View attached explanation and answer. Let me know if you have any questions.

Running head: MARKETING STRATEGY

Sears Holdings Corporation's Marketing Strategy
Adam Ghalem
Lynn University

1

MARKETING STRATEGY

2
Executive Summary

Sears Holdings Corporation is a company that was dissolved in 2019 following its filing
for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015. The firm held controlling shares of Sears and Kmart, two
retail chain store companies operating in the U.S. The two firms are still in operation despite
their parent company’s collapse. Factors that led to Sears Holdings’ collapse include extreme
inventory diversification, mismanagement, lack of continual and sustained investment, and stiff
competition. With the right strategies, the firm can be revived and returned to a global retailer.
The successful revival of Sears Holdings will require intensive marketing to win back
consumers and turn the firm into a global retailer. Proposed marketing objectives of the revived
firm are to raise brand awareness to 50 million consumers in the U.S. and globally in the first
year of operation, to attract 0.5% of the U.S. retail market in the first two years of operation, to
gain 50 million visitors to the company’s e-tailing website in the first two years of operation, and
to sell to two million online customers in the first two years of operation. The firm’s market will
be segmented into the U.S. market and global markets. The firm will target the U.S. market using
a large chain of retail stores and the global market using e-tailing.
The firm will adopt penetration pricing to attract customers from competing firms. The
promotional strategies that the firm will use to promote its brand and product are advertising and
internet marketing. Advertising means will include television, radio, newspaper and magazine,
and billboard. Internet marketing means will include website, email, social media, and search
engines. The firm will use physical stores to distribute products to most U.S. customers and
third-party delivery firms to deliver purchases to U.S. customers who are not close to its stores
and global customers. The revived firm will seek to generate $28.1 billion in sales revenue in its

MARKETING STRATEGY
first two years after revival. Sears Holdings will seek to expand by opening new physical stores
and expanding product offerings in its online stores, and/or acquiring existing retail firms.

3

MARKETING STRATEGY

4
Company Description

Sears Holdings Corporation is a failed American corporation previously headquartered in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois (Hove et al., 2019). The company had two subsidiaries, Sears and
Kmart (Forbes, 2020). Both of Sears Holdings’ subsidiaries owned and operated a chain of retail
stores. The holding company was created in 2005 after purchasing both its subsidiaries (Hove et
al., 2019). The firm’s subsidiaries traded a wide variety of products and services. Categories of
products and services traded by the subsidiaries included general merchandise, home appliances,
tools, and automotive parts and services. Sears Holdings had great potential. By 2015, the
corporation had grown to be the 20th largest retail corporation in the United States (Hove et al.,
2019). Despite its great potential, the corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015 (Hove
et al., 2019). The following year, 2019, it sold its assets to ESL investments (Hove et al., 2019).
Although Sears Holdings collapsed, its former subsidiaries, Kmart and Sears, are still in
operation.
A variety of problems are responsible for Sears Holdings’ failure. One of the key issues
that led to Sears Holdings' decline is the lack of focus or extreme inventory diversification (Hove
et al., 2019). The company initially sold jewellery (Hove et al., 2019). Years later, the business
was selling almost everything under the sun. The second key issue that led to the fall of Sears
Holdings was mismanagement. For example, the corporation's CEO, Eddie Lambert, was rarely
seen in the office as he only visited about once a year during the shareholder meeting (Hove et
al., 2019).
The third key issue that led to Sears Holdings’ death was the lack of continual and
sustained investment (Higgs, 2017). Despite stores being capital intensive, the corporate stopped
investing in its stores (Higgs, 2017). This situation led to lower sales that made it a challenge to

MARKETING STRATEGY

5

invest over time. The fourth key issue was stiff competition. The corporation's demise was
largely precipitated by the growth of other similar retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, The
Kroger Co. (Hove et al., 2019). Sears Holdings lacked a significant competitive advantage
compared to its major rivals. Effective management and marketing strategy can help revive Sears
Holdings and turn the former corporation into one of the most successful retail companies in the
U.S.
Strategic Focus and Plan
The revival of Sears Holdings requires effective strategic focus and planning. The failure
to adequately strategize would result in the failure of the revived firm. The revived company will
have a global focus, i.e., the corporation will aim to compete for customers globally. A new
mission statement and goals are needed to strategically focus the corporation. The revived
company's core competencies and sustainable advantage need to be understood and effectively
utilized to steer the company back to success.
Proposed New Mission
The proposed mission statement of the corporation is: “To sell to our customers
worldwide great quality products at the most competitive prices and great convenience through
our chain of physical stores and online stores.” Identifiable characteristics in the proposed
mission statement are global reach, quality products, competitive prices, and great convenience.
The characteristics will help the firm effectively compete with other global and local retailers to
attract customers.
Proposed New Goals
The proposed new goals of the revived corporation are:
I.

To retail a wide variety of products to customers worldwide.

MARKETING STRATEGY
II.

6

To sell great quality products to all our customers.

III.

To sell to our customers at the most competitive prices.

IV.

To provide utmost convenience to our customers concerning the buying of goods,
delivery, and customer service.

V.

To sell to our customers through our physical and online stores.

Core Competency and Sustainable Advantage
One core competency that Sears Holdings had was supp...