Word: brennan
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...laid out the company's woes in a disarmingly direct manner. "We are not a fashion store, we are not a store for the whimsical, nor the affluent," it declared. "Sears is a family store for middleclass, homeowning Americans." To refocus the company, Telling in 1980 promoted Edward Brennan, a third-generation company man, to head the merchandise group-to the astonishment of longtime employees; Brennan was only 46 at the time...
...Brennan stationed market researchers outside Sears stores to poll customers about the company's strengths and weaknesses. Studies showed that Sears' emphasis on big-ticket items like appliances meant that customers went there to buy, not to browse. They were not purchasing high-profit impulse items like clothing. In addition, consumers went shopping at Sears less often because it was not considered...
Nonetheless, Brennan uncovered 1 some Sears strengths. Since the chain's buyers specialize in single ., lines such as shirts or pajamas rather than whole departments, when Sears decided to change its merchandise mix its buyers knew the hot sellers and top values. Sears' geographical spread also allowed it to test different merchandise displays around the country. The experiments demonstrated that imaginative presentation can boost sales of even the most mundane items. A test store in Indianapolis that remodeled its displays, for example, sold 44% more small appliances and 45% more light bulbs...
...electrical department used to include fans, heaters, lighting fixtures and small table appliances. These items have been dispersed around the store. For example, kerosene and electric heaters are now grouped together. Says Brennan: "We're really changing the face of the store, not the soul. We want people to say, 'This is Sears, but it's different...
Even when stores do not plan special holiday items or promotions, they must plan ahead for the increased activity that is unlike any other time of the year. At the WordsWorth bookstore. Night Manager Garvin G. Brennan says the store hires five or six extra people to cope with the increased numbers of customers. Garvin added that although the store doesn't undergo any major reorganization, "we still have to figure out where to put 200 copies of "A Child's Christmas in Wales." Garvin said calendars are "tremendously big sellers," and several lines, such as the National Audubon Society...