Sears mounts Christmas offensive; giant retailer will concentrate on holiday theme and expand hours

Flush from the initial success of the imageladen “softer side of Sears” fashion campaign, the Sears Merchandise Group is trying out an expansive holiday marketing theme a standard practice for other retailers but a break with tradition for Sears.
The $32 billion chain is wrapping the season’s marketing efforts with the theme, “home for the holidays,” and implementing expanded shopping hours-another advantage its competitors have long employed. “It’s accurate for me to say Sears will have its most unified holiday marketing in years,” said Sears Merchandise Group svp/marketing John Costello.
Sears is hiking ad spending 15% to support the expanded campaign from Ogilvy & Mather/ Chicago.