How Sears Lost Its Mojo

No amount of financial wizardry can make up for lost customers.

The Editorial Board

Oct. 12, 2018 7:10 p.m. ET

Sears, Roebuck & Co. is one of the most storied names in American retail—once perhaps as dominant as Amazon is today—but now the 125-year-old Sears Holdings stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Herein lies a parable of markets and mismanagement.

After amassing $5.5 billion in debt, Sears is facing a cash crunch with a $134 million payment due Monday. CEO Edward Lampert, whose hedge fund ESL is Sears’s biggest creditor and shareholder, has been keeping the company afloat with short-term borrowing and financial gymnastics....