Retirees of Sears, Roebuck and Co. haven’t had much to cheer about recently in their fight to have life insurance benefits restored. While their lawsuit in Chicago against the Hoffman Estates-based retailer awaits a judge’s ruling on class-action status, several court actions, including one in a landmark case brought by General Motors Corp. retirees, have gone in favor of a corporation’s right to retroactively reduce retiree benefits.
But instead of feeling sorry for themselves, Sears retirees are taking their complaints to cyberspace. A group known as the National Association of Retired Sears Employees has launched a Web site to keep its more than 10,000 members informed and to solicit new supporters.
More Top Picks Compost Bins
The site, which started carrying content July 4, sets an edgy tone with an editorial cartoon that was purchased from Crain’s Chicago Business.
The cartoon by Roger Schillerstrom depicts a Sears wrench as a product with a “lifetime warranty,” a Sears dryer as one with a “limited warranty,” and a company retiree as a Sears item with “no warranty.”
A letter from association Chairman Claude Ireson is no less blunt. It calls on members to play “tit for tat,” by sending Sears CEO Arthur Martinez receipts for Sears-type merchandise purchased at other stores.
Buzz Williams, a California retiree who got the Web site up and running with a lot of help from his brother-in-law, believes the electronic presence will help rally more of Sears 133,000 retirees to the cause.
He is particularly proud that the site already has had six hits from Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates. “I hope they’ll visit it. We want them to know that we do not plan to roll over and play dead.”
That’s a message Sears no doubt has heard loud and clear the old-fashioned way.
Internet humbug: Don’t get bent out of shape about Internet selling. That’s the advice of consultants at McMillan/Doolittle in Chicago to retailers who fear the electronic medium is eating away at their business.
Forty-one million people may be on-line, but few of them are buying anything, the consultants say. And there’s good reason for that. People like to touch, see and try on products before buying them.
On-line shopping for bulky or easily damaged items can be expensive, they add. And surfing the net with a slow computer or modem can be about as much fun as watching paint dry.
We can think of another key drawback: Computer shopping deprives one of the gratifying experience of cutting the tags off and wearing the prized purchase to dinner the same evening.
The consultants aren’t pooh-poohing all E-commerce. They admit some products have broken the on-line barrier, including music, books, tickets, flowers and stocks. But McMillan/Doolittle says those areas pose little risk to successful department stores and specialty chains.
Memo to retail execs: It’s OK to head for the beach without your laptop.
New guy: Bulgari, the super high-end Italian jeweler, has a new manager for its Chicago store. Jacques Bohbot, who joined the company a year ago, will take responsibility for budgeting, managing sales staff and purchasing Bulgari’s opulent collection with an eye for Midwestern tastes.
Here’s a hint: Skip the million-dollar jewel-encrusted jobs. Chicago’s glitterati is still stuck on minimalism.
Clarification: The American Girl Outlet Store opening July 13 in Oshkosh, Wis., will not include a restaurant or theatrical entertainment. Those features will be part of American Girl Place, a full-line retail store for American Girl products that is scheduled to open just off North Michigan Avenue in Chicago in late fall.