Quincy News: Sears files for bankruptcy after years of turmoil

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Going out of business
Image via The Washington Post
– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

Sears files for bankruptcy after years of turmoil.

The 125-year-old icon was hit hard as a brick-and-mortar retailer saddled with massive numbers of big box stores and has thus struggled to compete with online rivals.

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A WalMart image
Ironically, in its heyday, Sears was an even larger portion of the American economy than is Amazon today as well as was the major player in mail order catalog sales and thus a seminal forerunner of online retail.

While online competitor took their bites out of the venerable old school retailer, Eddie Lambert – Sears longtime hedge fund director and Sears’ CEO who resigned when Sears filed for bankruptcy – was Sears’ worst enemy.

But not to worry for Eddie as he took control of Sears as a real estate play and stripped away its massive property holdings and often cheap long term store leases for himself and then as a landlord of a sort ruthlessly ground Sears into the ground as his tenant.

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
Image Ruceni Holidays
Among other spoils for Mr. Lambert include his $130 million two hundred and eighty-eight foot yacht The Fountainhead.

In other words, Lambert is not likely to be asking if you want fries with your order anytime soon.