Tough To Read

Here is a Bloomberg article on the decline of Sears.  It is a sad story for a company that was America's top retailer for nearly 100 years.  The article states that Sears' decline in the 1980s when it "made a real estate play instead of focusing on selling stuff."  I am not a fan of financiers owning retailers, but Sears' issues pre-date Eddie Lambert's acquisition of it in 2004, although he has played his part in Sears' downfall:

Since then, Sears and Kmart have been slowly dismantled by Lampert. Implementing a culture of warring tribes, one in which divisions would battle it out for resources, little cash was funneled back into reviving physical stores. Chunks of the business were sold to keep the lights on. In January, the company sold the famous tool brand Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker Inc. for about $900 million. “He did nothing to maintain the stores—nothing to spiff them up and make them a nice place to go shopping,” said Robin Lewis, a longtime industry analyst and chief executive of the Robin Report.