20/20 hindsight and all. Amazon still has practically no retail footprint. Sears' big business was bricks-and-mortar retailing, not catalog retailing. The catalog was shrinking and dying. Under the circumstances it was perfectly reasonable for Sears to shut down the catalog and focus on stores.
Also, Amazon did not start out being anything like what it is today. For years it was just books. I remember as they added departments, they would tack an extra tab onto the homepage--"CDs", "Video", etc. So what was Sears going to do? Instantly transport the entirety of a dying catalog business to a non-existing consumer Internet? That wouldn't parallel Amazon at all. Not to mention that Sears did not have access to a bunch of giddy investors who were willing to pump in money despite no sign of profitability.
Only under a superficial analysis could Sears have been what Amazon is today.
Also, Amazon did not start out being anything like what it is today. For years it was just books. I remember as they added departments, they would tack an extra tab onto the homepage--"CDs", "Video", etc. So what was Sears going to do? Instantly transport the entirety of a dying catalog business to a non-existing consumer Internet? That wouldn't parallel Amazon at all. Not to mention that Sears did not have access to a bunch of giddy investors who were willing to pump in money despite no sign of profitability.
Only under a superficial analysis could Sears have been what Amazon is today.