Franchise Bits

Franchise news reports that in a lawsuit that pits a David vs. Goliath battle of mom-and-pop store operators against the retail giant that is Sears, a group of store owns Monday sued the chain, claiming its acquisition by Kmart has created unfair competition by making its products available at Kmart and other stores.

The DSOA (Dealer Store Owners Association) which represents more than 200 Sears stores filed suite against Sears Roebuck & Co. in Minneapolis federal court this week.

“Most dealers invested their life savings and 401(k) plans in these stores,” the group’s president, Steve Granger, said. “Now they risk losing it all. … This is hardly the way to build trust in a brand name.”

Sears responded, “It’s true that you can now find Sears brands like Kenmore and Craftsman at Kmart stores. In all likelihood, the combination of Sears Holdings is putting a lot of emphasis on popularizing these brands,” said Kurt Barnard, president of Retail Forecasting Group. “I don’t know to what extent this might impinge or inflict loss of market share to the dealers.”

How will this news affect Sears retail outlets in the near future? It’s uncertain, but we’ll be on the lookout for future updates.