Interview with manager

Interview with marketing manager Manny of the Sears appliance outlet store in the Arizona mills.

Date: august 1 2009
Names: Petra, Jens , Bas
Location: Sears appliance outlet, Arizona Mills


1:
What is the main target group of Sears?

- Our target group is really everybody. In this store we see a lot of college kids’ and younger people because the prices are lower. But in general Sears has something for everyone.

2:
Can you tell us something about the way Sears promotes its self?

- Sears offers their clients credits. At Sears you can buy a product and pay it up to 6 months later. Sears also has a policy that if you find the same product in another shop for less money, Sears will pay you the difference. Every week we also advertise in both regional and national newspapers. There are also a lot of TV commercials of sears. Sears send business cards and packages to big companies in order to attract their attention.

3:
After a new promotional campaign, do you see a lot of new costumers buying that promoted product?

- Yes we do actually. Usually we see a lot of new people buying that product. They are different then regular customers in the way that they normally don’t become a regular costumer and just want bargains.

4:
Can you tell us something about the management structure? Are there for instance a lot of managers per store?

- Yes there are. You have a Lead supervisor and a supervisor at the top. Then a assistant and a floor manager. This outlet store only has 5 managers because we don’t have that many departments; a regular Sears store can have up to about 11 managers in charge of different departments.

5:
Can you tell us something about where the Sears stores are located?

- There are about 2 outlet stores per state and in total there are more than 2300 Sears stores located throughout the US, Mexico and Canada.






6:
Do you as a manager need to obey to a lot of rules given by the higher management?

- Yes, we have to do what the company tells us. Sometime that means that we have to make changes in the way we deal with personal or sometimes they want to make some changes in the way the stores look. We also need to give new staff a week long computer training and we have to learn them how they should treat the customer.

7:
What are the main Competitors of Sears?

- Well, Sears is really in a class of its own. There are other companies who sell the same product but not in the way we sell them. We only sell products that last long and are quality wise much better than the products of the competitors.
People come to Sears because they know what to expect, high end products.

8:
What are the main partner companies of Sears?

- Well we deal a lot whit the CD Bank and the HSBC Bank. These are both credit banks. Also K-Mart is a part of the Sears Group.

9:
How does Sears tries to stay ahead of the competition?

- Well simply by offering a huge array of product and by selling only high end product which will last for a long time. When costumers buy something at Sears they will almost always come back.

10:
What is the message that Sears tries to tell to its customers?

Want something to last? Come to Sears?

11:
How does Sears optimize its distribution channels?

- Sears has its own Trucks. Its own distribution center and tries to make as many product possible in the US.

12:
Did the economic crises had an effect on Sears?

- Well certainly not this outlet store! We didn’t see a drop in costumers especially because we are cheaper than a regular store. Also the regular sears stores are hardly been effected by the crises. People just keep on buying and they chose Sears as the place to buy their product.



13:
Final question: How did you become a manager at Sears?

I started working as regular employee. And just by helping costumers and showing lead I became promoted. And if you show that you work as a team, show lead, and just do you job you will eventually become a manager.


Thank you very much for your time and have a nice day!

- Your welcome!

End of interview.