The Sears Hometown store in Cortez has changed its look after a grand reopening on March 9 and 10.
Along with hundreds of other Sears Hometown locations nationwide, the one in Cortez has been rebranded as an “America’s Appliance Experts” store. With that title comes a wider variety of appliances, a new kiosk to make it easier for customers to order in parts and other updates. Store owners David and Naomi Farrell said the change has already boosted business.
“Here in town, nobody really sells new appliances,” David Farrell said. “You have (Bob’s Place) down the street that sells used appliances, but otherwise you have to go to Durango.”
With the store update, Naomi Farrell said she and her husband can sell a much wider range of refrigerators, ovens, washing machines and other appliances across a wider price range. Their new inventory also includes several complete kitchen sets, which combine four different appliances in one. Those sets are now displayed prominently in the store.
As part of the update, the store has also installed a computer kiosk near the entrance that customers can use to order machine parts that aren’t stocked in Cortez. David Farrell said he keeps a limited number of replacement parts in the store, but with the new computer, customers can order parts from other Sears stores to be delivered to the Cortez location.
Although the store has been in operation since the 1990s, the Farrells have owned it for just over a year. They said that with dozens of big box Sears stores going out of business around the country, they see the store update as a way to remind people that they aren’t going anywhere.
“We get that question all the time: ‘I heard you all are going out of business, and if I buy this, are you going to be here tomorrow?’” David Farrell said.
He said that although his store gets supplies from Sears, it’s a Hometown, or outlet, store rather than a part of the national chain. Hometown stores are individually owned businesses with a license to use the Sears name, and he said they haven’t been hit as hard by the financial problems that have plagued the larger company in recent years.
The Cortez Sears Hometown store is located on 1 E. Main St. It is open from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.