The pilot program involves 100 stores.  It immediately appears a winner for Ace as it gives them a line that Lowe’s and Home Depot do not have.  Apparently, Sears has been in talks with other retailers including Do-It-Best Hardware, Tractor Supply, and Walmart.  This seems a huge mistake.  The defining reason to go to Sears (and, ok, now Kmart) is the Craftsman and other exclusive lines available there only.

Many have speculated that Eddie Lampert, head of Sears, simply wants to unlock the value of the real estate and the iconic brands.  This certainly seems like a good way to finish off what’s left of Sears’ retail draw. Selling Sears brands at Walmart is insane if one intends to retain their own retail operation. Walmart tried the Popular Mechanics brand tool program several years ago and even had some form of guarantee.  They have long since retreated to Stanley tools.  Sears’ customer service in their hardware departments was legendary and remains one of their strong points even in today’s beleaguered retail environment.  Some of the hardware outlets might be able to service the Craftsman guarantee, but Walmart’s business model appears to be less-Craftsman friendly.

The bottom line is that private label has become a big draw for many retailers.

This plan flies in the face of the trend and appears, frankly, desperate.  Eight O’Clock Coffee continues to flourish out from under the A&P umbrella, but it is a rare exception.  A&P itself had started, through Compass Foods, to wholesale it to other stores as their store base and geographic reach shrunk.  Customer demand has kept it a top brand. Sears, at this point, does not have the issue of being unable to reach the consumer through its own bricks and mortar.

Sears is much revered by me and many others.  Why commit such folly?  If the large store model isn’t working for them, they should create their own showcase store for their exclusive brands and banner it with their own iconic Sears, Roebuck name.

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, we tend to get some new ones if the old ones aren’t blooming. But in a time like now, and for most of the 20th century, most folks would “deadhead” the flowers on the plants, so you can get a few new blooms out of them. In a deadhead economy, people reduce consumption and fall back on both quality and price. In my case, the mums have finally re-bloomed, though not to the extent I would have wished.

It got me wondering; if many people like me are changing their buying patterns, how does this affect not only the immediate economy, but the next five to 10 years? And if and when the economy finally turns to prosperity, will sales recover, or are we creating another Depression-era generation that sees being a skinflint as the height of success and good citizenship? If that is so, success will come in different ways.

A few weeks ago, Capitol One CEO Richard Fairbank was quoted in The Wall Street Journal saying his company was seeing a “striking” lack of demand for credit. That made sense, because the night before, I had seen Fox Business News’ Dave Ramsey celebrating the umpteenth caller who had quit buying new things and sold all his “stuff” online to pay down his credit cards. These sales weren’t coming back. After suffering 25 to 29 percent interest rates that would have run afoul of usury laws just a generation ago, this caller was not about to go and charge a bunch more, well, crap. The same week, I heard a sermon from a priest at The Falls Church tell parishioners that he had bought a used car from someone who saw in a Craigslist ad that Dave Ramsey had “told him” it had to go. Just this week, I heard former IMF economist Simon Johnson speaking to Congress on deficits. He saw a “substantial slowdown” in the second half of the year. Yikes.

Technology magnifies this reduced consumption. My Apple iPod includes apps that were dozens of separate products only a few years ago. This one device has replaced a multiple products I have purchased before, including an Etch-a-Sketch, Boy Scout compass, Sony clock radio, Superscope AMFM Receiver, Garrard turntable, Sharp tape player, Panasonic Tape Recorder, Kodak Instamatic, Rolodex, Super 8 movie camera, TI calculator, Realistic Weatheradio, Rand McNally Maps, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, New York Times, AAA Triptik and Day Runner calendar. It has eliminated the jobs of travel agents, photo processors and dozens of different factory workers here and abroad. What happens when iPods will eliminate the need for fast food cashiers?

I mentioned this idea a bit as it related to Sears Holdings (SHLD). In August during the Sears Roebuck back to school season, vast amounts of square footage dwarfed the lean merchandise assortments. And last year during that scary fall retail season, I wrote about retailers who were surviving by doing repairs.

The question for me is what retailers, products and brands can thrive in this “deadhead” market where millions of unemployed and underemployed have more less money, more time on hand, and less need for things.

1. Creative genius: My daughter turns Starburst wrappers into purses and sells them on Etsy. She also gathers weekly at Sarasota’s Darling Pottery Studio, where students of all ages each week fill their cabinet with gorgeous bowls and pots they pitched themselves. People have time; when you have time many knit, bake and make for amusement and little luxuries. Beneficiary? Craft stores like Michaels Stores and Jo-Ann Fabrics, local craft shows and little online retailers.
2. Your brand is an app. So your product is not needed any more? Turn it into an app. A Radio Shack (RSH) Realistic Weatheradio app? An AAA Triptik app?
3. Cheap, really cheap. Stuff that’s either really extreme value (Dollar Tree (DLTR), Supervalu’s Sav-a-lot (SVU), or has real quality combined with remarkable price points, where Walmart (WMT) is going.
4. Extreme value, or perceived value. Two weeks ago, I went to our local VW dealer for a car show, and it was packed. Volkswagen is increasing its market share, opening a new Tennessee factory and hoping to double sales volume in the next year. Local, luxury chocolate shops in Sarasota seem to be doing well. That may be a function of the uptick in the Dow, though value priced luxury can do well no-growth economies.
5. Hacking and remaking. Trendwatcher website Springwise last week featured Sugru, a silicon putty that you can use to “hack” and remake old items to suit, including changing the shape and making handles easier to use. You can even mould it into new things.
6. Repair, not replace: I am not alone in talking about this issue; the New York new ideas consultancy PSFK has written about the idea, citing the Repair Manifesto of Platform 21. The repair manifesto’s main idea is that fixing stuff can be made interesting if it is more creative, and fixing things is the most green friendly thing you can do. The hipster art group Fixer’s Collective gathers in Brooklyn to repair stuff as an art form. As much as these all might seem like niche market ideas, these trends percolate down to the mass market. Our local Florida Tops sewing machine and vacuum chain is pushing deals on Dyson and Electrolux, as well as repairs.
7. Shades of Havana, ’59: My uncle, an ob-gyn and car enthusiast, bought a rebuilt Dodge Neon for his college-age daughter from a North Carolina fellow who rebuilds them, with interchangeable parts from other Neons. It is the perfect solution for a cheap, cheerful college runabout. The twentysomething guys on my street spend their entire free time rebuilding and fixing trucks. All of their extra time.
8. Quality brands win: Tiffany & Co. (TIF) has survived every downturn. They are luxury, but they know how to sell items with low price points to keep every income group in their stores.
9. Small size, high markup: Sanrio’s Hello Kitty has trained kids on the idea that small, well produced items can be sold for high markup. Consumers who have less will still want quality, even children. You can have high markup in a slow economy by making everyday items that have high perceived value. My daughter’s SIGG water bottle that she takes to kindergarten is made in Switzerland (around $17!), and is of extreme high quality. It lasts. She won’t need one for another few years.
10. Local is good. Big article this month March’s The Atlantic on how Walmart “The Great Grocery Smackdown” is now pushing local produce at its stores, and will be searching out nearby truck farms to supply its stores.

Thin-skinned Sears Holdings (SHLD) is not. In contrast to many retail sites, Sears is willing to publish some opinions that are very critical of Sears products.

In the past, Sears has not been known for its inventiveness and bold thinking; a few years ago, analysts struggled to understand how such a company could stay relevant today. But with the launch of My Sears, and other unique efforts (today it started franchising the Sears Auto brands to shuttered Pontiac dealers), the company seems to have found a space not only in social media, but a new retailing universe.

The company is in a unique position to launching a social media product. Namely, it has a stable of much-loved brands that consumers already feel that they “own.” In addition, consumers are quite familiar with all aspects of the stores. Even naming the site “My Sears” made it clear that this Sears site was “owned” by its consumers, and not just the company.

We shot a few email questions Rob Harles, the VP of the MySears Online Community, about how they run the community and what it is doing for Sears.

BrandlandUSA: How did the company overcome the typical fear of having critical comments on its own website?

Harles: When Sears Holdings first launched the MySears community in May 2009, we were looking for new ways to interact and receive feedback from customers in order to find ways to improve the shopping experience, whether online or in-store. We recognize that the ability to interact with customers and receive their feedback is key to our goal of continually improving the shopping experience for everyone.

The MySears community allows customers to share their insights, experiences and product reviews by creating a dialogue between Sears and customers. Visitors to the MySears community engage in discussion forums, blogging, ratings, reviews, idea generation, polls and surveys, and general feedback. The MySears community demonstrates Sears Holdings’ commitment to interacting with and responding to customers as it has done throughout its 125 year history.

BrandlandUSA:  Many companies would have separated the Kmart and Sears brands when doing the MySears project. I would have thought it wouldn’t have worked, but it seems to. How did you decide to combine the two when they are such distinct brands?

Harles: Sears Holdings is committed to providing an unparalleled online experience where customers can shop with ease and convenience. To assist our customers make that important buying decision, the communities are highly integrated on both Sears.com and Kmart.com. We decided to use the same platform and allow members to shop either brand while having one profile, one login and unified social applications including rewards across both brands to offer consumers a richer and more convenient shopping experience.

Both the Sears.com and Kmart.com sites feature reviews and discussions generated from the MySears community. Likewise, the MySears community enables customers to view all of Sears and Kmart’s online product offerings, give them an opportunity to read and write product reviews, browse the site by categories and purchase products without leaving the MySears site. We are proud of the results generated from our decision to integrate MySears with the Sears and Kmart brands.

Sears.com was recently ranked second in the e-Tailing Group’s Annual Customer Experience Index, and received recognition as the second best score in e-Tailing’s Annual Mystery Shopping Study. This industry recognition is further evidence that Sears continues to listen to customers’ ideas and suggestions to improve the online shopping experience.

BrandlandUSA: Does it take a large staff to monitor the site? What sort of staff infrastructure does it take to run the MySears operation?

