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'Frankly, I'm surprised it took so long': Sears retirees not surprised by bankruptcy filing

Sears retirees and shoppers from the suburbs said they were saddened by news of the company's bankruptcy filing Monday - and even a bit nostalgic about its heyday - but can't say they didn't see it coming.

"Frankly, I'm surprised it took so long," said Ron Olbrysh of Lombard, chairman of the National Association of Retired Sears Employees, a Chicago-based organization representing former workers.

Financial analysts have long predicted the Hoffman Estates-based corporation's downfall amid increasing debt, stiff online competition and store closures. The Chapter 11 filling doesn't mean the end of Sears, but it marks yet another bad sign for the 125-year-old company that was once a giant of American retail.

"I don't see any future for them. I don't see any way they can stay in business. It will be carcass-picking," said Inverness resident Robert Shamberg, who spent 30 years in the company's corporate offices in the marketing and merchandising divisions. "The question you always ask in retail is, 'Why should somebody come to my store?' They haven't had that answer in 15 years."

There's much that has been and will be written about what Sears could have or should have done to avert financial decline, said Shamberg, who left in 2000 for an ad agency whose main client was Sears.

Among the problems, he said: the lack of investment in stores; failure to distribute its brand names, such as Craftsman and Kenmore, beyond the store itself; and, of particular interest to Shamberg, cuts to the marketing budget for advertising.

One of the most common criticisms of Sears, expressed by Olbrysh, was its slow response to e-commerce and competitors.

"We were the number-one retailer for many years. We may have gotten a big ego," said Olbrysh, who was the company's assistant general counsel when he retired in 1996. "When Walmart came along, Walmart was completely ignored. We didn't do much with Amazon. It indicated the shopping habits of America were changing. We finally caught up, and now we're Johnny-come-lately."

What is reassuring for the estimated 90,000 Sears retirees, Olbrysh said, is that employee pensions are backed by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Sears sent a letter to retirees Monday saying as much, and that monthly pension checks would be distributed as normal.

At Hoffman Estates village hall, officials were learning the details of Sears' bankruptcy filing at the same rate as all other interested parties. They were encouraged that the Chapter 11 variety the retailer is pursuing implies an intention to remain operational throughout.

"The goal is to come out the other side as a leaner company," Village Manager Jim Norris said.

There was not enough known Monday about what the impact on the village might be, he added.

Hoffman Estates, which has been home to the company's headquarters since 1992, is not a creditor of Sears, other than being the holder of a recently renewed naming-rights agreement for the Sears Centre Arena. But officials do intend to monitor and maintain appropriate representation through the bankruptcy proceedings.

"We still don't know a lot about it but we're learning as we go," Norris said.

Algonquin-based Community Unit District 300 filed a lawsuit against Sears last week to prevent the company from continuing to receive local property tax revenue as an economic incentive.

The basis of that suit was the school district's claim that Sears has not maintained the 4,250 jobs on the Hoffman Estates campus as required by the Economic Development Area Tax Increment Allocation Act.

Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod said the village and the state have been receiving nearly annual certifications from Sears of the employment level on the campus.

The most recent one, dated Nov. 27, 2017, attests to the existence of more than 4,250 jobs at Sears' Hoffman Estates campus at that time and not falling below that threshold during 2017.

Meanwhile, at the Sears store in West Dundee, shoppers were walking up and down the aisles Monday afternoon, searching for items ranging from seasonal decorations to appliances.

Algonquin residents Ashley Plumb and Winston Wheeler said the store is their go-to place to buy home appliances and tools - just as Wheeler's grandparents always did.

Though they admitted they often shop online, news of Sears' bankruptcy was disappointing, Plumb said. She prefers to make major purchases in the store where she can see the item in person.

"It's sad because I think Sears has always been one of the main retailers out there, and we've lost so many over the last couple years," Plumb said.

• Daily Herald staff writer Lauren Rohr contributed to this report.

Sears will 'move ahead' with naming rights for Hoffman Estates arena, officials say

Sears files for bankruptcy just as things are looking up for U.S. retail

Sears relocated from Chicago's downtown to a sprawling suburban campus in Hoffman Estates in 1992. Village officials said Monday they're encouraged the company's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing implies an intention to remain operational, though the impact on the village is still unclear. Daily Herald File Photo, 1991
  The Sears store at Spring Hill Mall in West Dundee isn't one of the 142 slated to close. Shoppers there continued to browse the aisles Monday, the day the company announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com, November 2017
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