The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which consumer goods editor and analyst Austin Smith and technology and media editor and analyst Andrew Tonner discuss topics across the investing world.

In today's edition, Austin and Andrew talk about a stumbling American icon: Sears (Nasdaq: SHLD). Eddie Lampert is the controversial CEO in charge of righting this sinking ship, and the long-term prospects are not playing out in his favor. Mr. Lampert has spent too much time and money buying back shares over the years, while letting the quality of his stores languish. All the while he was also championing the small store format as the future of Sears, but then made plans to spin off their most promising small store formats. I've heard Sears discussed as a misunderstood company with a lot of assets, but with years of declining revenue it's going to take more than hopes and dreams to save this company from itself.

Sears is one of the victims to a massive paradigm shift in the retail space. Of course when these market-redefining events occur there are winners and losers. You can uncover some of the winners in our special free report, "The Death of Retail," which highlights two companies hand-picked by Fool analysts that are set to dominate the future. To check out these two companies and learn more about the future of retailing, click here now -- it's free!