Announced today in the news, Sears will live to fight another day as the bankruptcy judge approved the only bid that would save 50,000 jobs. Eddie Lampert, the Sears chairman and prior CEO, will be buying all remaining assets of the business for $5.2 billion. I honestly think it’s a steal for that price. The question is whether he can hire qualified retail operators to restructure the business in the necessary ways to ensure future success. Operating the same way as before almost guarantees failure over the next 24-36 months. Can ESL save Sears? Unlikely.
