Sears's bankruptcy filing was supposed to give the troubled retailer a fresh start. But a year later, the chain is still struggling with many of the same problems it faced before it sought court protection.
Roughly a quarter of the 425 Sears and Kmart stores that financier Edward Lampert bought out of bankruptcy have closed or are closing, according to people familiar with the situation, a retreat the chains haven't fully disclosed.
The shelves at some remaining locations are bare of crucial products—no lawn mowers in summer or garden supplies in spring, according to shoppers and a former executive.
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