Philip Emma

That's a critical component of their ability to remain viable and to exit bankruptcy, this is the time of year where people are building inventories ahead of the holiday season, so to have this deal in place with vendors is critical to allow them breathing room to get through the fourth quarter.

That's the ironic part. You would think that if Sears Holdings still had a core demographic, Sears Holdings would be Mr. and Middle America. But Sears Holdings's not the plan going forward, sears Holdings may underscore the fact that Sears' plans are less about retail and more about the real estate.

Even if they emerge from bankruptcy as a going concern, they have a pretty insurmountable retail problem, the desire to control the real estate was Eddie Lampert motivation through this long slide. If there's any reason Eddie Lampert is still involved in this, it's the value is in the real estate, with a footprint you can't easily replicate for a variety of reasons.

I'd say the chance of them making it to next year are no better than 50-50, and maybe not even that good, they've got a pretty tough road ahead.

The best they can probably hope for is less of a drop than in the past, it would be the second Christmas miracle for Sears to have positive same-store sales.