Harles:  Although we cannot share specific details on infrastructure, Sears is dedicated to ensuring that customers are encouraged to fully interact and engage with other MySears community members as well as shop more conveniently with the added features and shopping tools.

BrandlandUSA:  Have you had input from the thousands of retired Sears and Kmart associates who live around North America? It would seem that that audience would be useful to the company?

Harles:  The participants in the online community on the MySears Community Site are our associates, retirees, suppliers and vendors, and the public, all of whom are interested in voicing their opinions, sharing ideas, and finding others who share the same interests.

The MySears community accepts all input and feedback from all audiences in order to continually listen to customers, providing great value, choice and convenience in their shopping experience.

BrandlandUSA:  Is it really useful in consumer research? It would seem like it would be, but curious to what extent.

Harles:  Sears Holdings is a leader in the online retail space because of our customers’ feedback and the knowledge gained from listening and engaging with them. In fact, the “Ideas” feature on the MySears web site invites all members to contribute recommendations, which are then commented on by others and ultimately considered for implementation by Sears Holdings’ management. Nearly all content on the MySears community will be written and contributed by customers.

We’re constantly listening to feedback and monitoring the content on the MySears community from customers and adapting to their feedback in order to provide an integrated suite of online and in-store offerings to meet their needs and build lifetime relationships. Our customers give us inspiration for a number of our best ideas.

BrandlandUSA:  How do you protect the site from fake users who are trying to game the site to their advantage or amusement?

Harles:  We work hard to monitor for spam, inappropriate or offensive material in order to protect all MySears community members. We want our conversations to be authentic and we do our best to foster an environment where our members/customers feel comfortable that their voice is being heard.

Several active members actually push back on people who try to subvert the community. It makes us feel good that there are members who are engaged enough to care and help us identify and push back on those who are not what they seem.

More information and additional guardrails that Sears has put into place to avoid fraudulent or inappropriate activity is available at www.mysears.com/terms_of_service.

Pollard: Are there some new products introduced or old products revived that came through input from MySears users? On your home page a few days ago, there was a reader looking for an old gas stove that he wanted reintroduced. Are there many of these instances?

Harles: Truly, one of the best features and rewards we all at Sears experience from our community is the number of instances where members have pushed for new or revived products and services. We have had military personnel tell about the best way to ship to them and save time, enthusiasts who wanted us to sell a particular toy; we have also had a number of requests for products that we just don’t carry, and this has led us to expand our assortments and partnerships. Our Marketplace is a direct reflection of this new knowledge of demand.

BrandlandUSA: What are the main reasons folks find the MySears site?

Harles: The MySears launch supports Sears Holdings’ belief in the power of community and in creating new and better ways to engage its customers, associates and vendors who are invited to register, create a profile, upload photos, share their personal experiences and ideas, and connect with each other.

We continue to experience membership increases because MySears offers customers a highly-versatile venue to connect with other like-minded individuals and get informed advice on their purchases and answers to their questions. In addition, it empowers customers and associates by providing a place where their voices can be heard so that we in turn can make vital improvements to the store, product offerings and overall, shopping experience.

Dritz (with its strawberry pin-cushion logo) is best-known for its needles, and sells them in a handy twist package. In a time when young consumers are making things for Etsy.com, and older consumers have more free time and less money, brands like Dritz will have a good future if managed carefully. These brands should also think about how they present themselves to consumers; and by the way, what ever happened to the word “notions.?”

Today, sewing is about doing special things for people; hand done garments are the ultimate in luxury. So a company’s focus on quality in presentation and manufacture will help make the experience of these brands better. Dritz is now owned by the German company William Prym GmbH & Co. KG, one of, if not the oldest, companies in Germany, with an astounding 12-generation legacy in Stolberg, Germany.

A bit about the history from their site.

• During the 1920′s, John Dritz & Sons made beaded handbags. They also developed sewing notions and gadgets, such as seam rippers, zippers and electric scissors. In 1959, John Dritz & Sons moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina.
• In 1969, the Dritz family sold their company to Scovill of Connecticut.
• In 1980, Scovill sold the Dritz operations to Risdon of Waterbury, Connecticut.
• In 1985, the Dritz operations in Spartanburg and New Bedford were purchased by new owners who formed the Dritz Corporation.
• In 1988, Prym acquired the Dritz Corporation and formed the Prym Consumer USA Inc. Corporation.

Prym USA has done the correct things with the various brands in their family. First, they have not tried to eliminate the historic brands and brand everything as one brand. Instead the company has many brands in different sewing niches, brands that include Project Runway, Drylon, LoRan, Fons & Porter, Prym, Collins, St. Jane, Kimberly Poloson and of course Dritz.

Especially smart is Prym’s Project Runway sub-brand strategy. Many companies would drop the old brand, like Dritz, calling it fuddy-duddy, and re-brand everything Project Runway. Instead, they used their experience in sewing to lend credibility to the new brand, and a bit of excitement to the old. Under no circumstances should they eliminate the sub brands.

