Sears Holdings Corp. fared even worse than expected for the quarter ended Feb. 2: net income of $426 million compared with a net of $811 million for the quarter ended Feb. 3, 2007. In a letter to shareholders, chairman Eddie Lampert compared the company's situation to that of Eli Manning, the New York Giant QB who confounded his many doubters in Super Bowl XLII.
For sure Lampert faces at least as much skepticism as Manning did as recently as last fall. Analysts, such as the one in this
Bloomberg article, say a Sears turnaround is nearly impossible.
So what kind of a Hail Mary play might Lampert have in mind for Sears, which he reorganized into five business units in late January, but which still needs a new CEO to replace the one who departed then? Part of Lampert's letter talks about Sears' still-valuable brands (Craftsman, Kenmore, DieHard, Land's End), which have been our main focus in
previous posts on Sears. As
we've noted, two of those brands got new execs last week.
Now Lampert pretty much confirms that he is thinking of selling the brands through more channels than the Sears-K-Mart network provides. No word, though, on which channels, or what happens to margins on the brands or traffic in Sears stores when the business model changes.
It's fourth and long. -
Baz HiralalSee Sears' financial results and Lampert's letter
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