By James F. Peltz
Los Angeles Times
Sears’ chairman said the storied retail chain still “has a future” as a smaller company, rather than being liquidated, now that it has filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
Edward Lampert said he and his hedge fund that has invested heavily in loss-ridden Sears Holdings Corp., which also owns the Kmart department store chain, “will continue to press forward with the goal of seeing Sears emerge from this process positioned for success as a smaller, less-indebted retailer.”
His comments came late Sunday in a statement accompanying Sears’ filing under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy laws, where Sears will attempt to reorganize under the supervision of a Bankruptcy Court judge.
“The company believes that a successful reorganization will save the company and the jobs of tens of thousands of store associates,” Sears said.
Sears already has closed hundreds of stores in recent years to survive, and as part of its bankruptcy plan the Hoffman Estates, Ill., chain said it plans to close an additional 142 unprofitable Sears and Kmart stores by the end of the year. The locations of those stores were not immediately disclosed.
The Sears store in South Aberdeen has, so far, dodged thoses rounds of closures. The store’s property — located at the Shoppes at Riverside mall, is actually owned by Sears Roebuck & Co., which is headquartered in Hoffman Estates. Ill. The property is assessed at $1,163,619 by the Grays Harbor County Assessor’s Office. That’s down from a total assessed value of $2,268,371 in 2014.
The company said it plans “to reorganize around a smaller store platform” of profitable outlets.
In the meantime, “Sears and Kmart stores remain open for business and our dedicated associates look forward to serving our members and customers,” Lampert said.
Sears also received $300 million in loans and is negotiating to obtain an additional $300 million in financing from Lampert’s firm, ESL Investments Inc., to continue operating through the crucial holiday shopping season.
ESL and Sears also are in talks about ESL possibly buying “a large portion of the company’s store base,” Sears said, but no potential financial terms were identified.
Lampert’s firm already is one of Sears’ largest creditors, having provided hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to the chain. The billionaire also is Sears’ majority stockholder.
Lampert stepped down as Sears’ chief executive, although he remained chairman. Rather than choose another individual as CEO, Sears created an “office of the CEO” made up of three top Sears executives, including Chief Financial Officer Robert Riecker.
Sears’ Chapter 11 filing capped a long decline for a company that sells an array of merchandise — from apparel to appliances — at moderate prices for value-conscious shoppers.
Once the nation’s leading retailer and a familiar anchor store in shopping malls, Sears failed to keep pace with stronger competitors and adapt to the huge shift from brick-and-mortar retail stores to online shopping.
Despite its store closures and asset sales — Sears sold its Craftsman tools unit last year, for instance — the company continued to suffer operating losses and cash shortages.
Over the last five years, Sears lost $6.8 billion as its annual sales dropped to $16.7 billion from $36.2 billion.
Sears Holdings’ stock, which already had plunged to less than $1 a share in recent weeks, dropped an additional 16 percent to less than 35 cents a share Monday morning after the bankruptcy petition.
