Sears Holdings Corp. (fka SHLDQ)

[big-yank]

There is a big "yeah, but" on the real estate owned by JCP & Sears. It is mall based, illiquid and virtually unmarketable. Walmart and Target are standalone. Kohl's is too small and constricted to matter in any serious way. Virtually all other mall-based retailers are small box and about as financially precarious as is Sears.

Some of the old KMart properties would suit a regional house like Mardens or Christmas Tree Shoppes, but they only buy at extremely distressed prices so value recovery would be WAY below book, IMO.

I actually thought Sears had a chance a few years back when they hired that fashion guru to run softlines and things really started to turn around. Then they bought KMart and the corporate culture swung from iconic brand management (Kenmore, Diehard, Craftsman, Lands End, etc.) to selling low quality junk at higher prices than Walmart.

It is a shame, actually. I was a Sears regular for much of my life. Now I won't set foot in one of their stores. I'd rather go to Macy's or Home Depot, depending.