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Sears touts unemployment safety net

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By NANCY TREJOS

The Washington Post

Published: July 4, 2009

If you've lost your job after making a big appliance purchase, you might be in luck.

Sears Holdings Corp., the nation's largest appliance retailer, announced this week that it is launching a program to modify payments for customers who have lost their jobs. The catch? They have to have bought at least $399 in merchandise with a Citibank Sears card.

The program runs from Monday through Aug. 1. If the customer loses his or her full-time job at least 60 days after the date of purchase, one-twelfth of the purchase price will be credited to the account each month that the person is unemployed. That credit will cover not just the appliance but related accessories, extended warranties, maintenance agreements and sales tax. If the customer is unemployed for more than a year from the date of purchase, he or she will receive a credit for the remaining purchase amount - and keep the appliance.

It's an interesting program but not a completely altruistic one. The company needs to figure out a way to boost sales. In the quarter that ended May 2, the company had an 11.7 percent decline in sales at stores that had been open at least a year.

A few automakers took a similar approach this year. Buyers who subsequently lost jobs could return their vehicles and get some of their money back.

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