Retail giant Amazon and cash-strapped retailer Sears are teaming up to sell and service tires. Who's helping who here, guys?
Remember Sears? Yeah, the stores are still around, but have you ever gone into a Sears auto center? Well, Amazon is here, of course, to lend a helping hand to the floundering retail destination (or lack thereof) to help sell tires and service. The deal would comprise of sales of Sears' DieHard tire brand or off-brands on Amazon.com with service at Sears' Auto Center locations.
On Amazon, shoppers will also be able to reserve appointment slots shortly after ordering, incurring a small installation fee, followed by a Sears confirmation. The tech giant can do damn near anything now.
Amazon to the Rescue
At the moment, there are 47 participating Sears Auto Centers in eight cities, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, and Chicago, with plans to expand to all 400 nationwide centers within the next several months. In all, close to 2,100 technicians will be available to perform tire installations.
Immediately after the announcement, Sear's Holdings' stock price moved up 19 percent after dropping 70 percent from a year ago.
This year marks a timid improvement, with a severe decline in sales due to increased competition from online and brick and mortar stores such as Walmart, Amazon, and Lowes.
Other partnerships with Amazon have included sales of DieHard brand merchandize and Kenmore-branded appliances through Alexa.
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