Sears was dying long long before Trump.
I'm seldom on your side, but this time you have it straight on.
Sears has been in a death spiral since Sears Roebuck & Company sold itself to Kmart Holdings...which renamed itself Sears Holdings.
Actually before; but before the sale, it was responsibly managed. Kmart, by contrast, became a plaything of one Eddie Lampert...moneychanger extraordinaire, crony bankster who decided he was a management guru.
He rode Kmart into the toilet, into Bankruptcy Court, a few years before; and somehow regained control after the crash. Used its new capitalization to buy Sears...thinking, I guess, to loot Sears' extensive cash resources and real estate.
And he has. And just as the first time round, the combined two companies are going down...down...DOWN.
Poor store management; poor inventory and product availability. Dirty outlets. Obnoxious clerks badgering customers who just want to pay. Chaotic store and lower management...fired for trivialities; often quitting in disgust.
And at heart, the same basic problem Sears had earlier: THEY HAVE NOT ADAPTED. Walmart was eating them for lunch. And FWIW, Walmart, years ago, paid MORE than Sears after Kmart took control.
Eddie Lampert knows it all; so he has changed none of his failed strategies. He runs it like a hobby, meeting his managers via Skype feeds from his Palm Beach mansion.
Sears is about at the end of its rope; and will choke and strangle this summer. Fall at the latest.