This was never Sears, Roebuck & Co that originated in 1906 IPO by Goldman and Lehman underwriters. That remnant does and still lives onn in Sears Canada Inc. (SRSCQ). Due diligence would've told you that Lamperts "Sears" was just a holding co after he acquired K-Mart. The real roots of Sears are stuck in the Canadian type of bankruptcy from Sears Canada Inc. dating back to their 100% buyout of Sears, Roebuck & Co from a 1952 established JV 50-50% share between the US to and what became Canada's Sears operations by starting Sears Canada Inc. via Simpsons-Sears Limited stores in Canada, eh.
When they bought out that JV, they bought out part of the true Sears, Roebuck and Co. They renamed in 1984. They went public in Toronto and Nasdaq so the US investors could use retail apps to by briefly for the previous decade.
They are still and always were a descendant of the legacy Sears Roebuck whereas SHLDQ was just shares of the holdings for Lampert's majority owned shares of both Sears in the US, which became private (that is Sears stores) and a subsidiary of the NEW holdings co "SHLD" then SHLDQ. Lampert didn't make the holding company "the only Sears"... you need to understand history and ongoing corporate restructuring to understand the process here. If you were betting on IP, any sort of need for the true pioneer legacy Sears to have value, look north. (if you have access to buy from Canadian brokers - here's "CE" restrictions are just to give you another hurdle to jump. Usually a good test of your commitment. I hold a nice amount but nothing expensive in SRSCQ. I dumped my SHLDQ because of Lampert. He was just another hedge fund boy thinking SHLDQ was his own Sears and the one that would live on. It was shares for people investing in his holdings of the original sears. If Lampert dumps all his Sears shares, do stores still exist and operate? A: Yes.
Yes they do.
How?
We will find out but I have my own theories. CRE all over in Sears Roebuck's life cycle still exist in the USA. Things can happen when you stop trying to save the retail business and pivot. However SHLDQ? Doubt that will see a dime, that was just a Lampert bet on him remaining in charge of a restructured operating Sears. The real Sears exists in Canada, stores or not. There's big real estate up there too.
On the plus side, if you hold Sears Canada Inc. shares Sears the private subsidiary doesn't need its boxes to exist. It's text updates, emails, and online/social media presence is ACTIVE. Lots of engagement. Sears Marketplace sells PS5's with a lot of coupons given by text. It's like Overstock.com now but also contains Kenmore and a lot of the well liked and high rating home appliance brands in addition to top marketplace rated sellers. It's like a fair Amazon for those Sears Marketplace folks. They tweet about third party sellers offerings on their twitter - last time I checked, Amazon won't shill it's consumer products from third party sellers over offering their own brands. That's what the EU hate about Amazon. :)
**even Yahoo Finance is behind and fails to mention this is a continuation of Simpsons-Sears Limited JV American Sears and Canadian "Simpsons" from 1952.
Sears Canada Inc. operates as a multi-format retailer in Canada. The company operates department stores that offer various merchandise, including women's, men's, and children's apparel, as well as nursery products, cosmetics, jewelry, footwear, and accessories; and home furnishings and mattresses, home décor, lawn and garden, hardware, leisure, seasonal products, toys, floorcare, sewing, and various appliances. It also operates home stores, which provide furniture, mattresses and box-springs, and various appliances; hometown stores that offer various appliances, furniture, mattresses and box-springs, and outdoor power equipment; outlet stores, which provide clearance merchandise and surplus big-ticket items; and appliance specialty stores. In addition, the company offers a range of home services, such as carpet and duct cleaning, installation and assembly of heating and cooling equipment, custom window coverings, windows and doors, and other products purchased at its stores. Further, it provides logistics, product repair, travel, home improvement, insurance, and licensing services, as well as wireless and long distance plans. Additionally, the company operates optical centers and portrait studios; and catalogue and Internet channels. It has a network of full-line department stores; specialty stores comprising Sears Home stores, outlet stores, Hometown stores, and Corbeil stores; Sears Travel offices; and merchandise pick-up locations for orders placed through the catalogue or online at sears.ca. The company was formerly known as Simpsons-Sears Limited and changed its name to Sears Canada Inc. in May 1984. Sears Canada Inc. was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.
