Gyroscopic Investing

What kinds of opportunities does this create?

Specifically, if someone had the means to buy a modest retail location and repurpose it for something other than retail?

Or any other opportunities?

Simonjester wrote: another domino falls.. sears has filed for bankruptcy, has plans to shut 142 locations, is $5.6 billion in debt, they have had to sell off major brands.. and the ceo has just stepped down.

It’s depressing. I grew up with Sears, and so did a bunch of you, I’m sure. Some articles say it could have been Amazon. Eddie Lampert never really executed a clear plan.

MangoMan wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 9:36 am

dualstow wrote: ↑Tue Oct 16, 2018 8:19 am

Simonjester wrote: another domino falls.. sears has filed for bankruptcy, has plans to shut 142 locations, is $5.6 billion in debt, they have had to sell off major brands.. and the ceo has just stepped down.

It’s depressing. I grew up with Sears, and so did a bunch of you, I’m sure. Some articles say it could have been Amazon. Eddie Lampert never really executed a clear plan.

Not really that sad. They were once a powerhouse in retail, but I watched them go from a decent place to shop in the 60s to a store that sold Walmart quality merchandise at almost Macy's pricing by the late 90s. It was a recipe for the disaster that resulted. The only thing worth buying there was Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances.

Both of those went downhill a while back. They killed the famous Craftsman warranty a long time ago, and then sold the brand to somebody else. Kenmores were all manufactured by other companies and then rebadged.

Fair enough. Maybe it's misplaced nostalgia on my part.
I haven't shopped there in a while because I haven't had a car for many decades now.

Also, ten years ago I tried to have a Sears dishwasher delivered and installed. The cranky third party installer wanted me to reserve a parking space in the city, which I managed. Called Sears the night before to make sure the unit was ready and some kid offhandedly said "yeah", but it sounded like a big party in the background. Next morning, cranky contractor informed me they went to pick it up, and it was not ready.
Sears tried to give me a discount and I said, "I don't want you to have my business." I'm just remembering now that it was Sears.

Yeah, it's a piece of iconic America gone for sure. I think/agree, Sears has been on the slide for a long time but the Hedge Fund dudes clearly mismanaged it and were more interested in sucking it dry using financial wizardry than to turn the business around.

But lots of business icons have been destroyed and more will be in the future for sure. The irony of Sears is they literally were the Amazon of their day and with decent foresight who knows there may not have been an Amazon. However, I think everyone is captured by their past and experience and by the time Amazon came around Sears was clearly a big box mall retail outfit.

Jim Cramer just referred to (maybe quoted an article as referring to) Eddie Lampert as Capt Ahab. Perfect.

For the past 20 years, Sears has been a place we parked, at the mall, and walked through to get to other stores, because there were the least amount of cars parked in front of Sears.

I last bought a bandsaw there 2 years ago, washer/dryer 21 years ago (still working...) and 2 vacuums.

Haven't bought clothes there since my mother used to when I was a kid. I recall the sizing was called "husky"

Cortopassi wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 8:35 am Haven't bought clothes there since my mother used to when I was a kid. I recall the sizing was called "husky"

I had forgotten about that! Or was that their brand of jeans? Nope it's the fit. Just looked it up.

I was a husky kid. Fat is more like it. My grandparents lived with us, my grandma cooked all the time... I ate all the time. Italian, if you couldn't tell by my name.

"Peak" Huskiness, 6th grade. Peak hair too. The shirt, seriously, was probably from Sears.

Cortopassi wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 3:41 pm I was a husky kid. Fat is more like it. My grandparents lived with us, my grandma cooked all the time... I ate all the time. Italian, if you couldn't tell by my name.

Mmm, jealous. My mom's a good cook, but I would have loved an Italian grandmother's cooking.
Ha. Nice pic!

I love Italian food ... and hair. I eat a lot of the former and have very, very little of the latter.

Mountaineer wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:57 pm I love Italian food ... and hair. I eat a lot of the former and have very, very little of the latter.

Story of my life.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1481 ... 60384.html

While I guess piracy could affect brick-n-mortar stores resupply as well, it doesn't directly affect the consumer. Another con for online shopping.

Unrelated, but kind of related: FedEx wants to install anti-missile lasers in its cargo jets.

Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Sat Jan 15, 2022 10:03 am https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1481 ... 60384.html

While I guess piracy could affect brick-n-mortar stores resupply as well, it doesn't directly affect the consumer. Another con for online shopping.

More.

Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Sat Jan 15, 2022 1:18 pm Unrelated, but kind of related: FedEx wants to install anti-missile lasers in its cargo jets.

Somebody has to say it: first, get your employees to actually knock on my door before you drop the package and run.

dualstow wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:22 pm

Kriegsspiel wrote: ↑Sat Jan 15, 2022 1:18 pm Unrelated, but kind of related: FedEx wants to install anti-missile lasers in its cargo jets.

Somebody has to say it: first, get your employees to actually knock on my door before you drop the package and run.

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I can SO relate to this ^

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Speaking of books, those stories made me think of Snow Crash.