Another thought: My son-in-law owned a better-quality furniture factory in Washington State. One day the buyers from Sears walked in, quite unexpectedly, and, with a bare minimum of dickering, bought his entire production. That meant canceling all open orders from their bread and butter accounts, the small Mom and Pop dealers. Now, Sears started playing hardball and dictating prices. They were ruined, driven out of business. Their customer base was gone.