Why Sears Is Failing

Have you been to a Sears lately? Highly unlikely. How about a RadioShack? Perhaps. Probably to buy a battery. They probably asked you for your zip code. Like most people you gave it to them and then wondered what they did with the data. (And based on their being basically shut down, not anything useful.) Yet there once was a time when Sears was one of the most successful retailers in the USA. Founded 131 years ago, Sears is the 18th largest retailer in the US – and was larger than Macy’s until just two years ago. The story of Sears is the quintessential American success story. Its growth parallels the growth of the country. Its stores are placed conveniently to the majority of the American public. So how did it end up being in the Brand Dead Zone? A cautionary tale. In its heyday half of American families had a Sears credit card. They employed over 500,000 people. They were responsible for 2% of the GDP. And while they are still large, at $25 Billion, they have been in a long slow slide to Chapter 11, if not 7 for some 50 years, slowly, but surely. Read more at Observer.