Summary
While this article chronicled the positive and negative reactions by consumers to the July "launch" of the Christmas selling season by many retailers, buried within it were a few sentences that would make one believe that Sears still has a long way to go. Whether it is budget constraints or simply impatience, Sears appears to be in a chronic test mode where ideas, good or bad, are trotted out into a handful of stores or on line and then left to twist in the wind.
Analysis
When Sears Holdings announced its Christmas Lane promotion earlier in July, it specified that in addition to the online presence there would be Christmas Lane shops in about a third of its stores focused on holiday decor. As this article points out, the execution appears to have been rather uneven. It would seem that some stores implemented this temporary department more fully than other stores. Having a Sears store with a Christmas in July section "limited to just a single table and several shelves of the items tucked away on the second floor" might suggest that the program was not fully embraced. For a retail chain that has gained a reputation for iron fisted upper management control, this latitude given to the store level comes as a surprise.
The online offering also appears lackluster. The items offered at the Christmas Lane portion of the Sears website are an interesting mix. A recent visit to the site revealed:
- 80 trees and wreaths were offered. This is something one would expect in a Christmas shop.
- Of the 105 Collectables offered, 90 were from the Lemax Village collection.
- There was a Toys section which nicely coincides with the announcement of Sears' return to the toy business. But of the 72 items for sale, over 60 were Thomas The Tank Engine toys leaving little in the way of gifts for the child not into Thomas.
- There were ornaments, over 70 of them in fact, but all single items except for a few boxed sets. Most were cast pieces.
- Holiday light sets were on the site but nearly all were pre-order items unavailable until early October.
- Interestingly there as a "getting ready for winter" section featuring snow throwers and DieHard batteries and chargers.
- Absent was any mention of the layaway plan. In light of the press given to the last year's Kmart program and announcement of a Sears program (granted with some interesting restrictions and rules) this is surprising.
This entire promotion may have been rushed to market and very modestly funded. It almost seems as though management asked, "What can we get together quickly for a Christmas in July program?" It will be interesting to see how this promotion and its results are treated in future earnings reports. Sears may find that their Christmas In July present is a lump of coal in the stocking. It is a symptom of retailers under pressure when programs are planned more quickly than thoroughly. Such may be the case here.
This author consults with leading institutions through GLG
Analyses are solely the work of the authors and have not been edited or endorsed by GLG.
