Here's my guess. Sears is headed towards competing with Amazon. No, I don't have insider information, but they wouldn't have sunk that much money into a brick and mortar store if they didn't recognize the potential the future had to offer in online sales.



U.S. department store operator Sears has reached a deal for a fresh financial lifeline totaling roughly $100 million from hedge fund Brigade Capital Management LP, as it tries to stabilize after bankruptcy, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

Sears' billionaire owner Eddie Lampert rescued the retailer from liquidation in a $5.2 billion takeover during bankruptcy proceedings a year ago. The company's unabated need for new funding underscores Lampert's challenges in turning it around.

Sears reached an agreement with Brigade for the $100 million financing in recent weeks, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition they not be identified because the negotiations were confidential. Lampert has also bankrolled Sears in recent months, the sources added, without disclosing the total amount of funding he provided.

A spokesman for Sears, now called Transform Holdco LLC, declined to comment. Brigade did not respond to a request for comment.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-financing-exclusive/exclusive-sears-snags-new-financial-lifeline-as-losses-continue-sources-idUSKBN20E2RC

They closed the Sears where my mom lives. Shortly after, they sent her a new Sears Credit Card.

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on February 20, 2020, 05:46:43 PM
They closed the Sears where my mom lives. Shortly after, they sent her a new Sears Credit Card.

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on February 20, 2020, 05:46:43 PM
They closed the Sears where my mom lives. Shortly after, they sent her a new Sears Credit Card.

Many of the Sears stores now are franchises.

Quote from: supsalemgr on February 21, 2020, 05:16:37 AM
Many of the Sears stores now are franchises.

Franchising doesn't mean anything nowadays. Chic-Fil-A basically pays the manager $125-ish, and that's it. They don't get to excel with the profits.

They closed the store outright, and by coincident, she received a new card (automatic renewal probably by expiration). It is one of those credit cards, and not just a store card. You probably get store rewards and the like, but there is no store to redeem it at.

Besides the actual financial specs of the particular card, the rewards is the main reason to choose a particular card.