This bad approach is what we call the “Rosie Approach.” I am now inventing the phrase the “Rosie Approach” to branding. What does the Rosie approach mean? You take and old brand, a wonderful magazine brand like McCall’s, and dump the old brand, re-branding with something more edgy like Rosie magazine. The older McCall’s readers are not pleased, and the Rosie fans aren’t amused either. Neither is happy, and it all fails. The better response would have been to launch a separate Rosie magazine as a spin off of McCall’s, leveraging that magazine with a bagged spin-off. They then both do their separate things.

But back on the subject. Find out more at Prym Consumer USA Inc.

I could have guessed it going into their Westfield Sarasota Square store. On our visit, the clerks were friendly. The store maintenance and upkeep was good. The promotional banners were sharp, and well-designed. It felt upbeat. New brands like Cannon were livening up the approach, and the revivals of old Sears private brands like Toughskins were well displayed.

But something was missing. Store shelves, by design, are slightly empty. Merchandise is thin. The perfume and cologne section had probably one or two of each brand of cologne; the space behind the first row was empty. It had the feel of a bit of a facade, and that made me pause. School is only two weeks away; eeek. It should have been busier than that on a Saturday. It got me thinking; what if buying patterns have changed permanently? Not only do Americans not want so much stuff, but even if we did, we won’t be able to afford it. That means retailers like Sears have to revisit how they survived that certain period in the 1930s. Certainly clever advertising is important, and store merchandising is critical, but to survive, Sears has to adapt.

Frankly, Sears, and the rest of American retail, has too much square footage for demand. The reality? We aren’t buying as much. The party is over, and we have plenty of leftovers, for a good long time. While the economy has to recover, spending patterns are shifting.

Sears is going to have to reinvent itself. Yet again. Just as it has done dozens of times before. What are options?

1. Franchised departments: At the Sarasota store, there is a leased garden shop that took over the outdoor garden store. As curious as I am about retail, I have not gone in. It needs some oomph. Perhaps Sears could develop a live garden and florist brand, and sell a franchise in each store. Sears gets franchise fees and a percentage; the local struggling florist gets a place to call home with a brand and foot traffic. There could be more franchised departments inside stores. This could add to the profits, merchandise mix and excitement of a Sears store, while not adding to overhead. Remember: Sears has excellent experience with its rural catalog operators; its stores help to expand the Sears brand while bringing in incremental revenue.
2. A Kenmore School? Etsy? The other week, my wife saw a quilt she liked in a catalog from Pottery Barn. Not wanting to spend on it, she pulled out her Sears Kenmore sewing machine, drove over to JoAnn Fabrics (NYSE: JAS), and got started. Here’s the problem for Sears; they sold her a machine (good) but at a very modest, low-margin price. They then didn’t sell her anything else. What if Sears had classes at the store, hosting sewing groups, and sold materials, etc. This also goes to other departments; hardware could do workshops on woodworking and garden shops might host the Extension Agent. They do this sort of thing intermittently; what if they rolled it out as an official brand, in partnership with or by purchasing Etsy, that hip crafts-selling website. The goal? Sears as the hub of doing not just buying.
3. Where’s Ted Williams? The Ted Williams sporting goods brand was fantastic; over the years Sears lost their market in small boating and sports. They need to get back to this market; in a recession, people have time. In Sarasota, people are fishing. The kids are organizing soccer games on the beach. They need to re-establish this connection to sports. Perhaps the Land’s End brand could be extended to boating? Or the Sears Yachtsman brand revived? And can other retail chains be persuaded to open boutiques in Sears on a rent/percentage basis?
4. Education: Land’s End has an ace-in-the-hole. It’s school uniforms. They have relationships with thousands of American schools to sell branded merchandise for uniforms. They need to take this to the next level, and become de-facto school stores. The schools get a small cut, and Land’s End gets the traffic.
5. Grocery: Is a leased food concession focused on value-priced groceries a possibility? Can Sears do like the U.K.’s Marks & Spencer and sell groceries? I am tired of the marked up food courts at malls. And mall workers are feeling the squeeze. These days, the American consumer is doing cinnamon toast at home, not $2.50 Cinnabon.
6. Mall customers: If your actual customers are down, what do the workers in the malls need? Not only food (see #5) but other services.
7. Scouting and other non-profits. At one time, Sears was the place where you bought Boy Scout uniforms. As scouting declined, it became less of a great thing. What are the other associations that Sears needs to rekindle to build regular traffic?
8. Home renovations: Sears lends its brand name to all sorts of things; cabinet refacing? Ick. But they have a crack staff of repair trucks. What other renovations could they brand?Sears was one-time in the home business; you could ship a whole Sears house and have it assembled. Are there variations of this today? Noted architect Andres Duany of Duany Plater Zyberk has just unveiled his inexpensive 770-square-foot Katrina Cottage, basically a really nice looking Southern shotgun shack. Partner with him, not Ty Pennington; he’s the Martha Stewart of home and neighborhoods. For the price of a Social Security check, Americans could buy one on credit to put in-laws in the backyard.

