Sears plans to shutter after 126 years in business as Chairman Eddie Lampert's bid fails

[jmyrlefuller]

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/sears-plans-shutter-after-126-years-business-chairman-eddie-lampert-n956036?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma

by Lauren Hirsch
January 8, 2019

Sears Holdings has rejected Chairman Eddie Lampert’s bid to save the 126-year-old company, setting the storied retailer with more than 50,000 employees on a path to liquidation, people familiar with the situation told CNBC on Tuesday. Sears, which also owns Kmart, planned to announce its liquidation plans Tuesday morning, the people said.

Lampert had put forward a $4.4 billion bid to save Sears by buying it out of bankruptcy through his hedge fund ESL Investments. His offer, though, was deemed insufficient by Sears’ advisers, the people said. One of the biggest unresolved issues was covering the fees and vendor payment it owes, making it “administratively insolvent.”

[berdie]

Your avatar is most appropriate for this thread.

[sneakypete]

A family-owed business is sold out by the descendants of the founders,and is then pirated by management more interested in squeezing all the juice out and destroying it than they were in keeping it solvent.

The big screw-up was taking a national business with a FIRM grip on blue collar workers,and try to attract the upscale Yuppie crowd by opening new stores in pricey and trendy malls.

If Sears had stuck to their business model,they would still be thriving.

[Applewood]

A family-owed business is sold out by the descendants of the founders,and is then pirated by management more interested in squeezing all the juice out and destroying it than they were in keeping it solvent.

The big screw-up was taking a national business with a FIRM grip on blue collar workers,and try to attract the upscale Yuppie crowd by opening new stores in pricey and trendy malls.

If Sears had stuck to their business model,they would still be thriving.

Sears could have also developed a successful online business once it did away with its ever-popular catalog.  There is a website, but it's nothing like Amazon or other successful online businesses. 

What happened to Sears was its own fault.  It alienated customers with shoddy merchandise and practically non-existent customer service.  Those troubles could have been reversed, but Sears really didn't care about its customers.  With that kind of attitude, Sears was destined to fail.  I'm surprised it has taken this long.

[Frank Cannon]

This is rich. Lampert cannibalized this company and turned it into a data mining/collection racket over the last 15 years for short term gain. Now he is shocked that no one wants anything to do with the carcass.

[dfwgator]

Adapt or Die.

[Wingnut]

This is rich. Lampert cannibalized this company and turned it into a data mining/collection racket over the last 15 years for short term gain. Now he is shocked that no one wants anything to do with the carcass.

Agreed

[Applewood]

Well now it looks like Lampert is trying again.

Lampert Is Said to Improve Bid to Rescue Sears From Shutdown

Advisers for the hedge fund crafted a bid that commits ESL to cover more than $40 million of existing severance costs, and more for workers hired in a reorganized Sears, said a person with knowledge of the matter. Lampert is adding $120 million that a bankruptcy court said he needed to post in advance to qualify for an auction set for next week, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly. ESL would pick up tax and supplier bills that Sears incurred during bankruptcy proceedings, the person said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-09/lampert-is-said-to-ready-new-higher-bid-to-keep-sears-operating

[sneakypete]

Well now it looks like Lampert is trying again.

Lampert Is Said to Improve Bid to Rescue Sears From Shutdown

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-09/lampert-is-said-to-ready-new-higher-bid-to-keep-sears-operating

@Applewood

I don't have a clue about what any of that means. Does it mean the bankruptcy was an organized scam by him so he could dump a lot of debt and then come back in and start all over again?

If it does,I have questions about how he plans on getting anyone to extend him any credit,and modern businesses just don't operate on a "cash on the barrel" basis.

[Applewood]

@Applewood

I don't have a clue about what any of that means. Does it mean the bankruptcy was an organized scam by him so he could dump a lot of debt and then come back in and start all over again?

If it does,I have questions about how he plans on getting anyone to extend him any credit,and modern businesses just don't operate on a "cash on the barrel" basis.

Honestly, I don't know what Lampert is doing.  I still think there is some ulterior motive in his effort to "save" Sears and it's not a good motive.  Should this latest bid work out, he could still sell off the remaining stores and their assets, but honestly, I don't think there is much left of Sears and Kmart to sell.  He likely would not recoup his investment. 

But he may not be successful with this bid anyway.  Certainly, the unsecured creditor will challenge the latest bid and they are likely to succeed.