Sears debuts DieHard Auto Center

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (Feb. 21, 2017) — Sears Holdings Corp. opened its first DieHard Auto Center Driven by Sears location in San Antonio, Feb. 17, as an "off mall" pilot shop aimed at offering a contemporary setting with interactive in-store displays.

"The goal is to continue to improve how we serve our members and to help today's drivers make the right choices for their vehicle's needs with our state-of-the-art technology and services," a Sears spokesperson said.

"... This is the first pilot location and we look forward to feedback from our local members. We'll continue to evaluate this pilot before making a decision regarding any future locations."

The company-owned DieHard Auto Center in San Antonio sports six service bays and employs 10, including five technicians.

The DieHard Auto Center is located "off-mall" for more convenient access, the spokesperson said. The company's chain of Sears Auto Centers are usually connected to Sears retail stores at shopping malls.

The store sells tires and DieHard batteries and offers tire and battery installation services and repairs, oil changes, fluid maintenance services, brake replacement and repairs, suspension shocks/struts replacement and repairs, electrical repairs and services, and diagnostic services and repairs. The shop does not offer alignments, Sears said.

The pilot store also is leveraging interactive in-store merchandise displays and advanced diagnostic technology among its suite of services, which include:

• DieHard 360° Vehicle Assessment which provides customers with a comprehensive 120-point inspection to assess a vehicle's condition to help them buy, sell, or just maintain their vehicle;

• DieHard Edge Maintenance Plans which provides 36 months or 45,000 miles (whichever comes first) of covered maintenance locked in at current discounted prices (a savings range from 25 to 40 percent off regular retail prices, according to Sears) and is available in three flexible plans;

• Digital Tire Journey app that relies on IBM Watson Natural Language Classifier service to help customers identify the appropriate tires to fit their driving preferences. Customers also can use touchscreens in the store to access the Digital Tire Journey; and

• Free Wi-Fi for customers to access while waiting for their cars to be serviced.

The company said it will evaluate the market acceptance of this pilot store to determine the potential for more company-owned DieHard service centers in the future. The number of service bays and employees will vary by location based on the facility space and market need.

The opening of the DieHard pilot store comes on the heels of Sears' announcing the closing of 30 Sears Auto Centers and 42 Sears retail stores as the retail chain struggles with operating losses and underperforming stores.

For more information about the new San Antonio DieHard Auto Center Driven by Sears, visit Searsauto.com/diehardauto.