Under the present plan to reorganize, Sears is doing the smart thing. Brick and mortar stores are dropping like flies, so Sears is reducing the number of those stores, while still keeping it's internet sales alive. On top of that, Sears has their fingers in other ventures that are doing well. One of those is Service Live, where contractors perform jobs for other major companies. As general manager of the HVAC company I work for, we are a member of Service Live, and do contracting work for Sears, Google Nest, Flushmate, and other brands. Sears hooks everybody up, controls the scheduling of the contractors, and takes 10% off the top to cover it's overhead and make profit. It was a pretty smart move setting all that up.
To insinuate that Sears is not good enough to make it in the marketplace is just dumb. What Sears is doing is reorganizing according to where the market is now headed. Brick and mortar stores are seeing much less business, and losing money, so "retuning your business plan" with that in mind, and to stay in business, is the way to go.
NOTE: If you are a contractor with the proper licenses, insurance, and reputation, I would urge you to apply for membership at Service Live. The don't pay "top dollar", but since I got our company in there, we have hired 2 more full time technicians. For us, it's a great way to grow a business, as it does keep our guys working, and is also a great way to add to the customer base. And, after you do a job for Service Live, when the customer calls you again, you are then representing your own company. Last week I did a manual J load analysis and wrote out a proposal for a complete HVAC system replacement for a customer who called us a couple of weeks after we installed a Google Nest Thermostat at his home. We did not make that much on the t-stat install, but we made out great on the system replacement. We win, Sears wins, the customer wins. What's not to like about that?