I think a big mistake that has inevitably led to the free fall of this company - lack of investment in innovation. How did it happen and why did it happen, can somebody explain that me?
Those who are here longer than I am tell me that this used to be an innovative company that simply ceased to think it is necessary to introduce new innovations.
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That’s like saying my bad haircut k–led me not the cancer.
It's not about innovation. That's already too late.
Sears and Kmart is already a tarnished brand. It will never recover, much less to its old glory. If it won't go bankrupt it will remain a zombie company. A company with online and niche department stores that sell odd stuffs for odd "members".
Google "Lampert Ayn Rand". That will give you some answers
and the opportunity to take the money and run while hiding under various tax shelters for the squalor their disrepair causes is far too tempting and Eddie smelled blood in the water -fin
Modern 1949 and newer Sears, has ALWAYS been about real estate lol. Searstowns snd Sears Shoppingtowne malls may have reinvented retail as the world knows it, The malls were also set up as MASSIVE tax shelters that were designed to fail at one point or another. I understand the nostalgic heart flutters that people seem to have about Sears, however, the reality is a far different picture. Sears was the first company to build malls and charge the tenants not only a flat fee per month, also a percentage of the profit a store makes after taxes and expenses. Sears did not keep innovating and the reason was simply that the retail arm of the business was designed to fail and the hope and belief was that the company would live on being the landlord for the grandiose properties they built. Two major problems with this idea though, the cost of maintaining behemouth sized and highly ornate properties is astronomical, and the opportunity to take the money and run while hiding under various tax shelters for the squalor their disrepair causes.
Early on he made it clear that he was not interested in investing in the stores and innovation.
Edie bought Sears for the real estate. He had no interest in innovation or retail.
Thank you for you post. Everybody these days is ranting about a pandemic, political unrest, mass shootings, racism, etc.; but I'm like you, I lay awake at night wanting someone to explain to me why there was such a lack of innovation at Sears.
Eddie took money out of Sears, invested no money, and bought Yachts instead while developing metrics to maximize losses more effectively than any retailer ever.