Post by Brad Nelson on Apr 14, 2024 18:10:20 GMT -8
Once in a while I'll watch a documentary on YouTube. I thought this one was interesting:
Almost all the background was new to me. A couple themes were present. One was that when a company started targeting more upscale customers, this would present an opportunity for an upstart (Sears, later Kmart and Walmart).
When I was a kid, one of my neighbors seemingly lived by these catalogs, particularly the one from Montgomery Ward (which they would often, somewhat affectionately, call "Monkey Ward.")
I'm sure we got a Sears catalog a time or two. But my parents never shopped by mail order. But many did and swore by it. We're not much different today in our relationship with Amazon.
What I didn't know was that Montgomery Ward eventually became a slightly more upscale mail order house. And Sears began as the mail-order-catalog equivalent of snake oil...which they sold a lot of.
One reason Roebuck left the company was the drama he had to suffer through working with the mercurial Sears. Sears was a huckster and flew by the seat of his pants. And as the business grew, this presented problems.
With Roebuck gone, Sears soon got himself into trouble with his cash flow and ability to fulfill orders. He turned to one of his suppliers, Julius Rosenwald, for help. Rosenwald basically made a deal (apparently in conjunction with Aaron Nusbaum) to buy Roebuck's half of the company.
Who knowa if this documentary is slanted. But Rosenwald is painted as a near saint. And, indeed, if the documentary is accurate, he came about as close as any businessman ever will. But apparently his aversion to Sears' hucksterism (and his instituting of non-huckster advertising and products) bugged Sears to such an extent that he basically retired and enjoyed his riches...until a relatively early death.
As advanced as Amazon is in terms of fulfilling orders, it's shown that Sears had a yugely advanced fulfillment center with techniques that were extraordinarily efficient for the time.
There were ups and down in the economy over the years that stressed both companies. But Sears survived and thrived because of its early adoption of brick-and-mortar stores. The automobile had changed America's habits and the exec (Rosenwald? Sears? Both?) had anticipated the necessity of brick-and-mortar stores.
Montgomery Ward was late to this game. And when they did join, their stores tended to be in high-rent city centers. Sears built theirs on cheap land in the suburbs with lots of room for parking. That strategy proved to be a winning one.
Rosenwald became a yuge philanthropist in Chicago and was instrumental in saving a yuge area on the waterfront as a park.
Almost all the background was new to me. A couple themes were present. One was that when a company started targeting more upscale customers, this would present an opportunity for an upstart (Sears, later Kmart and Walmart).
When I was a kid, one of my neighbors seemingly lived by these catalogs, particularly the one from Montgomery Ward (which they would often, somewhat affectionately, call "Monkey Ward.")
I'm sure we got a Sears catalog a time or two. But my parents never shopped by mail order. But many did and swore by it. We're not much different today in our relationship with Amazon.
What I didn't know was that Montgomery Ward eventually became a slightly more upscale mail order house. And Sears began as the mail-order-catalog equivalent of snake oil...which they sold a lot of.
One reason Roebuck left the company was the drama he had to suffer through working with the mercurial Sears. Sears was a huckster and flew by the seat of his pants. And as the business grew, this presented problems.
With Roebuck gone, Sears soon got himself into trouble with his cash flow and ability to fulfill orders. He turned to one of his suppliers, Julius Rosenwald, for help. Rosenwald basically made a deal (apparently in conjunction with Aaron Nusbaum) to buy Roebuck's half of the company.
Who knowa if this documentary is slanted. But Rosenwald is painted as a near saint. And, indeed, if the documentary is accurate, he came about as close as any businessman ever will. But apparently his aversion to Sears' hucksterism (and his instituting of non-huckster advertising and products) bugged Sears to such an extent that he basically retired and enjoyed his riches...until a relatively early death.
As advanced as Amazon is in terms of fulfilling orders, it's shown that Sears had a yugely advanced fulfillment center with techniques that were extraordinarily efficient for the time.
There were ups and down in the economy over the years that stressed both companies. But Sears survived and thrived because of its early adoption of brick-and-mortar stores. The automobile had changed America's habits and the exec (Rosenwald? Sears? Both?) had anticipated the necessity of brick-and-mortar stores.
Montgomery Ward was late to this game. And when they did join, their stores tended to be in high-rent city centers. Sears built theirs on cheap land in the suburbs with lots of room for parking. That strategy proved to be a winning one.
Rosenwald became a yuge philanthropist in Chicago and was instrumental in saving a yuge area on the waterfront as a park.
