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Lampert might have "saved" AutoZone, which AFAICT was the feather in his cap to make him "the next Warren Buffert", but if you asked me I'd be hard-pressed to t
by mikestew 8y ago
Lampert might have "saved" AutoZone, which AFAICT was the feather in his cap to make him "the next Warren Buffert", but if you asked me I'd be hard-pressed to tell you how the shopping experience changed. I speak from ignorance, and the laziness that prevents me from researching deeper, but I assume he did some accounting tricks, sold a few inefficient assets, etc. But as the owner of some old vehicles and a frequent shopper of auto parts stores, I couldn't tell you when Lampert took over AutoZone based on any changes to the shopping experience. So when it comes time for a new WhatsIt for the '81 VW, I'd just as soon go to the local NAPA because they'll probably actually have the damned thing.
This brings me to Sears: did he ever shop at his own stores, or was he busy pouring over the books and figuring out new ways to implement corporate versions of The Hunger Games? Because the shopping experience at Sears was never great, IMO, and it only got more depressing when Lampert took over. Tool quality went to shit, appliance quality went to shit, and the shopping experience sucks. You can juggle books all you want, but that won't get customers in the door. And if I do make it in the door, the lack of service and the dingy store will ensure that I never return.
So in summary, I argue that Lampert either got lucky with AutoZone, or what worked there did most certainly not work for Sears because at the end of the day customers ask themselves, "do I want to shop there?" And Sears in recent years gave customers very little reason to say, "Yes".
As a sidenote, WTH is he willing to throw good money after bad with his $4.4 billion bid? I'm stumped as to what rabbit he thinks he can pull out of that hat.
- rhino369 8y agoRebuilding trust and brand value will take years or decades. Don't undervalue accounting tricks, reorganization, focusing on efficient assets, etc. Getting rid of dead weight is much more important than trying to reinvent the retail experience. You need to stop the bleeding first.
- mikestew 8y agoThat's some good insight, definitely need to bail the water out first. Prime example that comes to mind is Gibson: get rid of money-losing electronics (Teac, et. al.) and go back to making instruments. Even that might not save you, but it's a shot. I could see Lampert doing the first part, stop the bleeding, but once that was done perhaps he was stumped with the "now what?" part. OTOH, AutoZone has been going big guns for a while now, what do I know? :-)
- Skunkleton 8y agoAutozone has a similar feel to visiting a mechanic, so it is probably OK that it is dingy inside. Sears was just depressing.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago>I speak from ignorance, and the laziness that prevents me from researching deeper, More "customer focus", (no more haggling on warranty, less pushy upsells, "sure ma'am, we'll install your wipers for you" ,etc, etc.) and they greatly improved the house brands and logistics. Basically they dumped a bunch of money into their product lines and stores with the idea that people would shop there more if the parts weren't shit and the service didn't suck. They also own Alldata which they probably turned into a massive cash cow around the time Lampert was there (which was when electronic service manuals started becoming a real thing). I personally thing it worked well. They're basically the McDonalds's of auto parts. The customer service experience is pretty much the same in any store and part quality is consistent and you almost never get the really, really terrible stuff that you sometimes get when you buy the cheapest parts online.
- stronglikedan 8y agoAh, good ole' NAPA, where you pay twice as much for half the quality (in their house brand anyway). At least, that's why I avoided them like the plague a quarter century ago when I was building muscle cars. Also, they always seemed to prioritize their garage delivery service over their walk-in customers. Although,that was a long time ago, and perhaps they've gotten better over time.
- dsfyu404ed 8y ago>Ah, good ole' NAPA, where you pay twice as much for half the quality It's all about knowing who makes the part that goes in the branded box. At present their "blue boot" ball joints are the only way to get Spicer ball joints. >Also, they always seemed to prioritize their garage delivery service over their walk-in customers. Varies by location. It's a franchise model after all. Napa uses probably the longest leash of all the chain parts store franchises.
- smileysteve 8y ago> where you pay twice as much for half the quality (in their house brand anyway) Their oil filters are similar if not the same as Wix.