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The company watches over its loyal suppliers and rushes to their assistance when they need help. The Sears relationship with Globe-Union, which manufactures DieHard batteries, goes back 59 years. In 1972 Sears bought $8.5 million worth of the company's preferred stock to allow it to expand. Now known as Globe Battery and a division of Johnson Controls, last year it sold Sears $176 million worth of batteries.
While it can be helpful, Sears is also exacting. Says Milton Zilis, vice president of Johnson Controls: "Sears carries very heavy muscle, and it is constantly demanding innovation." This year Sears introduced Globe's DieHard Incredicell battery, which is smaller, lighter and more powerful than the previous model. In addition, the battery sounds a buzzer when a motorist shuts his engine off but leaves on the headlights. A set of indicator lights shows if the battery's charge is strong or fading.
The care and feeding of Sears' suppliers is an art. This year 80 of the best suppliers received awards at the company's annual "Partners in Progress" dinner, presided over by Merchandising Boss Brennan. The winners of trophies and crystal prisms are not just big companies. This year Gear, Inc., of New York City, with Sears just since 1983, was praised for the stylish looks of its country-furniture designs, now on display in half of Sears stores. Gear earned design royalties in 1983 on the $500 million of its creations sold by Sears and other stores.
By and large, Sears targets its products for Middle America. Nowhere on any Sears shelf are there to be found such items of acknowledged excellence, but high price, as Dunhill cigarette lighters, Rolex watches or Leica cameras. Sears does not try to lead the customer to new and esoteric, and sometimes useless, products. Says Joseph Batogowski, senior executive vice president of merchandising: "We are a mass merchant. We strive to carry not avant-garde goods, but the current state of mass America."
The company has learned to trust its customers' judgment. In 1926 Sears ran a contest for a name for its tires. One suggestion: Allstate, later adopted by the insurance subsidiary. The company and its public have an intricate, almost passionate relationship. In the minds of executives in Sears Tower, customers are always present. At Batogowski's staff meetings, an empty chair sits among the participants. On it is a sign with the words THE CUSTOMER. Americans, in turn, respond to that attention. Sears gets letters all the time asking its advice on almost every human problem, from marital to technical. Politicians have even tried to get Sears on their side. In the 1930s a storied Georgia Governor told voters that they could count on "God Almighty, Sears, Roebuck and Eugene Talmadge."
Sears executives realize that customer loyalty is their greatest strength. Says Chairman Telling: "As large as it is, Sears remains highly respected for fair dealing and honesty. That's something invaluable. You couldn't buy it."
Much of the positive feeling toward Sears comes from its pledge of "satisfaction