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Thursday 23 March 2017 BUSINESS
                                     A24

              Hard times for Sears as retailer notes doubt about future



            A. D’INNOCENZIO                                                                                                     full disclosure that it’s high-
            H. WEIKEL                                                                                                           lighting  actions  to  reduce
            Associated Press                                                                                                    risks.  It  also  said  that  the
            NEW YORK (AP) — Sears, a                                                                                            comments made in the fil-
            back-to-school  shopping                                                                                            ing were in line with “regu-
            destination for generations                                                                                         latory standards.”
            of kids, has said that after                                                                                        Lampert  combined  Sears
            years of losing money that                                                                                          and  Kmart  in  2005,  about
            there is “substantial doubt”                                                                                        two years after he helped
            it  will  be  able  to  keep  its                                                                                   bring  Kmart  out  of  bank-
            doors  open.  But  it  also  in-                                                                                    ruptcy.  He  pledged  to  re-
            sisted that its actions to turn                                                                                     turn  Sears  to  greatness,
            around  its  business  should                                                                                       leveraging  its  best-known
            help reduce that risk.                                                                                              brands and its vast holdings
            It  was  still  a  dramatic  ac-                                                                                    of land, and more recently
            knowledgment  from  the                                                                                             planned to entice custom-
            chain that owns Sears and                                                                                           ers with its loyalty program.
            Kmart  stores,  which  has                                                                                          The  company,  which  em-
            long held fast to its stance                                                                                        ploys  140,000  people,  an-
            that  a  turnaround  is  pos-                                                                                       nounced in January said it
            sible,  even  as  many  of  its                                                                                     would close 108 additional
            shoppers  have  moved  on                                                                                           Kmart  and  42  more  Sears
            to Wal-Mart, Target or Am-                                                                                          locations,  and  unveiled
            azon.                                                                                                               yet  another  restructuring
            Sears  has  survived  of  late   Shoppers enter the Sears department store at the Tri-County Mall, Wednesday, March 22, 2017,   plan in February aimed at
                                         in Springdale, Ohio. Sears, once the monolith of American retail, says that there is “substantial
            mainly with millions in loans   doubt” that it will be able to keep its doors open.                                 cutting  costs  and  recon-
            funneled    through    the                                                                 (AP Photo/John Minchillo)  figuring debts to give itself
            hedge  fund  of  Chairman    late  Tuesday  it  lost  more  company  that  started  in   sota,  where  the  available   more breathing room.
            and  CEO  Edward  Lam-       than  $2  billion  last  year,  the  1880s  as  a  mail-order   parking far outstripped the   But it has to get more peo-
            pert, but  with  sales  fading   and  its  historical  operat-  catalog business.      number  of  cars  in  the  lot,   ple  through  the  doors  or
            it  is  burning  through  cash.   ing results indicated doubt  At  a  largely  empty  Sears   85-year-old  Jack  Walsh   shopping  online  for  what
            Sears  Holdings  Corp.  said   about  the  future  of  the  store  in  St.  Paul,  Minne-  and  his  82-year-old  wife,   it’s selling. Sears, like many
                                                                                                   Mary  Ann,  said  they  have   department  stores,  has
                                                                                                   shopped at Sears their en-   been  thwarted  by  a  new
                                                                                                   tire lives, buying items from   consumer  that  has  ripped
                                                                                                   curtains and window treat-   up  the  decades-old  play-
                                                                                                   ments to tires and tools.    book that the industry has
                                                                                                   “I  bought  my  tools  from   relied upon. A plethora of
                                                                                                   Sears  and  I’ve  still  got   new  online  players  have
                                                                                                   them,” Jack Walsh said.      also   revolutionized   the
                                                                                                   The  company  known  for     market.
                                                                                                   DieHard    batteries   and   Sears  has  upped  its  pres-
                                                                                                   Kenmore  appliances  has     ence  online,  but  is  having
                                                                                                   been  selling  assets,  most   a  hard  time  disguising  its
                                                                                                   recently its Craftsman tool   age. Its stores are in need
                                                                                                   brand.  But  it  says  pension   of a major refresh as rivals
                                                                                                   agreements  may  prevent     like  Wal-Mart  and  Target
                                                                                                   the  sale  of  more  business-  invest  heavily  to  revitalize
                                                                                                   es, potentially leading to a   stores. Sales at established
                                                                                                   shortfall in funding.        Sears  and  Kmart  locations
                                                                                                   “It’s a sad story. This is the   dropped  10.3  percent  in
                                                                                                   place that created the first   the final quarter of 2016.
                                                                                                   direct  to  consumer  retail,   Industry   analysts   have
                                                                                                   the  first  modern  depart-  placed    the   staggering
                                                                                                   ment store. It stood like the   sums  of  money  that  Sears
                                                                                                   Colossus  over  the  Ameri-  is losing beside the limited
                                                                                                   can retail landscape,” said   number of assets it has left
                                                                                                   Craig  Johnson,  president   to  sell,  and  believe  the
                                                                                                   of  Customer  Growth  Part-  storied  retailer  may  have
                                                                                                   ners,  a  retail  consulting   reached  the  point  of  no
                                                                                                   firm. “But it’s been underin-  return.
                                                                                                   vested and bled dry.”        The company has lost $10.4
                                                                                                   Company shares, which hit    billion  since  2011,  the  last
                                                                                                   an all-time low last month,   year that it made a profit.
                                                                                                   tumbled more than 13 per-    Excluding  charges  that
                                                                                                   cent  Wednesday.  Sears      can  be  listed  as  one-time
                                                                                                   tried  to  soothe  investors’   events, the loss is $4.57 bil-
                                                                                                   fears,  saying  in  a  post  on   lion, says Ken Perkins, who
                                                                                                   its  site  that  it  remains  fo-  heads  the  research  firm
                                                                                                   cused  on  “executing  our   Retail Metrics LLC, but how
                                                                                                   transformation  plan”  and   the  losses  are  stacked  no
                                                                                                   that  news  reports  miss  the   longer seem to matter.q
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