Sears files for Chapter 11 amid plunging sales, massive debt

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

AP Retail Writer

NEW YORK — Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection today, with plans to shutter 142 unprofitable stores in the hopes that it can stay in business.

The question now is whether a smaller version of the company that once towered over the American retail landscape can be viable. Sears, which started as a mail order catalog in the 1880s, has been on a slow march toward extinction as it lagged far behind its peers and incurred huge losses over the years.

At its peak, the operator of Sears and Kmart had 4,000 stores in 2012 but will now be left w...