Once upon a time I worked for Sears Holdings Corporation, the entity that owned Sears department stores, Kmart stores, and the Kenmore, Craftsman, and Die Hard brands. For a good chunk of the 20th century, Sears was basically Amazon, featuring both an enormous brick-and-mortar retail operation and a robust catalogue business. They would proudly refer to themselves as the World’s Largest Retailer, and for much of their existence, that was true.
Sears died a common corporate death, out-innovated by internet giants like Amazon, and a victim of the all-too-common leveraged corporate raider scheme, when they were purchased by hedge fund billionaire Eddie Lampert, who saw value in their real estate portfolio, just before the big real estate crash.