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

So what could Penney and Sears have done early on to steer clear of the Slope of Death? In hindsight, that's readily apparent:

Pick a niche and stick to it. Sears tried to be a one-stop shop to the entire planet, even bringing a financial services provider (Dean Witter) and real estate firm (Coldwell Banker) under its umbrella. For its part, Penney could have actually broadened its focus, but not before remerchandising each store first.