Sears Posts $146 Million Loss

December 2, 2008  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in Furniture Retailing on December 2008 Sears Holdings, the nation’s largest department store chain, posted a lost of $146 million its in its third quarter on declines in its appliance, home furnishings and apparel segments. The company earned $4 million in the year-ago quarter.

Sales fell 8.3 percent to $10.7 billion at the retailer that also includes Kmart. Comparable-store sales were down 9 percent. The company has ceased issuing an earnings forecast and said the third-quarter results include a charge of $101 million related to the closing of 14 stores and other costs.

“We believe we have positioned ourselves well for a difficult holiday shopping season,” said Bruce Johnson, Sears Holdings’ interim chief executive officer and president. “We have reduced our inventory levels, cut expenses, and announced the closing of select underperforming stores as part of our ongoing review. We are offering differentiated solutions for our customers to help them meet their holiday needs, through programs like our successful layaway program at Kmart, which we have recently expanded to Sears.”