SHLDQ - Sears Holdings Corp

[Mephistopheles]

Recent KMart Data Breach

 

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1310067/000119312514369356/d803829d8k.htm

 

I don't think this is a big deal as there likely were very few credit card accounts that were breached.

 

:)

[Picasso]

Recent KMart Data Breach

 

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1310067/000119312514369356/d803829d8k.htm

 

I don't think this is a big deal as there likely were very few credit card accounts that were breached.

 

:)

 

Who knew this would actually be a good problem to have.

[alertmeipp]

so i got some calls @ 40+Jan that I bought way higher. I expected those to expire worthless, but last couple weeks, there are pretty strong bid on those.. it actually went up 2 times at least while the stock market is tanking.

 

 

[Luke 532]

The Rise of Brick and Mortar Commerce

http://joshmaher.net/2014/10/11/the-rise-of-the-bricks-and-mortar-commerce/

 

 

[fareastwarriors]

Kmart Hacked

 

 

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/10/kmart-hacked/

[Luke 532]

Kmart Hacked

 

http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/10/kmart-hacked/

 

Scroll up a few posts.

[Kraven]

Well, in addition to fake mustaches apparently Sears also sells rings with swastikas on them (yes, it was a third party seller not something handpicked for SYW).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sears-under-fire-swastika-ring-135112699.html

[Mephistopheles]

Well, in addition to fake mustaches apparently Sears also sells rings with swastikas on them (yes, it was a third party seller not something handpicked for SYW).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sears-under-fire-swastika-ring-135112699.html

 

I know the perfect stache to go with that: http://blogs.southflorida.com/citylink_dansweeney/moustache_hitler_tn.jpg.

 

Think about the synergies. I guess Eddie was right after all.

[oddballstocks]

Well, in addition to fake mustaches apparently Sears also sells rings with swastikas on them (yes, it was a third party seller not something handpicked for SYW).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sears-under-fire-swastika-ring-135112699.html

 

I know the perfect stache to go with that: http://blogs.southflorida.com/citylink_dansweeney/moustache_hitler_tn.jpg.

 

Think about the synergies. I guess Eddie was right after all.

 

"Dozens of customers said they won't shop at Sears anymore as a result of the incident."

 

Wow..sounds like they're losing almost all of their online customers from this..

[rukawa]

To me that is a weird sort of entertainment but that is all it is to those individuals as they have no other interest in this position.

 

I think its more than that.

 

Its the expression of an ideology. Its pretty obvious though its one of the unspoken things on this board that there are certain factions (I am not criticizing this...just pointing out a fact). Kraven and Nate tend to pile on whenever the stocks are ones that are loved by members of this board because they are the picks of gurus like Prem Watsa, Warren Buffet or in this case Eddie Lampert.

 

Brings to mind this:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=NCB3ULgTzhkC&pg=PT154&lpg=PT154&dq=warren+buffett+geico+strike+one&source=bl&ots=WndHCERPw0&sig=GDRv8EVAi_wDEqJmPgxAdWFYnPY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fzg9VMKKKtWkyATcqoCYBQ&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=warren%20buffett%20geico%20strike%20one&f=false

[oddballstocks]

To me that is a weird sort of entertainment but that is all it is to those individuals as they have no other interest in this position.

 

I think its more than that.

 

Its the expression of an ideology. Its pretty obvious though its one of the unspoken things on this board that there are certain factions (I am not criticizing this...just pointing out a fact). Kraven and Nate tend to pile on whenever the stocks are ones that are loved by members of this board because they are the picks of gurus like Prem Watsa, Warren Buffet or in this case Eddie Lampert.

 

Brings to mind this:

http://books.google.ca/books?id=NCB3ULgTzhkC&pg=PT154&lpg=PT154&dq=warren+buffett+geico+strike+one&source=bl&ots=WndHCERPw0&sig=GDRv8EVAi_wDEqJmPgxAdWFYnPY&hl=en&sa=X&ei=fzg9VMKKKtWkyATcqoCYBQ&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=warren%20buffett%20geico%20strike%20one&f=false

 

Not sure I get that quote.  I think you're reading too much into this.  I like humor, humor is enjoyable and entertaining.

 

I have no problem with people following others into stocks, I think it's fine.  Unfortunately I can't do that, I came out of my mother's womb marching to my own drumbeat.  Maybe it's a gift, maybe it's a curse, but I tend to pave my own path.

 

One idea I did follow someone into was the Japanese net-nets, Pabrai talked about this.  I listened to his talk and was so taken by the idea I started to research the things myself.  I've done very well with it over the years, I'm glad I cloned him. Most stocks the gurus talk about are too big for my taste.  Like I said, I march to my own drum.

 

There is no grand conspiracy, no overarching ideology.  I hold no opinion on ESL, he's done well with past investments, and I'm sure his investors (potentially not shareholders) will do well with SHLD as well.  His duty appears to his investors first, and he hasn't forgotten that.

