K-Mart and Sears are textbook examples of once-profitable corporations being bled to death by corporate pirates intent on squeezing every last cent out of the carcass before casting it over the side. Retail experts nailed this back when K-Mart and Sears merged a few years back as nothing more than a real estate deal. Most of the value is in the existing real estate, not the retail operations. The complete lack of re-investment and failure to adapt to changing times and technology show that there's little interest in revitalizing these companies. Need anymore proof than this?
"When Kmart acquired Sears in 2005, Chairman Edward Lampert said the new company would have the geographic reach and scale to compete with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The billionaire hedge fund manager has since presided over 18 consecutive quarters of declining sales. He's on his fourth chief executive. While Sears Holdings Corp. shares soared in the first few months after the merger, they've fallen 55 percent in 2011 alone."
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