Sears had more than 3,400 stores in 2005 -- then it was purchased by a hedge fund magnate.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Reposted by Kevin M. Kruse
https://bsky.app/profile/kevinmkruse.bsky.social

mtsw
‪@mtsw.bsky.social‬

Speaks to something deeply wrong with capitalism that Lampert was allowed to annihilate the value of this company to less than nothing while still walking away with hundreds of millions in profits for himself from the saga.

‪MisterJayEm‬
‪@misterjayem.bsky.social‬
· 3h
Sears had more than 3,400 stores in 2005 -- then it was purchased by a hedge fund magnate.

Why Sears’s Last Great Hope Was a Promise That Never Materialized
www.nytimes.com
6:44 PM · Dec 26, 2025

Speaks to something deeply wrong with capitalism that Lampert was allowed to annihilate the value of this company to less than nothing while still walking away with hundreds of millions in profits for himself from the saga.

— mtsw (@mtsw.bsky.social) 2025-12-26T23:44:29.827Z

MisterJayEm
‪@misterjayem.bsky.social‬

Sears had more than 3,400 stores in 2005 -- then it was purchased by a hedge fund magnate.

Why Sears’s Last Great Hope Was a Promise That Never Materialized
www.nytimes.com
4:49 PM · Dec 26, 2025

Sears had more than 3,400 stores in 2005 -- then it was purchased by a hedge fund magnate.

— MisterJayEm (@misterjayem.bsky.social) 2025-12-26T21:49:50.136Z

[bucolic_frolic]

1. The old Kmart was part of the carcass too

Chuck Conaway was installed as CEO. He's worth a google. Was there a connection between him and Lampert? Both from CT area. Kmart went bankrupt after a price sticker war with Walmart, Lampert bought it out of bankruptcy. Now Sears and Kmart are kaput.

[Cirsium]

2. Institutionalized theft

Theft on a massive scale.

[Wiz Imp]

3. The story of many retailers. Some others in similar circumstances:

Toys "R" Us
Radio Shack
The Limited
Joann

[sabbat hunter]

4. Lampert

made all his money back and more. He controls the real estate that Sears and Kmart once controlled. That is really what he wanted, the real estate.

[KT2000]

5. They are cannibals

end stage capitalism at work - everywhere there is a private equity firm.

[Permanut]

6. Textbook example of vulture capitalism

[Chi67]

7. Ugh

They were a client of mine at the time. I watched it all happen in real time. Once he took over, everyone knew what would happen. It was really sad.

[Orrex]

8. In my town of 20K residents...

Reichwing asshats were blaming the collapse of Sears--the company as a whole--on people locally not spending enough there.

That's the extent of their economic acumen.