Sears Kmart Merger

Due to slow sales and less traffic at both Sears and Kmart, the two have decided to merge creating one entity named Sears Holdings. Kmart has agreed to buy Sears for $11 Billion. This puts Sears Holdings at the third largest retailer behind Wal-Mart and Home Depot. Although Wal-Mart is a direct competitor with Kmart, Sears Holdings goal is not to compete with Wal-Mart directly, but find areas that have been overlooked by other retailers, and take advantage of the expanded line of products the new company has to offer. Sears has had higher sales than Kmart, so hundreds of Kmart’s will be transformed into Sears stores. As of now, most of Sears 870 stores are only found in malls. The new strategy would be to open Sears stores in current Kmart locations, to offer consumers with a different variety of products than what’s currently available from large retailers like Kmart and Wal-Mart. Sears is known for selling items such as their exclusive line of craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances. In the future these Sears exclusives will be found in Kmart stores, and Kmart exclusives such as Martha Stewarts line of housewares will be found in Sears.

This merger will bring a wide array of products to a larger group of consumers. Currently consumers looking to buy home appliances like stoves or refrigerators have to go to a mall with a Sears store or a specialty store like Best Buy or Circuit City. Not all consumers live near a mall, so buying from Sears may not be an option. Although bot...