How J.C. Penney and Sears Could Have Steered Clear of the Slope of Death

As a U.S. brand, Sears is iconic for its practicality, not to mention its success — until recently. The company began as a mail order catalog serving the turn of the century rural Midwest and went on to pioneer the concept of the "department store." However, a long period of diversification into nonretail would come back to haunt Sears.