NEW YORK – Jake Holmes perhaps has had as much influence on American music as any other singer songwriter, but unless you are a devotee of early 1970s rock or advertising, you probably don’t know his name.

But you certainly know his music, which includes Amtrak’s “America’s Getting Into Training”, Pan Am’s “We Fly the World”, Dr. Pepper’s “Be a Pepper”, Lego’s “Zack, Lego Maniac” and countless others. (The YouTube video above has a reel of his work, from songs to some of his best known commercials.)

Holmes’ work is so omnipresent that you can’t get it out of your head; by design his commercials are full of “melody you can’t get rid of.” At worst, like Schaeffer’s “Hop, Hop, Sittin’ Pretty,” they cheer you up. At best, his work on the Army’s “Be All That You Can Be” helped to elevate great American institutions in an era of the great post-Vietnam invention, the all-volunteer Army.

He is much more than his commercials; he’s currently working on compiling world music with partner, Amanda Homi, and plays small clubs, where his humorous poetry and biting social satire make his performances something beyond just a folk-rock singer songwriter. Perhaps that has something to do with his eclectic influences, as he has worked with everyone from Harry Belafonte to Joan Rivers. (A great interview on his music is here.)

We sent him some questions and he was kind enough to indulge us.

BrandlandUSA: What was the first commercial you wrote? How did you get your first break?

Holmes: I was asked by a jingle house to write a spot for an anti-drug campaign, “What Do You Do When the Music Stops.” They liked what I wrote and gave me another job that I did with Carly Simon. I can’t remember the product but I remember Carly sang the “s” out of it. It snowballed from there.

BrandlandUSA: It seems rare that a jingle writer would write the music and then sing it. How did you end up doing both?

Holmes: I was asked to write and sing the new Chevrolet campaign which I did. I turned down the lead singing part because I thought it might jeopardize my recording career. I had a pretty active recording career at the time. I had a top 10 record “So Close” and so I stayed off the vocal contract. That year the singers made about $10,000 and I made $1,500 for writing. I realized then where the real money was, and I sang everything I possibly could from then on.

BrandlandUSA: You came of age in a generation that was anti-establishment and anti-war; yet “Be All You Can Be” arguably changed the perception of the Army, very much for the positive. My guess is that you either considered “Be All You Can Be” your rallying cry for a better army, or were you just able to separate your professional work from your politics?

Holmes: I didn’t do any army work until after Vietnam. After that I felt, like you say, that with an all volunteer army it behooved us to try to get the best and the brightest. In retrospect with recent events I think the Army turns out to be the one bright spot in this miasma of suspect conflicts.

BrandlandUSA: Do you get requests to sing your commercial work when you perform, or are you done with the commercial work when you record the commercial?

Holmes: Pretty much done. I’ll occasionally do a little medley of some of the hits.

BrandlandUSA: How quickly can you write a jingle? And do you write them in your head for products that you aren’t working on but see?

Holmes: I like to let an idea simmer and when I jump in to the actual writing it is usually three hours or so of actual writing. Sometimes I write anti jingle jingles in my head. Virgin Airlines “We Don’t Go Down on You” Was one of my never-used favorites.

BrandlandUSA: Commercials like Pan Am “Fly the World” and DeBeers Anniversary (I think those were your work) stick in my head and bring back specific moments in time in late 70s and early 80s. Do other people tell you this about other commercials when they find out what you do? Or did I watch way too much TV as a kid?

Holmes: You watch way too much TV.

BrandlandUSA: Your body of work, arguably, is known by as many people as any American songwriter or musical group, and the amount of airplay is as frequent as anyone in the business. Yet you are not a household name. Does it ever surprise you that your work, to borrow that phrase, might arguably be more famous than the Beatles?

Holmes: I think fame is over-rated. I would rather be respected by a hundred people than known by millions.

Q: Are the publishing rights owned by you, just as in traditional music publishing or do companies and agencies own it? 

Holmes: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. For years clients didn’t care about the publishing. It was a miniscule part of what anybody made. Most of our money was in studio mark up costs and singing. These days every penny counts.

Q: What are you working on now, commercial or not, that you enjoy the most?

Holmes: I’m writing a musical about Boomers and making films and writing songs. Life is good.

Cannon is now appearing in revamped home decorating sections in Sears, and they are making full use of the power of the brand to make Sears unique. Sears is also not just pushing its Craftsman and Kenmore brands, but even Toughskins are back as a brand of children’s clothing.

The store within a store follows the model of Sears’ Land’s End, where a significant section is branded Cannon. While other linens are sold with the Cannon linens, large signage and handout notepaper like the one above makes sure shoppers know that the brand is one that is closely associated with Sears. This is smart strategy, as Cannon towels and sheets had/have a strong brand appeal that was not tarnished with the bankruptcy.

Cannon had a long history in North Carolina, and its towels and became ubiquitous in American households. Cannon began in 1887 in Kannapolis, N.C., and was known for making some of the best towels in the world. Equally beloved was Fieldcrest of Fieldale, Virginia, a spin-off of the Marshall Field’s department store. Fieldcrest is now sold by Target. Cannon was eventually merged with Fieldcrest, which had long since been spun-off from Marshall Field’s. The merged company went bankrupt in 2002, only to go bankrupt again. Over 6,000 jobs were lost.

