Has anyone actually established that Sears and KMart could pay for the merch in the first place...?
You are probably correct. They couldn't. Here is the latest news (today's) on Sears Holding ( the holding parent holding company of Sears and Kmart ). They are short of bankruptcy.
From the article:
Sears, which has struggled for some time, continues to cut costs, but it still isn’t driving traffic and may still be facing bankruptcy. Sears Holdings Corp.’s stock soared more than 31% in Friday trading after the struggling retailer announced a $1 billion restructuring that includes strategies for cutting costs and optimizing its assets. However experts say it’s lacking one crucial element for a company turnaround: a plan to drive sales.
Brilliant move Sears/Kmart. Antagonizing your customer base is not a way to drive sales.
Article: