SEARS Holdings Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday, 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 Chapter 11 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 CEO Eddie Lampert in an attempt to turn around the company he bought in 2004.

But the company has not turned a profit since 2011, and critics say Lampert let the stores deteriorate over the years, even as he bought the company’s stock and lent it money. It has sold off the legendary Craftsman brand and is considering an offer from Lampert for the Kenmore appliance name.

The company listed US$6.9 billion in assets and US$11.3 billion in liabilities in documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York.

The bankruptcy filing was sparked by a standoff between Lampert, the company’s biggest shareholder and lender, and a special board committee, over a rescue plan proposed by Lampert.

Shareholders generally lose their investment when a company files for bankruptcy, and the fate of Sears itself will depend on the willingness of creditors and suppliers to keep the company afloat.

The largest U.S. toy retailer, Toys ‘R’ Us, tried to emerge from its 2017 bankruptcy filing but was forced to liquidate six months later after creditors lost confidence in its turnaround plan.

Sears dates back to the late 1880s and its mail-order catalogues with merchandise from toys, medicine and gramophones to automobiles, kit houses and tombstones made it the Amazon.com Inc. of its time.

Chicago’s Sears Tower was the world’s tallest building when it was completed in 1973, but in the following decades consumers increasingly turned to e-commerce and brick-and-mortar rivals such as Walmart Inc. and Target Corp.

(SD-Agencies)