The US retailer Sears has filed for bankruptcy.
Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) suffered from the competition of growing online retailers and on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
“Over the last several years, we have worked hard to transform our business and unlock the value of our assets,” said the chairman of Sears Holdings Edward Lampert in a statement.
“While we have made progress, the plan has yet to deliver the results we have desired.”
“As we look toward the holiday season, Sears and Kmart stores remain open for business and our dedicated associates look forward to serving our members and customers. We thank our vendors for their continuing support through the upcoming season and beyond. We also thank our associates for their hard work and commitment to providing millions of Americans with value and convenience,” he added.
The group has a debt of over $5 billion and has closed stores and sold properties to try and keep afloat.
The company has 90,000 employees and for a long time, was the US’s biggest retailer. It was overtaken by Walmart (NYSE: WMT) in the 1980s.
Neil Saunders, the managing director of GlobalData Retail, said the group’s problems stretched back to the 80s when it became “too diversified and lost the deftness that had once made it the world’s largest and most innovative retailer”.
“That a storied retailer, once at the pinnacle of the industry, should collapse in such a shabby state of disarray is both terrible and scandalous.”
“The brand is now tarnished just as the economics of its model are firmly stacked against its future success,” he added.