The Rise And Fall Of Sears Is The Perfect Symbol Of Retail’s Challenges Over The Last Decade

Sears, Roebuck, & Co. could practically touch the sky in 1969. At the height of its powers, the retailer began constructing a Chicago skyscraper to house its employees that year. Finished in 1973, Sears Tower was, for a time, the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Three decades later, the naming rights to the tower expired. Sears by then was a far different business from the company that had undertaken the skyscraper project. The New York Times reported that by 2004, the company had vacated its namesake building altogether. In 2009, the Willis Group bought the naming rights. Now, 10 years later, Sears is emerging from a traumatic bout with bankruptcy, closing stores by the hundreds and laying off employees by the thousands. Read more at Business Insider.