In 1995, Sears had everything Amazon would later become famous for. Mail-order catalog. Nationwide logistics. Its own credit card. Its own insurance company. Iconic private brands like Craftsman, Kenmore, and DieHard. Customer data on tens of millions of American families.
Today, Sears has fewer than 12 stores left. Down from 3,500.
Most people blame Amazon. They're wrong. Walmart faced Amazon and survived. Target faced Amazon and thrived. Best Buy faced Amazon and adapted.
Sears was murdered. Slowly, deliberately, by a hedge fund manager named Eddie Lampert who became CEO with no retail experience, applied an Ayn Rand-inspired theory that forced internal divisions to compete with each other, sold off iconic brands for cash, and refused to invest in stores while Walmart and Target spent billions modernizing.
A great company can survive bad markets, bad timing, and even bad strategy. What it cannot survive is a leader who doesn't actually want it to survive.
⏱ Timeline:
00:00 — Sears Had Everything Amazon Has
01:30 — The Empire of Catalog and Brands
03:30 — Eddie Lampert Arrives
05:00 — The Ayn Rand Management Experiment
07:00 — Selling Off the Crown Jewels
08:30 — Stores Falling Apart
09:45 — From 3,500 Stores to 12
11:00 — The Conventional Story Is Wrong
12:00 — A Different Kind of Corporate Death

🔑 "Sears could have been Amazon. The only thing missing was someone who wanted to put the pieces together."
#Sears #EddieLampert #CorporateDownfall #AutopsyOfGiants #BusinessDocumentary

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"A great company can survive bad markets, bad timing, and even bad strategy. What it cannot survive is a leader who doesn't actually want it to survive." — Did your local Sears close? When did you last go inside one? Tell us below.