Sears sales slump during holiday season

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) - It was an ugly holiday season for Sears.

Sears Holdings Corp.'s shares plummeted in after-hours trading Thursday after the beleaguered retailer said it expects a hefty loss for the fourth quarter and full year as sales during the critical holiday season dropped sharply.

The retailer, which operates Sears and Kmart stores, said that it expects an adjusted loss between $213 million and $316 million, or $2.01 to $2.98 per share, for its fourth quarter. For the year, it forecast an adjusted loss between $811 million and $914 million, or $7.64 to $8.61 per share.

Two analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected a profit of 38 cents per share for the fourth quarter and a loss of $6.80 for the year, on average.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140110/DAB7JG4O2.html

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. Sears is stuck in the 1960's.

[Ed Suspicious]

2. That would would be nice. I think they slumped because they sell lesser quality goods than before,

and they are under management who believes cost cutting at all costs is the way to profitability. Cost cutting at all costs.

[Tikki]

3. SEARS dicked around with a lot of loyal customers, changing billing dates and interest amounts and..

even messed when closing out accounts back when things were tough for consumers.

We paid off our card and cut it up.
They are pretty much over priced, too.


Tikki

[mike dub]

4. That sucks

I gotta love Sears: the only place where I can buy bar oil for my chain saw, a new pair Craftsmen steel toe work boots to replace the old ones, a nice shirt and tie for my day-job, And my wife can find nice clothes for herself ---- all under the same roof. Nothing like Sears!

[JI7]

5. i went to sears a few months ago and the place looked depressing

the place is a mess and you just don't want to be there.

[Astraea]

6. I think they've got an image problem, too

I don't think many people think of Sears as 'glamorous' or 'trendy'.

Does anybody else wish they were still Sears & Roebuck? I think just 'Sears' is a little plain.

[SCVDem]

7. Who are Sears customers?

I would guess they are the working class who are unemployed and got hosed by the extended UI cancellation.

We spend what we get.

What part of this don't the Repugs understand?

[cstanleytech]

8. Oh they understand it the problem is alot of them are narcissistic assholes. nt

[liberal N proud]

10. Shopping in Sears is depressing

Their stores just feel cold and stark.

[4dsc]

11. I went to Sears only to find nothing

I went to make a purchase with a gift card I received and couldn't find someone to check me out. They have spread checkout stands at what appears to be opposite ends of the store. Then there was only one person working and a long line. I'll never go back.

[Uben]

12. Craftsman tools were once good tools....

...now they are the cheapest shit you can buy. Everything they sell is made in China or Taiwan.

[AngryAmish]

13. Sears does not exist anymore

About eight years ago it was bought by a hedge fund to sell the real estate that the stores are on. Then the bottom fell out of the real estate market. The hedge fund has been riding out the real estate bubble bursting, putting no money in the stores and hoping to sell the real estate when brighter days are ahead.

Sears has been poorly run since the 70s. The corporate climate is toxic.

[bigworld]

14. Sears is run by an Ayn Rand acolyte who pits staff against each other

... and everyone loses. Here's a good story on him...

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroys_his_empire_partner/

Excerpt:

Once upon a time, hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert was living a Wall Street fairy tale. His fairy godmother was Ayn Rand, the dashing diva of free-market ideology whose quirky economic notions would transform him into a glamorous business hero.

For a while, it seemed to work like a charm. Pundits called him the “Steve Jobs of the investment world.” The new Warren Buffett. By 2006 he was flying high, the richest man in Connecticut, managing over $15 billion thorough his hedge fund, ESL Investments.

Stoked by his Wall Street success, Lampert plunged headlong into the retail world. Undaunted by his lack of industry experience and hailed a genius, Lampert boldly pushed to merge Kmart and Sears with a layoff and cost-cutting strategy that would, he promised, send profits into the stratosphere. Meanwhile the hotshot threw cash around like an oil sheikh, buying a $40 million pad in Florida’s Biscayne Bay, a record even for that star-studded county.

Fast-forward to 2013: The fairy tale has become a nightmare.