New York based Iconix Brand Group Inc. announced Oct. 3, 2007 that it had purchased Official Pillowtex LLC, the licensing company that owned the towel and sheet brands Cannon, Royal Velvet, Fieldcrest and Charisma as well as St. Mary’s and Santa Cruz, for $231 million.

The chain was a national giant in auto parts and appliances. The chain opened in 1909 in Kansas City, Missouri as a mail order company. It was founded by George Pepperdine, who founded Pepperdine University. The first store opened in 1921. It became a national icon; many of the stores not only sold auto parts, but appliances and the like.

Back not too many years ago, car parts dealers and car repair shops often sold small appliances. For Generation X and older, Western Auto was also know as the home of the Western Flyer, which was a great bike. Take a peek at the Youtube commercial, which advertises “The lightweights for today’s young moderns.”

In 1987, Sears bought Western Auto, but it was no match for the growing power of retailers like Advance Auto (NYSE: AAP), which purchased many of the stores. Many dealers turned into Sears stores, and the rest turned into Advance Stores. Except this one in Grafton, which has been a Western Auto for decades.

Sadly, Advance did not see the value in the brand, but many independent stores, luckily, stayed independent and began sourcing auto parts from elsewhere. The Wikipedia entry on Western Auto mentions other stores in Marianna, Florida, Lincolnville, Maine, Stevensville, Maryland, Starkville, Mississippi, Forest, Mississippi, Trinity, Texas, and Henderson, Texas.

Apparently, the Western Auto name is still used in Puerto Rico, where it is the largest such chain, even though the Western Auto name is being phased out store by store into Advance stores, according to their Wikipedia entry.

While Advance Auto is a fine Virginia company, it is regrettable that they did not see more value in the Western Auto legacy. Thankfully, some of the pieces of the brand have survived as living bits of American automotive (and educational) history. Thankfully, some of the former dealers are still using the name; it still has some value, and if it were promoted as a general merchandise store that sold auto parts, it could have some value.The name is still registered to Advance, but a company cannot keep a brand name that it does not use.

Great stuff: Click here for a Western Auto sign in Kansas City.

And click here for a Western Auto commercial with bikes for the family.

Go and Get a New Catalog

Today, we got a reminder of not only the coming season, but that some companies are dependable. It was a card from JCPenney  (NYSE: JCP), saying to come into the store, and pick up a spring and summer catalog at the catalog for free, along with a $5 savings certificate. I’m there!

We have to admit; we are suckers for these catalogs and in this grim economic season, we need all the cheer we can get. Whenever we are in a JCPenney store, we look over at the catalog desk, as it is quite an interesting relic of American business history, though the catalog operation only began in 1962. JCPenney was a great man, God-fearing and generous, and ran his store on the golden rule. It worked.

When Sears ditched their catalog, it was a major blow to their identity, and they have never recovered. Indeed (do we start too many sentences with indeed? Indeed!) the company ditched the catalog just before the 1990s boom in catalogs, and as such, Sears missed out on a rocking mail order operation that would have translated easily to the Internet.

The JCPenney catalog has survived the other big catalogs, including Sears and Montgomery Ward. Thankfully, Montgomery Ward survives online, and Sears is still a real live company.

In a November press release, the company said that 80 percent of jcp.com visitors have purchased from a JCPenney store, and 33 percent have purchased from a JCPenney catalog. It’s interesting stats; we wonder who would have bought online who hadn’t been in a JCPenney store. INDEED, we wonder. Who in America hasn’t been in a JCPenney store?

Here, we have shown a couple of editions, including a 1983 cover and a 1977 cover. A 1970s version of the catalog achieved Internet cult status a few years ago when choice tacko layouts were emailed in a hilarious viral email.

Today, with all sorts of enviros blathering on about the evils in making paper, the catalog is a bit archaic. And its a challenge figuring out what goes in the catalog, and what goes online. But it’s a worthy exercise. Because catalogs are good. They sell stuff and we need to sell stuff if we still want to be Americans.

What is the role of the JCPenney catalog in 2009?

• It’s an institution. It’s a link to the past. Having the catalog around shows stability.
• It’s identity. Printing it creates its own reality; it cements ideas in the heads of consumers.
• It’s a direction. It’s a fashion plan for the retailer for the year. The company sets its store direction through the catalog, and the rest of the operation takes cues, or vice versa.
• It’s a promotion. It’s an ad for the web operation.
• Bible: It’s a reference for sales clerks. Having the catalog allows them an easy and fast way to look up core products of JCPenney.
• It’s useful for folks who hate to shop online. It talks to audiences that don’t want to shop online. There are lots of these folks, and they aren’t all over 70.
• They need to shoot the photos anyway. The images in the catalog are used in other print materials, online and in stores. This is expensive, but it needs to be done for Penney to keep fashion leadership in its mid-tier sector. A leading cost of the catalog, actually, is not the printing and paper, though signficant.
• It’s still really cheap, and a great advertisement for the store and the web. It’s like a big flier. Even if it lost money, it is valuable as promotion. JCPenney would have to spend thousands more in print advertising to match it, and it would lose control of their image.

