By David Desjardins at Seeking Alpha
Sears (NASDAQ:SHLD) is an icon of the American business landscape. The company was founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck in 1886. At its apogee, Sears was the biggest retailer in the United States. Due to its prosperity, the firm decided to build the largest building in America: the Sears Tower located in Chicago. At completion in 1973, it surpassed the World Trade Center towers and became the tallest building in the world. Now, Sears is not the firm that it once was. It is now the 13th largest retailer in the United States based on annual revenue behind Costco, Wal-Mart and Best buy for example.
