*Update, Sunday morning, March 16, 2014: See the latest from Sears, including the condition of its Craftsman and Home sections in the same South LA mall home to disarray at Walmart.
*Update, Monday morning, January 6, 2014: For further context, please read the author's response to Sears and the controversy this article triggered, Sears: A National Tragedy.
**Updated from 4:06 p.m., EST w/ Brian Sozzi images from J. C. Penney (JCP) on Page Two and official response from Sears VP of Corporate Communications via Twitter as well as images from a Sears store in Santa Monica, CA, on Page Three.
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here's an update I wanted to put up top to ensure you saw it -- official response from Sears VP of Corporate Communications Chris Brathwaite followed by a request for reader participation:
@Rocco_TheStreet We operate nearly 2000 stores. Select photos are not representative of the whole. We post pictures 2 http://t.co/LnEm5LkuSe
Chris Brathwaite (@ChrisBrathw8) January 4, 2014
If you are near or can be near a Sears and are so inclined, head over and take some pictures. Be random. Don't just look for the bad ones. Send them to me via email (rocco.pendola@TheStreet.com) or on Twitter, @Rocco_TheStreet.
TheStreet's Brian Sozzi, also known as Belus Capital Advisors CEO, is roaming a Sears Holdings (SHLD) flagship store in New York as we speak. And, as was the case during the run-up to the holiday shopping season, the images he's posting on Twitter (TWTR) are nothing short of pathetic:
At @Sears the mannequins face the clothes, not the people $SHLD @ADinnocenzio pic.twitter.com/nqWp8z0OYU
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
Tip Always look under a rack for fallen now dirty clothes to assess margin risk. pic.twitter.com/U7AxFHEDcz
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
#Fail $SHLD pic.twitter.com/tJyVDWMmvs
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
#Fail #Fail $SHLD pic.twitter.com/FO6mdMvJbO
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
Not staged. $SHLD pic.twitter.com/ZIAoo6XVxR
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
I'm convinced Sozzi is no longer safe inside a Sears store.
Soon, there will be a security team assigned the sole task of keeping @BrianSozzi out of @Sears stores!
Rocco Pendola (@Rocco_TheStreet) January 4, 2014
Sozzi also posted some images from Best Buy (BBY), which, comparatively speaking, looks much spiffier than Sears. In this shot, Brian passes along the nugget that fitness tracker gadgets were indeed a hot item over the holidays:
1 of the Hottest Holiday 2013 Items... ...still out of stock #FitnessTrackers pic.twitter.com/pOVL5a9dF0
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
Based on subsequent images Sozzi posted to his Twitter account, things don't look much better at JCP:
Follow up $JCP pic.twitter.com/9d9thTfwIs
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
That empty kinda feeling that signals change $JCP pic.twitter.com/PqowzNsynt
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
New merchandising tactic by @JCPenney: move old Ron Johnson stuff down by the clothes pic.twitter.com/EOgSsa0fOr
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
Triggered by the response from Sears, I decided to go do some man-on-the-scene picture taking myself.
Now, to be fair, I went over to the Sears store near where I live in Santa Monica and, while as soulless as any other big box/department store retail experience, the place appeared mostly tidy.
Granted, it's located next to some seriously high-end retail in the downtown area of Santa Monica. We're talking everything from Bloomingdales to Nordstrom (JWN) at the newish Santa Monica Place to everything from Apple (AAPL) to Lululemon (LULU) along the Third Street Promenade.
Plus it's housed in a historic building, typical of old school LA architecture:
Let's go check out @sears Santa Monica. The lot's only full because they charge to park for nearby retail. pic.twitter.com/WvjMtxXTaK
Rocco Pendola (@Rocco_TheStreet) January 4, 2014
This looks nice: @sears Santa Monica pic.twitter.com/z0kTXSP0pE
Rocco Pendola (@Rocco_TheStreet) January 4, 2014
Hello Kitty accessories. A hot item @sears Santa Monica? pic.twitter.com/l48m48oi6k
Rocco Pendola (@Rocco_TheStreet) January 4, 2014
I have to be fair, @BrianSozzi, while it's still soulless, @sears SM is tidy.
Rocco Pendola (@Rocco_TheStreet) January 4, 2014
But I reckon, this ender by Brian Sozzi is pretty close to, if not the truth:
There are pockets of "clean" stores for sure, but the whole overwhelms them @Rocco_TheStreet @Sears
Brian Sozzi (@BrianSozzi) January 4, 2014
--Written by Rocco Pendola in Santa Monica, Calif.