Sears news and trends

Sears to Close Final Store in Home State of Illinois
Retail // September 17, 2021

Sears will close its last Illinois-based department store Nov. 14, when the location in Simon Property Group’s Woodfield Mall shuts its doors for the final time, bringing an end to the retailer’s time in its home state. Transfomco, the parent company for Sears and real...

Amazon In Talks With Simon To Turns Malls Into Distribution Centers
Retail // August 09, 2020

Amazon could fill the nation’s shuttered anchor stores as the pandemic contributes to the death of brick-and-mortar retailers. Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall owner, has been negotiating with Amazon to transform some of its vacant department stores into fulfillment centers for the world’s...

Pandemic Brings Dark Days For Department Stores
Retail // July 02, 2020

If department stores survive this pandemic, July 1, 2020 will almost certainly mark the point where the format reached one of its darkest days. On both sides of the Atlantic, the news was nothing short of devastating for icons like the U.K.’s John Lewis –...

New Data Says Department Stores Have 40 Percent Chance Of Defaulting
Retail // April 09, 2020

Former Rue21 CEO Bob Fisch said in a recent interview that department stores were “fossils” and belonged in museums only, and new market data doesn’t seem to dispute his opinion. Amid the current coronavirus pandemic, department stores have the highest chance of defaulting among any...

Interviews & Exclusives
Marketplace Merchants Sing The Blues

August 24, 2018
There’s a lot of sizzle in marketplaces. In fact, they have made tiny businesses into big ones, as even the tiniest one-man operation can gain the chance to jump from a hyper-local stage to a global one — with access to professional supply chain management and logistics skills, payments simplified to one click and, most importantly, the chance to increase […]

GasBuddy CEO: GasBack Is The New Cash Back

June 15, 2018
With about 220 million drivers on the road, gas is a commodity that nearly everybody needs. The average American fills up their gas tank three to four times per month,...

Signatures Sizzle (Because They Fizzle) And Retail Defaults Alarm

April 13, 2018
The first quarter of 2018 was a record breaker for retailers - but not a good one, as retail set a record for defaults. And that was one of many...

Contactless Sizzles, Consumer Debt Fizzles And Sears And Amazon Spark A Sizzle-Laden Partnership

July 21, 2017
Contactless payments look strong — if you live in the U.K. — and going cashless is increasingly king in China. Meanwhile, consumer debt may have seen another canary drop in its coal mine this week,...

Quick Reads
Sears to Close Final Store in Home State of Illinois

September 17, 2021
Sears will close its last Illinois-based department store Nov. 14, when the location in Simon Property Group’s Woodfield Mall shuts its doors for the final time, bringing an end to the retailer’s time in its home state. Transfomco, the parent company for Sears and real estate manager for the Woodfield Mall location, told CNBC in […]

Amazon In Talks With Simon To Turns Malls Into Distribution Centers

August 09, 2020
Amazon could fill the nation’s shuttered anchor stores as the pandemic contributes to the death of brick-and-mortar retailers. Simon Property Group, the nation’s largest mall owner, has been negotiating with...

New Data Says Department Stores Have 40 Percent Chance Of Defaulting

April 09, 2020
Former Rue21 CEO Bob Fisch said in a recent interview that department stores were “fossils” and belonged in museums only, and new market data doesn’t seem to dispute his opinion....

Costco Pays $1B To Sears Owner For Logistics Co Innovel

March 17, 2020
Costco has announced the purchase of logistics company Innovel Solutions, which was owned by Sears parent company Transform Holdco, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal. The deal...