Timeline: 'Digital Sears' Announcements and News
The growth and expansion of Sears Web-related business is illustrated by the following timeline:
July 2000
-- Sears.com Relaunches Site, Adds Five New Product Categories:
Home Electronics, Computers and Office Equipment, Small Appliances
and Cookware, Baby Products and School Uniforms Now Online; Smoother
Navigation, Enhanced Searches and Common Shopping Cart Aim to Simplify
Shopping
-- BobVila.com Announces CEO
-- Sears.com Leads HFN List of "Top 10 Home Furnishings Sites" in May
-- Forbes Names GlobalNetXchange as One of the Premier B2B Companies
June 2000
-- Sears PartsDirect Launches Commercial Web Site
-- InternetWeek 100 E-Business List Names Sears Top Retail/Distribution
Company
-- Sears Demonstrates PersonalGenie™ Digital Portrait Technology at
JavaOne™
May 2000
-- Top Australian Retailer, Coles Myer Ltd., Joins GlobalNetXchange
April 2000
-- Sears, IBM Announce Plans to Create thegreatindoors.com
-- Lawn and Garden on sears.com Launches with 600+ Tools, Mowers,
Grills . . .
March 2000
-- Kroger Joins Sears, Carrefour and Other Retailers in GlobalNetXchange
-- European Retail Giants Metro AG and J Sainsbury plc Join
GlobalNetXchange
-- Sears and AOL Announce Broad Strategic Alliance
-- Sears, Bob Vila Announce Joint Venture, BobVila.com
February 2000
-- Sears/Carrefour/Oracle Announce GlobalNetXchange: First Online Global
B2B Exchange for Retail
-- Sears Online Customer Service Wins Swift-E Award
January 2000
-- Sears/Sun Microsystems Announce Collaboration on Internet-Connected
Home
December 1999
-- Sears.com Ranked Fourth Fastest Growing Shopping Site in Fourth Quarter
(Nielsen//NetRatings)
November 1999
-- Introduction of Instant Online Credit Applications for Sears Card
-- Tool Territory Launches with 120+ Brands and Nearly 5,000 Tools
-- Popular Sears Gift Card Debuts Online
October 1999
-- Appliance Site Expands, Adding Mid-size Appliances
September 1999
-- New Issue of wishbook.com Features 5,000 Gifts, Toys, Sports
Collectibles
May 1999
-- Largest Appliance Site Launches: 2,000 Products; Only Site with Top Six
Brands
April 1999
-- PartsDirect Site Launches with More than 4.2 Million Parts
1998
-- Wishbook Introduced Online
1997
-- Sears Launches its First E-commerce Venture: Craftsman Tools on
sears.com
1996
-- Sears Launches an Information Web Site: sears.com
Related Sears Statistics:
The value of Clicks and Bricks:
-- When the Craftsman site launched in 1997, research revealed that those
customers who bought online subsequently bought 27% more products in
Sears stores.
-- Nearly 10% of major appliance sales in Sears stores are influenced by
sears.com. That's a lot of influence, considering that Sears sells
more appliances than any other U.S. retailer.
The popularity of Sears as a resource for home products:
-- If you add the sales of the second through tenth largest appliance
retailers together, that's the size of Sears appliance sales.
-- Sears is the fourth largest U.S. retailer for audio and video
equipment. Sears sells more camcorders and TV/VCR combinations than
any other retailer in the U.S., is the second largest retailer for
projection TVs, and the third largest for large-screen TVs and DVDs.
-- Craftsman is the top-selling brand of tools in the U.S. Craftsman is
also the number-one-rated brand in America for overall quality -- ahead
of Crayola, Kodak, Hallmark and Reynolds Wrap -- according to a 1999
Equitrend survey of more than 2,000 consumers throughout the nation.
-- Craftsman has been America's best-selling lawnmower and tractors for
the past 20 years. Sears is the nation's largest retailer of lawn and
garden power equipment.
-- Sears own Kenmore is America's top-selling appliance brand. It's found
in one out of every two American homes.
An expanded timeline, with details supporting each headline, is also available by e-mailing Ann Woolman at awoolma@sears.com .
SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck & Co.
Contact: Media Contact, Ann Woolman of Sears, Roebuck and Co.,
847-286-7079, email, awoolma@sears.com
Website: http://www.sears.com/