A once-dominant retail giant has been reduced to just five remaining stores after decades of decline.
Founded in 1886, Sears was once one of America’s biggest retailers, operating 2,700 stores at its peak.
However, years of underinvestment, shrinking sales and controversial business decisions have left the department store chain on the brink of disappearing completely.
The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018, a move many analysts saw as the culmination of years of decline.
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said at the time: “Today is a day that will live in retail infamy. That a storied retailer, once at the pinnacle of the industry, should collapse in such a shabby state of disarray is both terrible…