Sears succumbed to competitors

Sears and other retailers are being brought down by shifts in technology and losing ground to innovators such as Amazon (“Our view: The long, sad decline of America’s iconic retailer,” Friday).

Almost all retailers that were anchor stores for large shopping malls have struggled.

Sears’ decline was simply because it overinvested in the anchor store model. Sears did this because of its tremedous growth from the 1950s until the 1990s, which attracted more investment than was sustainable.

The Internet certainly did not make it any easier on retailers but rather accelerated the decline of the anchor store. There was also the rise of the big box store located closer to people’s homes.

Also, once a company starts losing money, it is difficult to actually be innovative. It’s not like you can suddenly start investing in stores closer to where people live if you are losing money. Steve Morse

So, what will Amazon look like in 100 years? It will follow the Sears blueprint, going from online sales to brick-andmortar stores. Sound familiar?

Now the other question is, with the speed of change and technology, will it take a 100 years to see where this will end or transition to? Jake Smith

Sears, at the turn of the 20th century, sold plows, bicycles, pots, pans, tools, toys and even fencing for ranchers. It was pretty incredible what it had to offer to consumers. At the time, that was an unprecedented level of access.

Amazon is the Sears “catalog” of today. If only Sears had evolved, learned and acted, it might still be a force in retail. But it didn’t, and now the retailer’s paying for it. Michael Anthony Shea