County Council at all times.

Anonymous said...

"the Montgomery Mall Macy's store. "SHUT IT DOWN!!!"

#TheDarkSideOfMontgomeryMall

Anonymous said...

Actually the only reason is they do not pay rent there, Sear's owns that building not the mall.