[adesigar]

Well, in addition to fake mustaches apparently Sears also sells rings with swastikas on them (yes, it was a third party seller not something handpicked for SYW).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sears-under-fire-swastika-ring-135112699.html

 

I know the perfect stache to go with that: http://blogs.southflorida.com/citylink_dansweeney/moustache_hitler_tn.jpg.

 

Think about the synergies. I guess Eddie was right after all.

 

"Dozens of customers said they won't shop at Sears anymore as a result of the incident."

 

Wow..sounds like they're losing almost all of their online customers from this..

 

Im Indian. I have swastika symbols in my home. Its part of my religion. Learn what it means and stop making a media circus out of it everytime the symbol pops up.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

[oddballstocks]

Well, in addition to fake mustaches apparently Sears also sells rings with swastikas on them (yes, it was a third party seller not something handpicked for SYW).

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sears-under-fire-swastika-ring-135112699.html

 

I know the perfect stache to go with that: http://blogs.southflorida.com/citylink_dansweeney/moustache_hitler_tn.jpg.

 

Think about the synergies. I guess Eddie was right after all.

 

"Dozens of customers said they won't shop at Sears anymore as a result of the incident."

 

Wow..sounds like they're losing almost all of their online customers from this..

 

Im Indian. I have swastika symbols in my home. Its part of my religion. Learn what it means and stop making a media circus out of it everytime the symbol pops up.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swastika

 

I realize it's a cultural thing, but in the west: "Hence in many Western countries the swastika is stigmatized as being associated with Nazism and related concepts like antisemitism, hatred, violence, death, and murder.[8] Notably, the swastika has been outlawed in Germany and other countries if used as a symbol of Nazism in certain instances. Many modern white nationalist and Neo-Nazi groups such as the Russian National Unity use stylized swastikas or similar symbols." (from the linked Wikipedia)

 

If this were an Indian company selling these things it might be fine.  But it's an American company, a country that's full of German immigrants, Jews, and people who fought against Germany in WWII.  Oddly enough images or things associated with the devil or evil wouldn't garner any attention, but the symbol of our country's enemy from 70 years ago is problematic.

[Luke 532]

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Reichdienstflagge-1935-1945-Swastika-military-Germany/dp/B00B3MTWAS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1413301464&sr=8-3&keywords=swastika

 

EBay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xswastika&_nkw=swastika&_sacat=0

 

Sears Blog Post:

http://blog.searsholdings.com/shc-updates/sears-apologizes-for-items-listed-on-sears-marketplace/

A representative from the ADL applauded Sears for taking swift action, telling media outlets: “They took the situation very seriously. They took immediate steps to remove the items from their website,” Joshua Cohen said. “ADL feels that Sears did the right thing,” he said. “Such is the nature of the Internet that anything goes. We’re glad that Sears took this situation seriously and took immediate steps to remove these items from their site.”

[Kraven]

Now that that's all settled, I'm thinking maybe next time in Toronto for the annual Fairfax meeting part of the bus tour should be to visit a Sears or two.  You know, check out the goods, see what they have, etc.  Afterwards everyone can gather in the mall and eat in the food court (I'm assuming the Sears is part of a mall).  Do they have Panda Express in Toronto?  That would be super fun. 

[heth247]

 

"Dozens of customers said they won't shop at Sears anymore as a result of the incident."

 

Wow..sounds like they're losing almost all of their online customers from this..

 

Come on, Nate, seriously you don't think their online customer population is of that size, do you? This joke is too cheap, you can do better.  ;)

 

One thing that has always puzzled me is that, every time I read online, its like nobody shops at Sears... the store is empty and dying... But, who are those people that still shop at Sears/Kmart? I mean, $30b is still more than Macy and JCP combined.  Who are those people that are still buying from Sears/Kmart?  Are they living in a vacuum where there is no Walmart, Costco, Macys, JCP etc.? Haven't they ever heard of and used Amazon?  That really baffled me.

 

I bought a pair of shoes from Sears several months ago, using the  $10 off $20 groupon. The shopping experience is not bad at all. And now they are offering me $10 just to link with a Visa card with SYW and use it at a partner such as Burger King. That's a obvious $20 cash burn there for the company. But tell you what, I am seriously considering linking my card and using it to get that $10 just in case I will grab a quick bite at Burger King some time. It does sound cool to be able to eat at Burger King (because some people eat there anyway) while earning points that can be used at Sears/Kmart.

[oddballstocks]

 

"Dozens of customers said they won't shop at Sears anymore as a result of the incident."

 

Wow..sounds like they're losing almost all of their online customers from this..

 

Come on, Nate, seriously you don't think their online customer population is of that size, do you? This joke is too cheap, you can do better.  ;)

 

One thing that has always puzzled me is that, every time I read online, its like nobody shops at Sears... the store is empty and dying... But, who are those people that still shop at Sears/Kmart? I mean, $30b is still more than Macy and JCP combined.  Who are those people that are still buying from Sears/Kmart?  Are they living in a vacuum where there is no Walmart, Costco, Macys, JCP etc.? Haven't they ever heard of and used Amazon?  That really baffled me.

