Sears Strikes Back at TheStreet for MyGofer
TheStreet.com might have thought dumping MyGofer into its The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week column was witty, but the store's developer, Sears Holding, doesn't think its smart to judge an idea without a fair trial.
The first MyGofer store, which combines online and showroom ordering with quick store pick up and delivery options, opened quietly during May in Joliet, Ill. and has been gearing up operations gradually.
Brenda Storch, a spokeswoman for MyGofer and Sears Holding said:
The Joliet store just put its open sign up last Friday [May 29], and TheStreet.com article ran three weeks ago. We expect there will be skepticism, and that is fine. Our job is to deliver on the promise of our concept so customers can understand how it fits into their lives. At the same time, it might be a bit early to condemn a brand new concept. MyGofer is a completely new shopping experience leveraging our online strengths, supply chain expertise and customer focus. It is not an enhanced version of any other retailer. Over time we will be able to tailor our assortments based on the needs of our customers in a given market.Sears is counting on convenience to attract consumers to MyGofer and help differentiate it from other retail operations. Convenience has been a significant retail trend over the past several years and has remained important despite the recession. It has been central to the development of whole store formats, Tesco's Fresh & Easy, for example, and Wal-Mart's Marketside. While they don't mix clicks and bricks elements the way MyGofer does, they do combine ease of shopping with low prices to enhance their competitiveness. Said Storch:
Our goal is to make life easier for customers and to offer options that were not available before, all designed to save customers time and money. The Joliet store will feature a large online assortment and will cater to shoppers seeking both convenience and value, from the busy parent with three kids in the back seat to the person who needs a last minute gift, the DIY'er or the host that needs to throw a party with very little notice.Another way MyGofer provides convenience, she pointed out, is by carrying a broader assortment of products and brands than a traditional retailer including appliances, bed and bath, baby essentials, daily consumables including food, electronics, sporting goods and workwear. "Our customers can browse our expanded assortment which includes thousands of products and trusted brands to meet a variety of budget ranges," she added. "Over time we will be able to tailor our assortments based on the needs of our customers in a given market."
Order and pick up are designed to be convenient, too. Customers put together an order at www.mygofer.com, by phone, or at terminals in the store's showroom lobby, then select when they'd like to receive their merchandise. They can pick up their MyGofer order immediately â€" or at least within a few minutes â€" at some other point in the day or days later. Joliet visitors retrieve their products through a drive-thru, via in-store pick-up or by shipment. "MyGofer offers its customers more flexibility than ever before, more choices, more shopping options, and we will save them valuable time on top of that," Storch said.