While Sears’ problems can be partially blamed on an accumulation of uncontrollable forces , including increased competition, evolving market dynamics, and changing consumer habits, three specific business failures heavily contributed to Sears’ unraveling:.
Why did the sears tower change its name?
In 2009, the name of Sears tower changed to Willis Tower because of the Willis Group Holdings , who bought Sears Tower.
What happened to Sears Tower after 18 years?
After 18 years, Sears Roebuck and Company sold the tower and moved out of the building. In 2009 the building was renamed Willis Tower after the Willis Group Holdings, the global insurance broker who calls the Tower its Midwest home. Willis Tower was purchased by Blackstone in 2015 for $1.3 billion.
Willis Group Holdings became a major tenant of the building in March, 2009. As part of the deal whereby they agreed to lease 140,000 square feet of the building, they were given the naming rights to the tower , which had been known as the Sears Tower since its opening in 1973.
Why was the Sears Tower so important?
The Sears Tower was the first building to use this innovative design. It was both structurally efficient and economic : at 1,450 feet, it provided more space and rose higher than the Empire State Building and cost much less per unit area.
Sears, Roebuck and Company owned the building from its conception until it sold it in 1994. It is currently owned by American Landmark Properties of Skokie, Illinois. Sears had mostly moved out of the building by 1992, and closed its last offices there by 1995.
The Willis Tower , built as and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,450-foot (442.1 m) skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois.
This begs the question “When did Sears Tower add a second building to Chicago?”
Sears Tower owners to press city for zoning change, subsidy to add 2nd building as part of mega-million-dollar project next to landmark”, Chicago Sun-Times, October 12, 2007 . Retrieved February 25, 2009 from High. Beam Research.
What went wrong with the Sears-Kmart merger?
Trying to seamlessly integrate two different cultures, different systems and processes is hard for even the strongest of companies. But for a company that had already moved in too many directions, the merger took a heavy toll on Sears. “The solution to Sears’ problems was to buy another retailer not doing well, and that was Kmart.
“The only question yet to be answered is when.” On October 15 — a few months after the 125th birthday of what was once the world’s largest retailer — Sears Holdings sought Chapter 11 protection from a $134 million debt payment and announced it would close 142 stores .
Then, how many Sears and Kmarts have been shut down?
That’s on top of the 2600 Sears and Kmarts already sold or shuttered over the past decade. Cohen, who is teaching the MBA classes “Creation of a Retail Enterprise” this fall and “Retail Fundamentals” in the spring, describes Sears as a case study in management failure with lessons for MBAs and business leaders.