NBC Nightly News open - 2004-11-17

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:01] The Music City makeovers finally

[0:03] revealed tomorrow on Channel 4 News at

[0:05] 5. John Cameron if it breaks John

[0:09] Chance. Attention shoppers, Kmart is

[0:12] buying Sears with the surprise

[0:13] multi-billion dollar merger could mean

[0:15] for you. A wave of violence across Iraq

[0:19] today and an NBC News investigation.

[0:21] Graphic videos of attacks on Americans

[0:23] posted on the internet by insurgents.

[0:26] Why are these horrifying images so

[0:28] popular in some parts of the world?

[0:31] Too old to get behind the wheel? Another

[0:33] serious car accident involving an

[0:35] elderly driver. Some changes have been

[0:37] made, but are they enough?

[0:40] And Elizabeth Edwards speaks out about

[0:42] the day she'll never forget when she

[0:44] learned she had breast cancer.

[0:50] From NBC News World Headquarters in New

[0:53] York, this is NBC Nightly News with Tom

[0:56] Bro.

[0:58] Good evening. America likes to shop.

[1:00] It's the largest and richest consumer

[1:02] society in the world. And the

[1:04] competition for getting customers

[1:05] through the doors into the cash

[1:06] registers has never been more fierce or

[1:09] worth more. Today, the game changed

[1:11] again when two struggling retail empires

[1:14] with big names got married. Kmart and

[1:17] Sears. But what does it mean for you?

[1:20] Does it mean more choices at still lower

[1:22] prices? Here's NBC's Anne Thompson.

[1:26] >> It's a merger of two venerable but

[1:28] vulnerable retailers. While it's the

[1:31] once bankrupt Kmart that's buying Sears

[1:33] in this 11 billion deal, it appears the

[1:35] Sears name will dominate the new retail

[1:38] arrangement. The Sears name is a

[1:40] superior name with customers as it's

[1:43] been around for a hundred years uh and

[1:45] it has a tremendous quality uh

[1:48] connection to the name.

[1:49] >> What Kmart brings is real estate stores

[1:52] near those discount powerhouses Walmart

[1:54] and Target and the opportunity for Sears

[1:57] to go beyond the mall and reach busy

[1:59] consumers like Karen Meyers of suburban

[2:02] Chicago. price and like I said,

[2:04] convenience of in-n-out uh and location

[2:07] to where I live.

[2:08] >> Today's customer is not shopping as much

[2:10] in the regional malls. They're shopping

[2:12] more freestanding stores. That's what

[2:14] Kmart gives them.

[2:15] >> The clear focus is

[2:16] >> chairman Edward Lampard in an analyst

[2:18] call today acknowledged Sears has had a

[2:20] disappointing year, but says moving

[2:22] Sears into some Kmart locations will

[2:24] strengthen the company. It's not that

[2:27] the retailer per se is weak, but if you

[2:29] have the greatest store and it's not

[2:31] near where the customers are, that's a

[2:33] problem.

[2:33] >> Welcome to Kmart.

[2:35] >> Customers will see other changes, too,

[2:37] in the store's products. Martha

[2:39] Stewart's Housewares, a Kmart exclusive,

[2:41] could sell at Sears, while Kenmore

[2:43] Appliances could be at Kmart. And as the

[2:46] two become the nation's third largest

[2:48] retailer, their purchasing power will

[2:50] grow, meaning lower prices for

[2:52] consumers.

[2:53] >> Thank you. But the biggest challenge

[2:55] will still be to establish a unique

[2:57] identity in this very competitive field.

[3:00] Walmart is known for everyday low

[3:01] prices. Target for cheap chic. So the

[3:04] question is what will the combined

[3:06] forces of Kmart and Sears be?

[3:09] >> CEO Alan Lacy.

[3:10] >> Target. We've got better brands, better

[3:12] service, and we're the trade-up.

[3:13] >> Everything is on sale.

[3:14] >> That's the spin. But will customers

[3:16] agree?