Actually, Sears was becoming a dinosaur until it looked at itself and did a complete makeover. Now they are VERY dynamic and growing. Third largest retailer now, with the merger with K-Mart; fifth prior to that...
The guy who bought Sear and owns K-Mart has very little interest in the retail sector. He will be using both companies to suck cash out of and then when he is done will look to sell off all the valuable real estate.
Neither company will last for the long term.