# Is there any way for Sears to reverse their decline or be salvaged? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 6, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855 "2018-09-06T03:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/61 "2018-09-20T11:17:25Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Don’t stockholders have a say on who the CEO is? Why do they let him stay on the job, when year after year they see their own money going down the toilet? They did have leadership changes Profit peaked in 92. New CEO in 95. New chairman in 2000, and ol’ Chuckie C got himself in some legal trouble. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/62 "2018-09-20T12:40:57Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Don’t stockholders have a say on who the CEO is? Why do they let him stay on the job, when year after year they see their own money going down the toilet? The CEO is the largest shareholder. Between his personal holdings and his hedge fund, Eddie Lampert owns about half of the company’s stock. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/63 "2018-09-20T17:01:52Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Could be. > > So, you’re saying I shouldn’t have gone to Sears but instead waited for other stores to stock them again? :dubious: I wasn’t trying to alter your shopping habits, I was trying to figure out why you found them at Sears and nowhere else. Maybe starting with Sears is actually a good strategy because nobody shops there, so they should have inventory. The part I couldn’t figure out is where you said they aren’t readily available online, which led me to the following possibilities: 1 - You mean that they are out of stock almost everywhere 2 - They aren’t even offered for sale online That’s why I asked “sold out?” (option #1), or “old season” (option #2) It’s an interesting puzzle to understand why you found a gem in a backwater of retail 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/64 "2018-09-20T23:08:24Z")
I found out today that the last Sears within easy driving distance in Portland is closing. It may be making way for newer ideas, but I still have fond memories of leafing through their catalog at Christmas. I bought my first motorized vehicle by mail order, an [Allstate Compact](https://www.mopedarmy.com/forums/read.php?2,1279524). ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2018, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/65 "2018-09-24T23:49:48Z")
Sears in the news today (following what many have posted here): [Sears CEO proposes plan to avoid bankruptcy, as options and cash run low](https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/24/sears-ceo-proposes-restructuring-plan-to-avoid-bankruptcy.html) \*Lampert, who has a controlling ownership stake in Sears, personally owns roughly 31 percent of the retailer’s shares outstanding, while ESL owns about 19 percent. The CEO has been steadily stripping out assets to keep the company afloat over the past several years. It’s unclear whether Sears’ current debtholders will continue to support these efforts, which have amounted effectively to restructuring outside of formal bankruptcy proceedings. Those debtholders must be convinced that Sears is worth more than the value of its assets — namely its real estate and its brands — despite its constant losses. The longer Sears waits to file for bankruptcy, the more the value of its assets arguably decline. “Indeed, had Sears been owned by anyone else it would have likely long since gone under,…”\* ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/66 "2018-09-25T01:03:16Z")
Lampert’s plan includes Sears selling off the Craftsman brand and home improvement business. The buyer would be ESL, the hedge fund owned by. . . Eddie Lampert. So Lampert can drive the company into the ground and walk away owning its (few) viable assets, while the rest of shareholders get [this](https://i.investopedia.com/content/daily_blog/sears_closing_more_s/shutterstock_165419312_sears.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/67 "2018-09-25T02:14:58Z")
Sounds like the Trump business plan. Bankrupt the company while paying yourself handsomely. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/68 "2018-09-25T02:59:51Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Lampert’s plan includes Sears selling off the Craftsman brand and home improvement business. The buyer would be ESL, the hedge fund owned by. . . Eddie Lampert. Actually, Craftsman is already gone; Sears Holdings sold it to Stanley Black & Decker in 2017. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2018, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/69 "2018-09-28T20:37:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Sears stock has fallen into the bargain bin. > > In the latest indignity for a once-grand retailer, the share price fell below $1 on Friday for the first time in the company’s history, dropping as much as 15% to 85 cents in midday trading. > > Falling into loose-change territory is more than embarrassing. Nasdaq, the exchange where Sears stock trades, could delist the company. That’s a long process and would happen next year at the earliest. > **[Sears is now a penny stock](https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/28/news/companies/sears-penny-stock/index.html)** > > Once a giant of retail and a member of the Dow, Sears now has a share price below a buck. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/70 "2018-10-10T17:39:51Z")
It is looking more and more like [the answer is no](https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/10/business/sears-time-running-out/index.html). \*The handwriting is on the wall: Sears appears to be nearing bankruptcy. One of Sears’ major shareholders just dumped a chunk of his stock for pennies on his original investment. The company added a new director who is familiar with bankruptcies and restructuring. Reports circulated that the company is talking to advisers and banks in preparation for a bankruptcy filing. Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, faces an October 15 deadline to pay $134 million on its debt. CEO and primary shareholder Eddie Lampert told the company’s board that it was crucial it restructure more than $5 billion it owes “without delay,” according to a recent regulatory filing.\* ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/71 "2019-01-08T14:37:14Z")
**Sears plans to shutter after 126 years in business as Chairman Eddie Lampert’s bid fails** > **[Court allows Chairman Eddie Lampert another chance to buy Sears, pushing off...](https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2019/01/06/sears-rejects-eddie-lamperts-bid-to-save-company-will-liquidate-.html)** > > Eddie Lampert's $4.4 billion offer was Sears' only shot at staying alive and preserving 55,000 jobs. ESL plans to contest Sears' decision. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/72 "2019-01-08T15:04:17Z")
Fifty thousand people are going to lose their jobs. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/73 "2019-01-08T15:09:21Z")
CEO of a place I used to work had old, canceled, framed stock certificates on the walls of his office. Does anyone know if you can still get a stock certificate of their shares? 100 shares costs about $20 right now; it would be cool to get a certificate (in _your_ name) & frame it. The framing would cost much more than the contents being framed. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/74 "2019-01-08T16:51:54Z")
Finally. Though just last week I popped into a Sears to buy a couple of filters for my old Craftsman shop vac, which is a really good vacuum. I figured that I needed to buy them while I still could. Maybe I should buy a couple more. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/75 "2019-01-08T18:08:37Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > CEO of a place I used to work had old, canceled, framed stock certificates on the walls of his office. > > Does anyone know if you can still get a stock certificate of their shares? 100 shares costs about $20 right now; it would be cool to get a certificate (in _your_ name) & frame it. The framing would cost much more than the contents being framed. IIRC only a few state require their corporations to give out printed certificates if asked and those that do have prohibitive costs because they don’t want to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/76 "2019-01-08T18:16:13Z")
Their transfer agent is [ComputerShare](https://www-us.computershare.com)and their ticker is SHLDQ. Check with them if you can get a printed certificate. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/77 "2019-01-08T21:25:30Z")
they are not quite dead yet but this might just be a temporary stay [Sears reaches 11th hour deal to stay in business - for now | CNN Business](https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/08/business/sears-future-bankruptcy-delay/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/78 "2019-01-08T21:41:48Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Actually, Craftsman is already gone; Sears Holdings sold it to Stanley Black & Decker in 2017. > [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Finally. Though just last week I popped into a Sears to buy a couple of filters for my old Craftsman shop vac, which is a really good vacuum. I figured that I needed to buy them while I still could. Maybe I should buy a couple more. I was in Home Depot this weekend admiring the Craftsman display and the signs proclaiming “The New Home of Craftsman”. Okay, not so much admiring as passing through on my way to lumber… I don’t know how much of the Craftsman lineup they’re planning to keep going, but there were tool cabinets and hand tools along with some power tools. ---
**Author:** ![tripthicket](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripthicket/32/297_2.png) [@tripthicket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tripthicket)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2019, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/79 "2019-01-08T22:52:51Z")
The Sears store in my town had shown signs of slowly going down for several months now. I shopped there maybe once or twice a year, and only just noticed a couple weeks ago that it was closed down entirely now–must have happened within the past couple of months. A personal sad for me, as it existed as one of the major stores in town since easily the '60s and before the rise (and fall) of shopping malls. It was three stories with escalators as a prominent central feature, which I guess was the main imprinting factor in my single-digit-age kid’s mind. Ah well. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855/80 "2019-01-10T22:58:23Z")
> [@tripthicket](#): > > The Sears store in my town had shown signs of slowly going down for several months now. I shopped there maybe once or twice a year, and only just noticed a couple weeks ago that it was closed down entirely now–must have happened within the past couple of months. A personal sad for me, as it existed as one of the major stores in town since easily the '60s and before the rise (and fall) of shopping malls. It was three stories with escalators as a prominent central feature, which I guess was the main imprinting factor in my single-digit-age kid’s mind. Ah well. ☹ That is too bad. My hometown Sears was less auspicious; just a “small box” store in a strip mall, but it had been there at least since 1990 or so. Really is a shame they squandered so much and bled out so slowly; I’m still just kinda shocked they hung around this long when it seems like the writing was on the wall since at least 2005 or so. I remember going to Sears around then to buy a few Craftsman tools and just getting the impression none of the staff wanted to be there and I was possibly the first customer they’d seen all day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-way-for-sears-to-reverse-their-decline-or-be-salvaged/820855.md?page=5)