So long live the JCPenney catalog. I love the FundingUniverse.com description of how Penney’s survived the First Great Depression:

The company survived the hard times largely because it had become known for its high quality goods and service, and people turned to JCPenney for the basic items they needed. The company’s profits even increased during the Depression, and by 1936 sales rose to $250 million, and the number of stores grew to 1,496.

There is hope for us, after all.

Not only does it provide exposure for old brands, it helps give the aging “legacy” brand a new chance at relevance. Sometimes, the old uses for brands disappear. Witness McCall’s, which disappeared as a magazine when it was renamed Rosie. But McCall’s dress patterns are still around.

We have some ideas of our own for brand extensions. We hope readers will add their ideas to the end of this story. While we’ve had some fun with this, there is a serious point. Your company’s intellectual property might be more valuable than  you thought.

Extreme Makeover From Sears. Even though we are very annoyed at the extravagance of the houses that are given to poor folk on Extreme Makeover, the show is fascinating. Because Sears is a partner with the show, why not take it in the other direction? How about Sears selling Extreme Home Makeovers for the regular house. It could license some of these sorting and organizing folks, yard maintenance companies, appliance repair and 1-800 junk into a one time package where they come for $1,000 bucks and clean up the yard, deep clean the house, reorganize the furniture and clean out the closets to give to the Salvation Army. What a great cause. Each “package” could also include a new set of Sears towels for the bathrooms, and a few new things elsewhere. There would be two audiences for this. First would be the foreclosure house industry, which has the obvious need for quick fix its. And second would be the anniversary. How about giving a Sears Extreme Makeover for your wife for an anniversary present? And then when the place is cleaned up, it will leave a spot for new appliances, curtains, sheets, towels and the like from Sears.

Sprite Tree: I have a tree in our yard in Sarasota that grows lemons and limes. It is called a fruit medley tree, and it is WAY cool. I think everyone in Florida, Texas and California should have one. Not only are they fun, but they make great cocktail hour conversation. However, fruit medley is a stinky name. How about a Sprite lymon tree? We thought that was an invention of Coca-Cola advertising, but it could be real.

Oldsmobile Switcheroo Kit: I am eternally frustrated that I cannot buy an Oldsmobile that is new. This is especially frustrating because the Saturn line from General Motors has an Oldsmobile feel. Indeed GM is trying to reposition Saturn to the Oldsmobile crowd. So, why doesn’t GM sell a quickie Olds conversion kit that can be done in the dealership. The front badge and side letter of the Saturn Aura could instantly change into an Oldsmobile Delta 88 or Oldsmobile Cutlass. GM would say that this is meaningless, that customers would not be fooled. I would argue the opposite. For years, General Motors did this sort of thing in the factory, and everyone across the nation knew of the similarities between GM’s divisions. It’s called badge engineering, and it is the second oldest trick in the automotive book, just after the assembly line.

Zenith Repair Service. This is the guy that you call after the Verizon or Comcast guy comes, and after you have bought a new Blu-Ray system. He will rewire the house, to make sure plugs are in the right place. He will properly hang and connect Hi Def televisions. He will show you how it all works in person. He will come around in a nifty truck, and make it all better. Best Buy and Circuit City have started up their own services, but this Zenith Repair Service would be a franchise for independent fix it guys.

Columbia Music Player. Sony has had a hard time with the MP3, and FINALLY they are getting around to using the Walkman name as much as before. We saw a great display at the Sony Style store at Mall of Milllenia in Orlando. But the Sony company also has equity in the Columbia brand, which is not only a brand related to records and CDs and music, but to music in general, including musical equipment and technology. The Walking Eye is one of the greatest trademarks of all time. It is gold, and Sony needs to use it. The use of Columbia by Sony does not diminish Sony; instead Columbia should appear as a sub-brand.

EIB Radio News: We listen to el Rushbo. And while Rush Limbaugh is young still, he cannot be replaced. We believe he will be remembered like Will Rogers. But that is not enough. His legacy needs to survive. How to do this? The EIB Radio News Network. Rush already has show producers who collect sound bytes, gather facts and help Rush with his show. Rush needs to take the next step, and set up a niche news operation. Your first thought is that why do this? There is already Fox News. Agreed, but it would be VERY powerful to have a set of EIB correspondents in Congress, the White House, UN and Wall Street. It should not be a big operation, but it can carve out a niche that will survive long after Rush is gone. What would be more fun than to have EIB folks asking the questions at press conferences?

Reader ideas?

The news that Sears wants to buy Restoration Hardware shows that the venerable retailer is in desperate search of growth after its merger with Kmart.

While merging the two retailers might not be a bad idea, the reality is that Sears Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: SHLD) needs its current crop of store brands and needs to develop some new ones. To put it nicely, turning around Sears AND Kmart is a big challenge, and it will need every trick there is. (Well, almost every trick. Please don’t license the Sears Catalog to Charmin.)

