Is this the beginning of the end for the retail giant Sears?

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"Fast" Eddie Lampert the majority stockholder in Sears Holding Corp announced in a recent letter to stockholder that he is considering selling off the Sears exclusive brands such as Craftsman, Diehard and Kenmore in order to combat the slumping performance of Sears and Kmart stores. More details can be found in the following article from the Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-sears-shldfeb29,0,3871386.story Sears (love them or hate them) is an instutution that has been around for a long time. I'm not sure that Sears could survive if it sold off it's exlusive brands. What would be left to bring customers into the store if they go to the competition and buy Sears products there? This reminds me of the corporate raiding that went on the in 1980's; Drive stock down, buy back outstanding shares (which lampert has been doing) and then sell off individual parts of the company (like real estate). Those holding stock come out way ahead, while the 100,000 or employee's are out of work. What are your thoughts, do you think Sears can survive, or is this the end of the retail chain?