American retail icon Sears files for bankruptcy
Sears has closed hundreds of stores in recent years amid a retail shakeout caused in part by the rise of Amazon and other e-commerce players
Sears, the venerable US chain that once dominated the retail sector but had been in decline since the advent of the Amazon era, filed for bankruptcy Monday.
The Chapter 11 filing to reorganise debts of the parent of Sears, Roebuck and Co and Kmart Corp follows a decade of revenue declines, hundreds of store closures, and years of deals by billionaire Chief Executive Officer Eddie Lampert in an attempt to turn around the company he bought in 2004.
Lampert had pledged to restore Sears to its glory days, when it owned the tallest building in the world and companies that included a radio station and Allstate insurance.
But the company has not turned a profit since 2011, and critics say Lampert let the stores deteriorate over the years, even as he bought the company’s stock and lent it money.
It has sold off the legendary Craftsman brand and is considering an offer from Lampert for the Kenmore appliance name.
The company listed US$6.9 billion in assets and US$11.3 billion in liabilities in documents filed in the US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.