Some people at Sears know this. The company’s Craftsman line is worth millions, ditto with Kenmore and Die Hard. But these brands only work well when they are connected to Sears. It seems weird to buy them at Kmart, thought I am sure they are selling.

The company, according to Business Week, leases those three brands valued at $1.8 billion from a Bermuda subsidiary. Sears does some cool stuff just to keep Sears interesting and alluring.

• It keeps some of its very early stores open in Chicago, hell or high.
• It brought the Wish Book back this year, after 14 years.
• It even brought back a nostalgic mall version of the store, detailed on the excellent website Labelscar. Worth a trip to Georgia to see, we say.
• And the history section of its website is exceptional. Someone at that company cares.

But Sears can do more. What is missing is a BIG stable of powerful brands like those days of old. We think back on the 1960s and 70s – its Sears Jon Boats, sold at the Ted Williams-led Sears Sporting Goods store, were unrivaled, as were its other sports branded offerings. With brands like Ted Williams, Tower cameras and Free Spirit, it had its own brands. It was all led by people like Carl Bjorncrantz, who ran Sears’ industrial design department. (Designers like the legendary Charles Harrison also worked there.) Sadly, Sears apparently closed down its then Harrison-led industrial design department in 1993.

Sears needs to go back to those days of thinking of itself as an incubator of store brands. Perhaps Restoration Hardware, an innovator in resuscitating products many thought defunct, would be the perfect incubator test lab for Sears. In that sense, it could create enormous value for Sears as it repositions revived products.

Don’t just look at Craftsman and think about putting a price on it, but instead think about what are the next set of brands that will be worth millions that it can leverage across its vast retail network. These could be old dead brands that it has not used in years, other retail brands unconnected with Sears or even a merger with a one of the new wave of brand holding companies like Payless Shoe Source, Iconix or Jones New York. These holding companies own tons of brands, and could use the distribution.Granted, setting up a new design department takes time, and the Sears turnaround doesn’t have much. So, what are some brands that Sears could emphasize or buy now?

1. Free Spirit. Get these bikes rolling again. Sears uses the name for exercise equipment in Canada, but the brand still has punch here.

2. Toughskins. This Sears store brand was so well known that kids and parents demanded it after that iconic trampoline commercial in the 1970s. If Orville Redenbacher, Folgers and Tootsie Pop advertisements can be run over and over again, so too can Toughskins. They are tough pants that kids like tough. Toughskins Red. Toughskins Blue. It is on the shelves, but they need to promote it. It could be the next Boden.

3. Coldspot. A great fridge name which would work well with air conditioning, ice machines, tequila mixers, ice cream makers, freezers (duh!) and wine coolers. Plus, you could slap it on some $19.95 Thermos-like coolers by the door, and you’d be on your way to re-developing another brand. Make it a niche top line brand. Coldspot appliances were connected to the great industrial designer Raymond Loewy, so this bit of nostalgic fridge would attract the Mini/Target/Subaru crowd who wouldn’t dare have Kenmore. (Click on the fridge above to get a link to the Raymond Loewy site).

4. Carroll Reed. This defunct ski and outerwear line would be the perfect counterpart to Lands End, though it has never been part of Sears. If Lands End is about sailing and summer, Carroll Reed is about winter and skiing. And I bet the brand could be found for a lot cheaper than Restoration Hardware, as it has been defunct. Slap that puppy on some Icelandic sweaters knit in Bangladesh, Mr. Edward Lampert, and you’d have next Christmas nailed!

5. Chris Craft. This boat maker used to have a great line of catalog, clothes and accessories, though it never was associated with Sears. Nevertheless, Sears could really push this motorboat brand and bring it back, and complement Lands End, which has a sailing focus. Plus, boat makers are struggling with the housing recession and could use a little licensing cash. Those pink and green duck shoes. Wow.

6. Palm Harbor. Sears was the originator of the mail order prefab house. This category is hot again, even at a time when the rest of real estate is suffering. With energy costs, the small house will be back. Why doesn’t Sears buy a prefab maker like Palm Harbor, or develop its own kit house. Thats how you sell Kenmore… start with the house. And get Ty Pennington giving a few of them away. How about sponsoring an ABC “UN-EXTREME Makeover” for rich folks in McMansions who have become house poor in the latest mortgage mess. Drowning in credit card debt and mortgage balloons, they could move downscale to an affordable Sears house. (We are serious about this, by the way.

7. Eatons. Sears killed off this Canadian department store, though it did try to relaunch it. But bringing Eaton’s back as a store brand (not store name) in Canada would utilize some lost goodwill, as well as create a new brand that had real meaning for millions of Canadians. Or reopen ONE store as Eaton’s.

8. Roebuck. Don’t forget the Roebuck in your name. Many still call it Sears, Roebuck & Company. It can still be Sears Holdings as a company, and Sears as as a store, and the store signs don’t have to change, but occasionally, in formal reference, call it by the old name.