Death of a department store. What lessons can we learn from the death of Sears, once the #1 retailer in North America.
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This is about collapse of the middle. Retailers who have been all things to all people no longer have a distinct identity in a world that has polarized competition (low end- everything from dollar stores, Costco, Walmart, etc. to high end- luxury department stores and boutique stores), as well as online competition reshaping the industry.
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Yes, I think Sears got caught in the "soft middle". They had a niche with power tools, but even that didn't last.