Eddie Lampert, the CEO of Sears, recently made the ludicrous claim that poor media coverage is to blame for the accelerating decline of the Sears empire. Lampert, who fancies himself as a sort of John Galt character, attempts to lead Sears from his mansion in Florida, and legends abound of his hostile and combative manner with his employees. There is speculation that he is running the company into the ground so he can cash out on its significant real estate holdings, which if true, makes his current management style a case study in institutional sadism.
Sears is not unique in the revolutionary landscape of modern retail. The Wal-Mart/Amazon phenomenon often seems to be the only thing worth paying attention. The death throes of a sick dinosaur like Sears is mostly page 5 news (oh right, pages in newspapers are no longer a thing).
People who shop need places to shop. The Internet is not a place, but as long as there is electricity and roads, it will have a significant impact on how real shopping places conduct business. No one knows how this will end, but we can be pretty sure that Sears will end.
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