Explore "Surfing the Edge of Chaos" by Mark Millemann on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
In 1995, 110-year-old Sears, Roebuck & Company generated the greatest appreciation in shareholder value among all the companies listed on the Fortune 500. That same year, its chairman, Arthur Martinez, was selected by Business Week as one of the top twenty-five managers of the year. In 1997, Fortune listed Sears among its Most Admired Companies and declared it "the most innovative general merchandise retailer. " In 1998, the National Retail Federation awarded Martinez a Gold Medal for his remarkable turnaround of the venerable retailer.1
All this notoriety reflected authentic cause for celebration. After four decades of continuous retreat during which its market position was cut in half by aggressive rivals such as Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and The Limited, Sears' retail business was restored to profitability. In the process, it had clawed back two points of market share, worth about $2 billion in incremental revenues.2