Sears Holdings has expanded its Sears Auto Center partnership with Amazon across the U.S., reaching 118 stores in 21 states. The collaboration lets shoppers order tires from Amazon and have them shipped to a Sears auto shop, where they can be installed for a small fee.
The two retailers initially teamed up in May 2018 with an initial 47 participating Sears stores. The partnership has been successful, with very positive feedback from Amazon customers, according to Mike McCarthy, VP and General Manager of Sears Automotive.
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“Customers are taking advantage of additional services during the tire installation process, such as oil changes and alignments,” said McCarthy in a statement. “We are meeting our 60-minute tire installation commitment, and over 90% of the Amazon customers are new Sears Automotive customers.”
The partnership is a bright spot for the troubled retailer, which put 16 stores up for sale in April 2018. Sears started the year more than $1 billion in debt, and CEO Eddie Lampert has offered to acquire Sears Home Improvement and PartsDirect businesses for $500 million to give the company a cash infusion.
