The Backroom: The Embers of Sears

If you think the Sears Holdings bankruptcy case was settled years ago, that would be understandable—perhaps when its remaining stores were sold to Transformco, a new company founded by former CEO Eddie Lampert, or when its bankruptcy plan was approved by the court.

However, ongoing litigationhas kept the case from closing. Sears Holdings—now essentially a paper entity that would likely no longer exist if not for the ongoing Chapter 11 case—has been entangled in the court system for years with Lampert over various actions taken during his control of Sears Holdings. A recentsettlement agreementhas paved the way for the case to finally conclude.

Similarly, if you have long forgotten Sears department stores and its sister brand Kmart, that is also understandable. These two brands now have very few remaining stores. A recent visit toone of the remaining Sears storesshowed that, compared to Sears' former glory, this store is now a quiet, sparsely stocked shell.

In this episode of The Backroom, we examine the current state of the Sears Holdings bankruptcy case and the retailer that continues the Sears name in a diminished form.

Resource links

• Is Sears' endless saga finally nearing its end?
• This is the last Sears within hundreds of miles. What can it tell us about the state of shopping malls?
• Sears Holdings reaches $175 million settlement with Lampert and his companies