 

I bought a pair of shoes from Sears several months ago, using the  $10 off $20 groupon. The shopping experience is not bad at all. And now they are offering me $10 just to link with a Visa card with SYW and use it at a partner such as Burger King. That's a obvious $20 cash burn there for the company. But tell you what, I am seriously considering linking my card and using it to get that $10 just in case I will grab a quick bite at Burger King some time. It does sound cool to be able to eat at Burger King (because some people eat there anyway) while earning points that can be used at Sears/Kmart.

 

This has puzzled me as well.  In our local Sears the place is almost always empty.  There are a few customers lingering, but not many.  Kmart is a ghost town, maybe 20 cars in front most of the time.

 

I've had this same thought about other companies as well.  I remember back in 2003 talking with co-workers about this in reference to Radio Shack.  When Google suggest first came out if you typed "how does Radio Shack" the suggestion was "how does Radio Shack stay in business?"  Radio Shack makes Sears look like Union Station.

 

So much of retail is like this it's really strange.  If you go to the mall on a Tuesday at 2pm the place is dead, yet those companies are all employing people to stand around and surf Facebook behind the register.  Sometimes I look at places and wonder how they make any money, yet they somehow do.  Then consider the math if the items are low priced.  How many ice cream cones do you need to sell an hour to cover the ingredients plus three giggling high school girls?  And not just the hourly cost, the cost for the year because the business is only open a few months.

 

Wal-marts...those places always seem busy.  Even out in the middle of nowhere they are full and busy.  Same with Target, I don't know if I've ever been in an empty Target.

[CorpRaider]

Some people must be sneaking by us.  What were revenues in the last quarter, like $8 billion?

[Luke 532]

Some people must be sneaking by us.  What were revenues in the last quarter, like $8 billion?

 

This is why site visits can oftentimes be a worthless practice in terms of investment analysis.  It's similar to judging a baseball player's entire season on one at-bat.

 

If it's a small company with 10 locations then it makes sense. 

[oddballstocks]

Some people must be sneaking by us.  What were revenues in the last quarter, like $8 billion?

 

This is why site visits can oftentimes be a worthless practice in terms of investment analysis.  It's similar to judging a baseball player's entire season on one at-bat.

 

If it's a small company with 10 locations then it makes sense.

 

You are on top of the store stats, do you know which locations are busy?  I'm guessing Sears makes most of their money from a few places, any idea which ones?

[Luke 532]

Some people must be sneaking by us.  What were revenues in the last quarter, like $8 billion?

 

This is why site visits can oftentimes be a worthless practice in terms of investment analysis.  It's similar to judging a baseball player's entire season on one at-bat.

 

If it's a small company with 10 locations then it makes sense.

 

You are on top of the store stats, do you know which locations are busy?  I'm guessing Sears makes most of their money from a few places, any idea which ones?

 

I'm not on top of the store stats and I don't know which ones do X in sales and which do Y in sales.  Those stores that have been outfitted with new technology and other improvements probably do better than those that Lampert spends minimum cap ex on, obviously.

[Picasso]

In regards to the sales, I think of it like this.  I see lots of cars on the road that are absolutely hideous and wonder to myself who in their rights minds would pick that car when they could just get a nice Toyota or Honda.  But somehow there are $xxx amounts of dollars that flow into the crappy carmakers of the world.

 

There is something like $4.5 trillion of retail sales in the U.S.  Sears has 0.7% of that.

 

I suppose one could say there's a lot of upside for Sears to increase that 0.7%.

[Vish_ram]

Some people must be sneaking by us.  What were revenues in the last quarter, like $8 billion?

 

In a similar vein, I've wondered who clicks on those google sponsored links? I may have accidently clicked 1 or 2 in last decade. Google has a thriving biz around this. I've seen many swear that they've never clicked on those ads.

[BTShine]

Some people must be sneaking by us.  What were revenues in the last quarter, like $8 billion?

 

In a similar vein, I've wondered who clicks on those google sponsored links? I may have accidently clicked 1 or 2 in last decade. Google has a thriving biz around this. I've seen many swear that they've never clicked on those ads.

 

My guess is most people aren't as calculated, or rational, with their thinking and decision making as COBF members are (or strive to be).  I don't use the coupons that show up in my physical mailbox, or the newspaper advertisement inserts,  but I know people that do. 

 

 

[DCG]

In regards to the sales, I think of it like this.  I see lots of cars on the road that are absolutely hideous and wonder to myself who in their rights minds would pick that car when they could just get a nice Toyota or Honda.  But somehow there are $xxx amounts of dollars that flow into the crappy carmakers of the world.

 

There is something like $4.5 trillion of retail sales in the U.S.  Sears has 0.7% of that.

 

I suppose one could say there's a lot of upside for Sears to increase that 0.7%.

 

 

That's not a good way of looking at it. There are tons of companies competing for that 0.7% and doing it better than Sears.