[originaltext]E-commerce is often blamed for the woes of brick-and-mortar retai

E-commerce is often blamed for the woes of brick-and-mortar retailers. But on Thursday, Sears’ CEO Eddie Lampert cast blame on the company’s retirees— specifically, pension plan payouts— for draining company coffers.
The statements came in a blog post by Lampert in which he outlined that since 2005, Sears has contributed over $4.5 billion to its pension fund.
“Had the company been able to employ those billions of dollars in its operations, we would have been in a better position to compete with other large retail companies, many of which don’t have large pension plans, and thus have not been required to allocate billions of dollars to these liabilities,” he wrote.
One way Sears has stayed buoyant in recent years: partnerships with Amazon. At the end of August, Sears announced it would expand the pilot program that enables Sears to install and balance automobile tires that consumers purchase through Amazon. The deal seems like a win-win for both retailers, as well as customers. Amazon shoppers who buy tires, including Sears’ Die-Hard brand, can ship the tires to a nearby Sears Auto Centre for installation.
Questions 5 to 7 are based on the news report you have just heard.
5. Why did Sears’ CEO Eddie Lampert cast blame on the company’s retirees?
6. How much has Sears contributed to its pension fund since 2005?
7. What would Sears do next?