"I just felt like a captain of a sinking ship:" What it's like to manage a dying Sears

MESA, Arizona — Don Fisher had worked at Sears since 1987, when he was a teenager in Phoenix, Arizona. He started as a sales associate and working his way up to manager. But as profits sunk and Sears spiraled into bankruptcy, so did Fisher's morale. So he left.

"I just felt like a captain of a sinking ship where I'm trying to bail out water with a cup," he told VICE News. "And there's water just overflowing, and you just can't get it done."

Three months later, the Sears that Fisher managed closed, and on October 15, the entire company filed for bankruptcy. Once the largest retailer in the United States, Sears has been on the decline as competitors like Walmart and Amazon take it's place. The company has announced the closing of at least 188 stores by early 2019, with more layoffs expected to happen.

VICE News spoke with Fisher about the life of Sears and what it's like working for a dying company.

READ: How Sears revolutionized shopping for black Americans

Produced by Jaclyn Skurie and Seth Dalton. DP: Zach Caldwell, Editor: Anne Garrett