Many still call it Sears Tower, but Chicago's tallest building has officially been renamed. The tower bears quite a resemblance to the company it was named after in the past. Once the tallest structure in the world, it now ranks a lowly 14th., while Sears, the largest retailer in the US until 1989 is on the verge of going bankrupt by 2016, as predicted by The Economist . Decades before Amazon.com, most Americans (and Canadians) shopped at Sears. In its hey day, Sears had topped mail-order sales and accounted for more than 50% of the total $180 million; the year was 1931 . Founded by Richard Warren in 1886, within 50 years Sears had transformed into a retailing-giant to become a symbol of growth and hope for people in the country. Major national brands like Craftsman, Kenmore, Silvertone etc., were established by it, and Sears Catalogs became the source of all essential goods, services, and home improvement projects even for Americans living in areas as remote as Cape Charles, a tiny hamlet on the far flung Eastern shore of Virginia. But then, something went wrong. Smitten by it overwhelming success, it became complacent and got stuck in its rut, while its competitors (Walmart, Target, Home Depot & Best Buy ) regularly adjusted to shifting consumer …show more content…
Desperate to abate the stagnation, and yet unable to innovate in its core competency – Retail, Sears dabbled in many other business lines that were new to it, while innovative competitors like Target & Amazon chewed into its