YUP--another poor decision (amongst many).
Sears really began to "botch it" big-time as far back as the 80's. My sister worked for Sears back then while in nursing school. To help build-up her credit history, she applied for a Sears credit card, and was denied by her own employer (insufficient income). Then Sears introduced the Discover card, and in order to gain the acceptance of retailers to compete with VISA, MC and AmEx, handed them out like candy at a Halloween party to anyone who applied, and got caught with a ton of bad debt.
About this time was when I basically stopped setting foot in a Sears store, unless I needed/wanted a Craftsman tool, Kenmore appliance, or DieHard battery.
Then Sears became "brand central"--bringing competing products into their own stores. If I sell washers and dryers, refrigerators, dishwashers and ranges, why the f**k would I want to sell yours right next to mine on MY display floor?
Giving you access to established retail space (at my expense) to help you compete against the products that I already sell is not a great "business model".
Then they started "whoring out" their only remaining "solid brands"--Craftsman, Kenmore, and DieHard. Sell out "the brand", and allow other retail outlets to sell my products (the only ones that I have left to even entice you into one of my stores). Sure, it was a "quick fix" for temporary cash, but about the equivalent of selling your car to pay the mortgage, and then have to pay to take a cab to and from work every day.
Craftsman and DieHard are pretty much "dead" in terms of "brand loyalty", at this point, and Kenmore is on a "slippery slope" right behind them. At this point, there are absolutely zero reasons for me to enter a Sears retail store (unless it is for a "store-closing" clearance sale).
Sears "had it all", and threw it all away--didn't just let it slip away--they down-right "flushed it". They had "history". They had brand-loyalty. With the exception of an internet store interface, they already had all of the necessary infrastructure to be Amazon. They were even their own consumer credit provider with Sears Credit and Discover--just like Ebay/PayPal.
It took them a mere 3 decades to destroy/dismantle what had been built during the first 100 years of the company's existence.
The last time I was in a Sears/K-Mart store was over a year ago--that store is closed now. The only reason I even went there is that it was the on the way out to a job-site and I needed a dozen 9V batteries (for smoke detectors), wasn't going to pay $20 per 4-pack at a convenience store, and the K-Mart was right there. It was like stepping into a time-machine. The whole store looked probably exactly like it did when it when it was built in the mid-70's, and never cleaned since. Employee morale was non-existent. No one cared about anything other than whether there was going to be a pink-slip with their next pay-check, or whether they could eek out a couple more years until retirement. You could literally "feel" it--not "confidence-inspiring" to the consumer.
So they are where they are, and soon to be no more--suicide by management...