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Pushing through all the changes at Sears is turning out to be a difficult task in ways large and small. The staid Sears corporate culture coexists uneasily with the style of the new ventures. Telling, Brennan and other top Sears executives still wear Sears suits, but the Dean Witter stockbrokers are more likely to shop at Brooks Brothers. The hefty entertaining allowances and six-figure commission incomes paid to top brokers grate on some middle-level Sears managers. Says Charles f Moran, head of corporate planning:
"Our goal has been to share the values |of the different corporate cultures and yet protect them. If you weaken the en|trepreneurial drive in these firms you weaken the company."
At the same time, the merchandise group is hewing more closely to the wishes of headquarters. Layers of bureaucracy have been stripped away and 1,500 managers sent off to early retirement. In November, executives from across the U.S. filed into the Sears Tower to learn the latest company look in mannequins and displays. Said one manager: "We are getting to the point where every store will look the same, like McDonald's.
When you go into a Sears store anywhere in the country, you'll know you're home."
Sears has spent 97 years adjusting to the changing whims of American shoppers. The success of its latest rejuvenation proves that it has not lost its touch as a retailer. And should future stores require teller windows or cash machines, Sears wants to be prepared to offer those services too. —By Alexander L Taylor III.
Reported by J. Madeleine Nash/Chicago