Admittedly the lack of investment undermined Sears Canada as it has in the US but Sears Canada was a poorly positioned retailer before ESL Investments got involved. They had some breathing room after Eatons failed but strong competition continued to have a negative impact. Large department store concepts have faced significant challenges in past 25 years. Remember Kresge? Woolworths? Kmart? Towers? . These department stores operators have all failed in Canada. More recently Zellers pulled out and its parent sold leases to Target who also failed. Lampert was not persuaded by his management teams plans and choose not to reinvest. Investment did not help Target in Canada. Botched execution on part of management led to their demise despite significant capital investment. Easy to blame Lambert but many examples of department store failures. Shoppers doesn't like the format compared to the alternative of specialty stores offering of selection and service, and on line offerings.