Who has answers!!

Here are some thoughts...the internship has been highly structured.... the projects are exciting and we all have gr8 visibility within the company...well i guess the situation Sears finds itself in is "change now or go down"... so this means that every process can be optimized and there is no complacency regardin the existing processes.. if i have to point out the negatives... it will be, the organiz'n wants to change but do ppl want it.. i mean changin anythin is more work and some ppl s motto for work is avoid anything which involves anything extra coming to them... :( ever organization has its faults i guess... so what is happenin to Sears?? the retail industry in general is down in the US but Sears is into home appliances which is affected also by the subprime crisis.. so Sears is more hit than Walmart or target...

Having said this, there is more to it.... walmart has an exceptional supply chain which reduces the costs of every product and it has grown soo huge that it get s a lot of economies of scale.. so its tough for any company to take on Walmart on cost.. it is the mighty low cost retailer targetting the massive middle class suburban segment of the society..coming to target, target has grown exceptionally over the last ten years.. they have successfully differentiated themselves from Walmart by providing better stores with brighter lights...better carpets.. more store associates.. they have created a better experience for the customer.. therefore the customer who goes to target is willing to pay that extra dollar compared to walmart...they are targetting a slightly more affluent part of the society...
So two major retailers have a clear strategy but where does tht leave Sears... should it go after walmart s customers... tht s impossible w/o walmarts supply chain effeciency and economies of scale... or should it invest a lot in making the stores better and try replicate the target model... thts more money and if it doesn t attract customers, it leaves the company in a worse situation... so the questions are simple... sears is stuck in the middle it has to get out... but go wer?? which direction?? and how?? the key is how to get the people to come to the stores??
I don t think anyone has the answers unfortunately :(
so currently the company is talking profit and loss view and goin for different initiatives, some tried and tested and some really innovative.. i think everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for tht one success story which will kinda have a ripple effect all over the company... but kudos for the positive attitude of the mgmt and the associates in such difficult times!!!