Want to revisit the 50s? Just shop at a Sears store

Even Wal-Mart has a fresher look than many of the Sears locations (the WSJ calls it a "bare-bones aesthetic"), and retail experts say it's been a factor in falling sales. I actually enjoy the retro look of its Santa Monica store, but I'm not exactly the desired demographic. From the Journal:

Maintenance and renovations are important for a fresh atmosphere that signals to shoppers that products are up-to-date and worth buying. Even Wal-Mart, a company known for Spartan operations, spent billions on remodeling in recent years. Macy's just announced a $400 million renovation of its flagship Herald Square store notes Craig Johnson of consultancy Customer Growth Partners. By comparison, that's only slightly less than what Sears spent--$441 million--on capital expenditures last fiscal year. The retailer has roughly 2,200 full-line stores as well as more than 900 smaller locations.

This afternoon Sears Holdings reported a third-quarter loss of $421 million, compared with a loss of $218 million a year earlier. Not wonderful.

Some of Sears's newer mall locations have a prettier patina, but Mr. Johnson of Customer Growth Partners said the overall Sears fleet is the most rundown in U.S. retailing. "With these 'dead man walking' stores, the objective of the parent company is not to maximize [store] productivity but milk it for what little it has left before it can sell the property," Mr. Johnson said.