Is not realizing that Sears' greatest asset was its customers, worth far more than the real estate. Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook, Netflix all understand this in a way that Eddie never remotely comprehended. Customers are something companies take great pains to acquire, invest in and keep because you make great returns. Once lost through bad customer service and a lousy customer experience, they never come back. What an incompetent buffoon.
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Not long after that he was closing profitable stores in favor of making the more lucrative deals on the real estate, compared to the money he will get for what is left.
Not true. Sears would have had money to invest in innovation if Ed hadn't wasted $5B in stock buybacks. The cause.
Again, what you call lying to the judge, he could call "changing his mind". Unless he had a signed contract that he has to keep X number of jobs, etc., for Y Amount of Time, he was free to "change his mind" 30 Seconds after he walked out of the courtroom.
Again, what's past is past. It's HIS company now and he can do with it as he pleases. I'm not sure what "chickens" have come to roost for him. I think he's doing just fine, and that's what he SHOULD care about......himself. That's exactly what I would do in his shoes.
But y'all are missing the bigger picture. He is a symptom, not the cause. Take a 40,000 foot view. Forget Eddie, for a moment. Sears would have been gone if Eddie never existed. The elephant in the room, that very few on here mention (but a few people do, to their CREDIT), is that even way, way. before the virus, Sears was on its way out anyway. B&M shopping is going obsolete by THE DAY, but especially "old guard" stores like Sears, Kmart, Ames, Bradlees, Jamesway, Shopko, Caldors, Herbergers, Toys R Us, etc.. Every one of those except the first 2 are gone, and those 2 are about to be.
I won't even bother discussing Kmart, because they have about 20 something stores which isn't even a rounding error at this point. But even Sears, with 50-whatever stores, there is absolutely NOTHING they sell that other brands don't do better. Why would I go to Sears for Hardware when Lowes, Menards, Ace, etc., have much bigger selections and cheaper, and can ship to my front door? Why would I go to Sears for clothing, when any number of stores, again, have far better quality items, at better deals? There is literally nothing that could or would compel me to enter a Sears, and most felt that way back in 2000, so we're 21 YEARS past that point now!
They are like a carburetor car (remember them?) in an era of fuel injection. A fax machine, in the era of computers. They were a Dead store walking back in 2000, they are beyond that now, and that would be the case with or without ol' Edward.
The future is online. There is a reason that Jeff is where he is now. I do 70% of my shopping on Amazon, and the other 30% is divided between other online sites such as Target, Jet.com, etc.. Even if I wanted to shop in person (and I don't), and could find a Sears nearby, I would not bother entering a dump like that, when I can go to a much better store. Lowes, Kohls, TJ Maxx. etc., can run circles around Sears. And this was true 20 Years ago. Let it go, at some point, horse and buggy travel gave way to cars, over 100 Years ago. We're there now with this. It's a 20th Century enterprise in The 21st. Let it go, it ain't coming back.
@7Kwut+119Aszsx Respectfully, I agree with you every business owner should run their own business as efficiently and successfully as possible.
However Sears was not his company until he was awarded the business during bankruptcy that he was mostly responsible for. Sears was a public company owned by the share holders, many loyal employees, customers, and shareholders made the company the most successful number one retailer ever long before Eddie became CEO and ran the business into the ground. He cheat vendors, canceled life insurance for retirees, created a hostile work environment unnecessarily, prevented workers from providing good customer service, he failed his fiduciary responsibility to stock holders, reneged on his word over and over again to be an honest businessman.
The main reason the judge in his bankruptcy case allowed him to buy the business two years ago and take it private, was he claimed his goal was to SAVE JOBS and turn the business around. Guess what he lied again. With great power also comes great responsibility, for good people he's hurt he's not an honest or ethical businessman. Now the chickens have come home to roost.
Ya I don't Know why people are crying about Eddie and Sears! You're right, Time to accept this company is closing and move on! The company is 99% done, and will soon be 100%. Cool.
Not sure why you keep crying about Sears and Kmart remaining open. Time to accept that and move on, weird random capitalizations and all.
Not sure why everyone likes mocking Eddie on here. What y'all don't seem to understand is that he is a private business man, not Charity. His aim isn't (nor should be) to preserve jobs. His aim is (and SHOULD BE) to make AS MUCH LOOT AS HE CAN! He doesn't owe anything to Sears or their employees. He is a businessman who can and should do whatever he can to earn Cash for himself.
Put simply, in very simple terms, if my daughter was running a lemonade stand, and she finds that she can run it more Profitably by Firing her friends or whatever, she has every right to do it because it's her private business. She doesn't owe her friends any jobs, nor is she obligated to keep that lemonade stand open 1 Millisecond longer than she wants to.
Ed is in the same position. He is here to make MONEY. Period. Sears is not A CHARITY. If he finds it is better for him to close every store down Tomorrow, and focus on online, or perhaps even shut everything including online down, and do something completely different entirely, that is his right. You all need to Learn private property rights. If I owned the business I would care f— all about someone's job. I would care only about Profit. If you don't like that, then start your own private business and run it as u like. Ed has only 1 obligation and that is to his wallet. If you don't like it, work somewhere else, or shop somewhere else, or start your own business. That is how he free market works, sink or swim. Welcome to real life, but crying doesn't get you handouts or sympathy.
As for these sawed off, broken down obsolete stores, he can open them, close them, turn them into a bingo parlor, or make them into a spa for his girlfriend, that's his business and his choice, not yours. Nobody can instruct you what to do with your house or properties, and the same replies to him (or my kid's lemonade stand).
For the record, the only issue I have with him is that he hasn't ended this id–tic "business" which has not been Profitable in ages. If I were in his shoes, I would have ended this c-ap long ago, and started something different, probably 100% online. That's the future, not this obsolete garbage.
But there are so many id–tic traits to choose from!
And don't forget about employees. Treat employees well, they'll treat the customers well, the customers will come back. The company can make money and grow, paying off the shareholders. Eddie's biggest delusion was in believing this entire organization had no purpose other than making money for himself first and the other shareholders second. The rest of the stakeholders were not a concern. Did SHC do anything positive for employees during the entire Lampert era? They treated employees as nothing but costs to be cut. As sad as the situation has been, at least it's a great lesson in how not to run a company.
Fast Eddie has all the money he needs. Those are worth a million times to him than any "customers"
Funny how Google and Facebook basically make all their money from advertising, while Apple is known for its genius advertising. And then there's r—d Eddie.
@ueq There are dozens of them. Dozens!
He said he already has all the customers he needs. I am sure Sears still has several hundred loyal customers.