DieHard, the former Sears brand, is back at Advance Auto stores across the nation. A DieHard commercial ran on the recent Packers/ Tampa Bay game, taking characters from the original Die Hard movie, and reprising them in an ad with original stars, including Bruce Willis. The plot begins with JohnMORE HERE

SAN ANTONIO – Sears has opened a new spin-off concept, the Die Hard Auto Center. Of course, Die Hard is a strong Sears brand, and this news is just coming off Sears’ sale of Craftsman for an astounding $775 million to Black & Decker. Currently, Sears Holdings is on trackMORE HERE

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. – Kmart, a unit of Sears Holdings, has struggled for the last two decades. In the last two years, management has tried to give the brand focus, all the while suffering from old stores and less viable locations. This month, more bad news came as more storeMORE HERE

HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL.– One of the newest plans at Sears (besides closing mulitiple Sears and Kmart stores and licensing the DieHard brand) is to sell Craftsman tools at Ace Hardware stores. The pilot program involves 100 stores.  It immediately appears a winner for Ace as it gives them a lineMORE HERE

No, I’m not talking about the late Jerry Garcia. I’m talking mums. Potted mums. I have been thinking about a pot of red mums that sit by the walkway into my house. Different things happen to mums in different economies. When things are booming and we all have cash, weMORE HERE

HOFFMAN ESTATES – As the most iconic and historic retailer in the U.S. and owner of some of America’s greatest brands, Sears, Roebuck & Co. made a major jump into social media with the launch of MySears.com last spring. It now has 1.9 million monthly unique visits; (the Sears.com siteMORE HERE

At home, in a sewing kit, I noticed a handy little brand many have forgotten is still around. Dritz. It’s part of the great pantheon of sewing brands, some over a century old. Brands like Singer, The McCall Pattern Company, Coats & Clark and Talon Zipper. And of course thereMORE HERE

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Illinois – Sears Holdings (SHLD) announces earnings today; turns out their second-quarter loss is $94 million, or 79 cents a share, with revenue falling to $10.55 billion from $11.76 billion. I could have guessed it going into their Westfield Sarasota Square store. On our visit, the clerks wereMORE HERE

CHICAGO – The recent addition of the storied Cannon brand to Sears, Roebuck (NYSE: SHLD) is further evidence that the chain has a smart brand strategy. Cannon is now appearing in revamped home decorating sections in Sears, and they are making full use of the power of the brand toMORE HERE