Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Sears Outlet set to open in borough
Store on Nutt Road features overstocked, discontinued and reconditioned merchandise
PHOENIXVILLE » Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. will open a new store Thursday in the Phoenixville Plaza Shopping Center on Nutt Road.
Phoenixville Sears Outlet is holding its grand opening celebration Thursday through Sunday with a sale and special giveaways.
“We have a knowledgeable team in place here, with a focus on providing customers with great products, exceptional service, and a personalized shopping experience that I’m sure will continue to be well received by the local community,” Robert Coyle, district manager of the Sears Outlet Store in Phoenixville, said in a statement.
The opening comes a week after the company, which operates as a separate entity from Sears department stores, announced losses for its quarter and year.
Sears Outlet Stores have more than 18,000 square feet of retail space stocked with hundreds of items marked significantly lower than manufacturers’ suggested retail prices. Sold there are what the company describes as new, one-of-a-kind, discontinued, reconditioned, overstocked, and cosmetically blemished products across a broad assortment of merchandise categories. Items for sale include home appliances, lawn and garden equipment, apparel, mattresses, sporting goods and tools.
Sears Outlet said its reconditioned merchandise undergoes a testing process and, when necessary, cosmetic parts are replaced or repaired before being sold. Customers purchasing a certified appliance or other item from a Sears Outlet Store can expect significant discounts off the original retail price, a fully functional and operational unit, and the assurance that the unit still meets Sears quality standards, the company said in announcing the Phoenixville opening.
Customers also can get delivery and installation services.
The store will be open seven days a week.
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc., which trades on Nasdaq as SHOS, separated from Sears Holdings in 2012 and is a completely separate, publicly traded company. Sears Outlet was one of the four store formats Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores took with it. The Sears Outlet segment has been operating since 1968, initially as a surplus store for the Sears, Roebuck and Co. and re-branded to Sears Outlet in 1994. Since then, Sears Outlet Stores has expanded its product range and grown nationwide to include both brick-and-mortar locations as well as an ecommerce site at www.searsoutlet.com.
Its dealers and franchisees operated 1,115 stores across all 50 states as well as in Puerto Rico and Bermuda as of the end of October.
On Friday, after reporting losses for the quarter and year, the company’s CEO predicted better times ahead for the company.
“While we were disappointed with our performance in the fourth quarter, we made measurable progress on key strategic initiatives that we believe will improve profitability and strengthen the company’s long-term outlook,” said Will Powell, CEO and president of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores.