While attending a business seminar in Los Angeles in 1975, I heard a leading management consultant hail Sears for ideally positioning itself as a leading conglomerate. Not only was it offering its customers virtually every product imaginable at the retail level, it had, through, acquisition also become a leading insurance company (Allstate), and a preeminent real estate brokerage firm (Coldwell Banker).
On paper, it looked good. In reality, Sears was unable to successfully integrate those other business ventures. Sears also failed to recognize that its retailing position was being usurped by the Walmarts of the world.
Try as it might, Sears failed to capitalize on its bread and butter business as well as Allstate and Coldwell Banker. Part of the responsibility might lay with a management team in Hoffman Estates who resisted changing with the times to successfully incorporate these businesses into a synchronized profit powerhouse.
Is it too late for Sears to right its ship? I hope not.
— Dean Dranias, Plainfield
