Case Study 1 - Question 2

Case Study 1 - Question 2

How have online retailers such as Amazon.com affected change in traditional brick-and-mortar businesses such as Sears?

For an industry facing trouble from disruptive technology, there are few answers. Traditional retail, one such industry, is under attack by the Internet. With the rise of the e-tailer, we have seen the most successful bricks-and-mortar survivors emerge as either wholesalers or niche players. It seems that the world has little room left for anything in between. This is the reason we're seeing some of the oldest, most respected brand names desperately reinventing themselves.
Investors followed the trend that consumers set and have fled both companies -- declaring them dead only a few years into the "AA" (After Amazon) age. Only a brave and optimistic few have stayed around to flex their creative and financial muscles in hopes of reviving these flatlining organizations that now serve as enormous entryways into the mall.
Sears and J.C. Penney are both trying to tie the tourniquet above the wound inflicted by companies such as Amazon.com. While inventory issues, too much real estate, and "showrooming" have kept the former companies down and out, Amazon has avoided every problem bricks-and-mortar stores have faced by being a nimble, though giant, retailer.
Many are critical of Lampert's efforts with Sears, saying he is draining the company for whatever it's worth to get back his investment. I find that unlikely, as Lampert could have done that quickly and made an exit before the retail environment eroded further. Instead, I believe he is trying his best to get this company back on stable ground on which he can build a new, refreshed Sears. It's no different from Bill Ackman and Ron Johnson with J.C. Penney -- though the two companies are taking vastly different approaches.

Reference:
Michael Lewis (2012) The Best Move to Save This Retail Dinosaur
Available at: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2012/08/13/the-best-move-to-save-this-retail-dinosaur.aspx/