Sears Holdings Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday with a plan to close about 142 of its 700 stores by the end of the year, throwing into doubt the future of the century-old retailer that once dominated U.S. malls but has withered in the age of internet shopping.
The bankruptcy filing to reorganize debts of the parent of Sears, Roebuck and Co and Kmart Corp follows a decade of revenue declines, hundreds of store closures, and years of deals by billionaire Eddie Lampert in an attempt to turn around the company he acquired in 2005 for $11 billion.
Lampert, who stepped down as Sears CEO on Monday but will remain chairman, had pledged to restore Sears to its glory days, when it owned the tallest building in the world and companies that included a radio station and Allstate insurance.
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