Sears Hometown Store is evolving with the times

The Sears Hometown Store recently held a re-grand opening to celebrate their new “America’s Appliance Experts” status.

The status signifies that the store will now offer a new and more organized product assortment, redesigned merchandising, new fixtures and signage, comprehensive employee monthly training – hence the term, “America’s Appliance Experts” – among other changes.

The new wave of improvements reaches other Sears Hometown Stores across Montana, helping communities like Libby with the evolving consumer needs.

“We listened to our customers and identified key areas where the store model could better meet the needs of the modern shopper,” said Tom Cronnelly, district manager of Sears Hometown Stores in Montana said in a press release. “Our sales teams have undergone industry-leading training to help guide shoppers to make the most informed buying decisions possible.”

Sears, a company over 100 years old, has a long history providing remote, western areas such as Libby with state-of-the-art and trendy products.

The Sears Catalog had a great impact during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, providing innovative products to remote areas that didn’t have access to those products, such as Libby. The catalog followed the westward expansion, uniting the U.S. under the progressing technologies such as washing machines, refrigerators and other appliances while also indulging its customers with trending fashion of the times.

While the catalog discontinued a little after the 2000s, the development of widespread internet access granted those same remote areas with access to certain brands they can’t buy in their own town by shopping online.

However, many remote and smaller towns don’t have access to the personal touch of an actual store, since Sears stores are currently commonly located in more urban towns and cities.

Libby is one of the very few smaller towns that contains its own Sears Hometown Store. Located downtown, the store offers home lawn and gardening supplies, appliances and tools.

Under the “refresh,” manager Jeremy Smook is excited for the employees to supply customers with more knowledgeable assistance and an expanded product selection.

Owner Markus Messmer takes pride in the store’s low prices that aren’t marked up like other small town businesses.

“I understand why people from here go to Kalispell to buy cheaper products,” Messmer said. “Our prices aren’t set by us. They’re locked. We don’t have the small-town markup.”

The store also has a price-match guarantee in which people can bring prices from other neighboring stores and the Sears Hometown Store will match the price.

The store also plans on expanding to include two touch-screen computers right up front for people to use for special orders or to look up more information on products.