Sears, which has been struggling financially due to falling sales, is opening a store that will be dedicated solely to the sale of appliances.
The retailer says that the 10,000 square foot store opening in Ft. Collins, Colorado on May 19th will be its first solely featuring appliances, the product category that has been one of its core businesses. .
“Appliances is one of our best categories,’’ said Leena Munjal. senior vice president, customer experience and integrated retail, for Sears Holdings. “We’re trying to figure out how you take the physical store and complement it with the online capability to make it a really powerful experience for our customers.’’
Sears tested two electronics and appliances stores in November 2001. Additionally, Sears Hometown sold appliances along with garden, lawn and other products in stores that were owned by dealers and largely based in rural areas. Sears Holdings spun off that business in 2012.
The new Ft. Collins store will feature a 122 inch interactive digital display that will help customers see how a new refrigerator, oven or other appliance might look in their kitchen. Shoppers can also look at various kitchen configurations and select different colors with the tap of a tablet.
Sears say it plans to open a few more appliance focused stores, but didn’t have details on when or where they might be.
The retailer has seen sales diminish in recent quarters, leading it to shutter dozens of locations.
Mark Cohen, former CEO of Sears Canada who is now director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, says that the store model being unveiled in Ft. Collins is unlikely to do much for the retailer's bottom line unless it’s rolled out on a large scale.
“Customers only buy major appliances every eight years or so,’’ says Cohen who was dismissed from the company over what he says was a dispute about the direction of the company. “It’s not a frequent purchase, so for this kind of strategy to have any meaning financially, it would require that they open a network of the stores . . . At the end of the day this is inconsequential.’’
