Sears could have saved itself

The most impressive statement to make about Sears as it seeks bankruptcy court protection is also the most damning: Sears was the Amazon of its time.

Impressive because Sears really was that influential long ago. Damning because the company’s decline wasn’t preordained. Sears could have maintained pre-eminence and elbowed out Amazon and other retailers. Some companies do preserve and build on success through reinvention. Look at McDonald’s, to choose another great Chicago-area company that has survived challenges and remains the iconic name in its industry. There was no law that said the biggest hamburger chain of the 20th century should still be competitive in 2018. McDonald’s kept up with changing consumer demands. Sears instead became a victim as its customers found other retailers who would better meet their needs.

On Sunday night, Hoffman Estates-based Sears filed for bankruptcy protection. The company’s future now likely rests with outsiders, including its creditors and a federal judge.

The dominance Sears squandered is breathtaking to consider. Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck founded the company in 1893—125 years ago—to sell watches by mail. As recently as the 1960s, Sears was known as the “colossus” and “paragon” of American retailing. By 1972, two of every three Americans shopped at Sears in any three-month period, and more than half of households had a Sears credit card, according to The Big Store, an engaging 1987 biography of the company by Donald R. Katz.

Almost two out of three U.S. adults purchased something via Amazon in a three-month period in 2017, according to market researcher Packaged Facts. Amazon’s $177 billion in revenue last year is in the neighborhood of 1 percent of GNP.

The question of what befell Sears isn’t hard to answer. It was internal attitude as much as external forces.

The company survived the turbulence of decades, then slowly lost relevance. The most impressive statement may now be its epitaph: Once and long ago, Sears was a mighty retailer.