At first the thought process was that early news about the going out of business sales starting in early December would k–l Black Friday sales. Then they looked at the Black Friday ads and the sad state of inventory and realized it would not make one whit of difference. The brilliant plan last year lost over a billion dollars even with ad spend, marketing, and there was some actual inventory. The realization is that going out of business sales bring in more traffic with jacked up prices, and hapless walk-ins who think they're getting a bargain are none the wiser. Eddie would liquidate the whole company this season if he could, because going out of business is really the best plan he can come up with for retail operations. This was the case even when he wasn't doing it on purpose.
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So why doesnt he at least close all the Kmarts instead of dragging this out? Close them all except Guam, or whatever 1-2 stores are Profitable. Just focus on the small format Sears and be done with Kmart.
Eddie has been masterful in this controlled liquidation of Sears and K mart. Remember the guy with the gold makes the rules. And in the end he will profit.