Sears Declared Bankruptcy. Now What?
Sears has been struggling, closing hundreds of stores in recent years. Now Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced more store closures.
What does this mean for Sears customers? Read on to see how the bankruptcy will affect Shop Your Way Rewards members, gift cards, and warranties.
How Many Sears Stores Are Closing?
With the news of the bankruptcy, Sears has announced an additional 142 stores will be closed by the end of 2018. These locations join the 46 stores Sears had already slated for closure in August. While Toys"R"Us tried to carry on with regular sales after declaring bankruptcy in 2017, Sears says liquidation sales will begin soon.
That might sound like the perfect chance to score a bargain, but items sold at liquidation sales may have inflated prices. Products are also usually sold as-is — which means they could be defective or have cosmetic damage.
Which Sears stores are closing? Check out the complete list to see if yours is among the unlucky ones.
It's Business as Usual... for Now
It's not exactly surprising that the company has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but Sears and Kmart won't disappear overnight. Sears Holdings is reportedly looking for a buyer for many of the remaining retail locations. The goal is to come to a restructuring agreement that will rescue Sears and keep it afloat.
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We've seen this before, though. Remember when Toys"R"US filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a year ago? The toy chain carried on through the 2017 holiday season, but closed all of its stores in early 2018.
What Should Sears and Kmart Shoppers Do?
For now, Sears said shoppers should expect programs like Shop Your Way Rewards to continue. As of this writing, the company says it's still honoring warranties, protection agreements, and guarantees, as well. The key word here is "currently," though.
Last year when Sears closed its Canada stores, it stopped honoring extended warranties. Additionally, protection agreements could be refunded — but only if they'd been purchased within 30 days of the liquidation announcement.
Because the future is uncertain for both Sears and Kmart, you should use any remaining Shop Your Way Rewards credits or store gift cards as soon as possible. The fine print of the SYWR program states it can "change at any time... without notice," so there's no indication of how long the program will remain in place.
Additionally, stores that have filed for bankruptcy technically don't have to honor gift cards, so if you have them it's better to spend them now.
Disclosure: DealNews has decided not to list Sears and Kmart deals for now, as their unclear financial future is leaving many affiliates (including us) in the dark.
What Does the Future Hold?
Even if you don't see your local store on the list of closings, you shouldn't feel too comfortable.
How many Sears stores are left? As of this writing, that number is just over 500, while Kmart has around 360 still open. However, the company has warned that more stores could end up on the chopping block. And if a restructuring agreement can't be reached, any stores that are left will undoubtedly close.
Readers, will you shop the Sears or Kmart liquidation sales? Do you think the chain is finally dead, or will it come back? Let us know in the comments below!
Yikes... thanks for the heads-up. I just emptied my SYWR points this weekend, just in case. Like I said... their website sucks. Wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if some sort of glitch lost your points. Maybe they'll come back randomly too =P
Sears chat can't do anything for me. They recommended I contact the rewards team about this:
The toll free number for our Shop Your
Way Rewards Department is 1-800-991-8708.
Hours of operation : 8:00 AM - 11:00 PM (CST) 7 days a week.
I just lost SYWR points overnight, without any having reached their expiry date.
Yesterday: ~57 ($25 [of these points] will expire on 11/2/18)
Today: $29.74 ($29.74 [of these point] will expire on 12/31/19)
Sears chat: they're asking me which orders should have given me these points. As some of you know, the points populated don't tell you which purchase they came from. All we can do is track the terms and ensure that points populate approximately when they're supposed to; otherwise, you're just going on faith that Sears will, in fact, give you your due points.
Note: I haven't returned anything recently (months), and the last thing I returned I purchased WITH points.
I also haven't used points in the past week.
//
This doesn't bode well.
+1
I've taken advantage of quite a few of their spend $X, get $X back. As you say, even if they go under (or my local Sears closes), I feel like I've done OK. If I can use my points through the rest of the year, I'll feel very good about the gamble I took.
Besides, it's not as if the things I purchased from Sears were substantially more expensive than anywhere else. Case-in-point: I purchased a Craftsman 28" dual-blade mower for just under $700; I earned $400 in points. For my new, larger yard I needed a bigger mower to replace the small, free one we got from family.
Larger mowers are rare. The only other consumer-grade mower has a 30" deck and costs a grand.