I worked for Sears in the 80's , I was hired when they let all the full time workers go. It was a decent job for college. 3.50 an hour plus 3% commission in the auto center. Sears opened a new store at the same time it went to "Brand Central". I remember a sign that read" Sears the World's Largest Retailer". It was their last breath of dominance. They were unimaginable in their thinking. I was told customers would wait for a hot water heater because it was a Kenmore, sending new mowers to customers missing parts and told them to "order them". I know we all have stories. When the current CEO merged Kmart and Sears one of the first things he did so he could take control was have the board sell its interest in the Sears Credit Card. I did not understand but I think this was planned with that sale. He had the cash cow sold so he could buy Sears and basically mothball the entire operation and use as his ATM. I been reading this because after college I worked for another retailer that went bankrupt. Its the same model. I am sorry for all your suffering , but their is a better world, it might be a good opportunity for a new career so you can find a job that will offer better benefits and holidays off. I was very lucky I found an office job at a factory and I never thought I would work 9-5. Things might be rough at first but I really believe you will be much happier. God Bless and Good Luck
2 replies (most recent on top)
Some reading to clear up the timeline...
Kmart filed for bankruptcy in Jan 2002, and came out of it in May 2003: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22457-2003May6.html?noredirect=on
Eddie Lampert became Kmart chairman in May 2003: https://searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/1435
Sears credit cards sold to Citi in July 2003: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/16/business/sears-to-sell-card-portfolio-to-citigroup-for-3-billion.html
Sears/Kmart merger announced in Nov 2004, with Eddie to become chairman of the combined company: http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/newsmakers/lampert/
At the time of the merger, Eddie controlled 47% of Kmart and 15% of Sears: http://adage.com/article/news/kmart-acquires-sears-11-billion/41557/
Sears CEO (brought over from Kmart) Aylwin Lewis quit in Jan 2008, and over a year later still hadn't been replaced: https://consumerist.com/2009/02/27/sears-chairman-unleashes-15-page-manifesto-about-um-everything/index.html
Eddie finally started calling himself CEO some time later in 2009.
So the credit card sale was definitely before Eddie officially could've had anything to do with it, but we'll probably never know if he had behind-the-scenes influence on that decision, in preparation for the big merger the very next year.
They sold the credit card business before Eddie took over. Sorry, wrong information 80's dude.