Cheney gets a small taste of Sears

Dan Hilton is a hometown guy who wanted to run a hometown kind of store.

So, the fourth-generation Cheney resident partnered with a retail giant to open a small store with a big name: Sears.

At 10,000 square feet, the Sears store at 10 W. First St. in Cheney is a small fry compared to its 132,000 square-foot sibling at Spokane Valley Mall.

But as one of 818 dealer stores serving rural communities nationwide, the Cheney Sears combines mom and pop service with convenient access to big brands like Kenmore, Craftsman and others.

The stores carry specific categories of merchandise, including appliances, electronics, tools and lawn and garden supplies and provide on-line access for broader purchases, like clothing and house wares.

Hilton, 31, and his 26-year-old wife Keri own the store and Sears, Roebuck & Co. owns the inventory. The independent stores earn commissions ranging from about one percent to 20 percent, depending upon the item sold.

“It provides me with an opportunity to support my family,” Hilton said.

Steve Titus, a vice president for the company based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said providing inventory cuts startup expenses for store owners, who pay for staffing, computer and facility costs.

Some locations do better than others, Titus explained, but sales average $1.7 to $1.8 million per store.

“They’ve really exceeded our expectations in terms of performance,” Titus said.

Hilton heard that Sears wanted to open a Cheney store from his wife’s uncle, Dan Lister. Lister owns Sears’ stores in Colville and Sandpoint, Idaho.

The family-friend angle common within the independent stores, said Titus, who has family member who owns a Sears.

People interested in owning a store go through an application and interviewing process. A week of corporate training follows. Once stores are up and running, owners can call a support-line for assistance.

In addition to saving rural customers a commute, shoppers often like supporting small, local businesses. But the small Sears’ stores also offer delivery schedules, pricing and advertised specials that are a chip off the larger corporate block.

“It’s kind of like the future catalog ala-dot.com mixed with a small retail store,” Titus said. “It’s even better than the old catalog stores.”