HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings Corp., owner of the Sears and Kmart retail chains and Kenmore appliances, will reorganize into separate business units after a year of sales declines and dwindling profit.
Sears will designate a leader for each business and executive advisers to oversee performance, Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite said in an e-mail Saturday. He didn’t give details on what each division would do. The biggest U.S. department-store company owns Lands’ End clothing stores and sells Craftsman tools and DieHard batteries at its Sears and Kmart chains.
Chairman Edward Lampert’s focus on bolstering profit led to declining sales at stores every quarter since he combined Kmart and Sears, Roebuck & Co. in 2005. Profit margins through Feb. 2 probably will drop for a third straight quarter following two years of steady growth, Sears said last week.
“This is a desperately troubled situation,” said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York-based retail consultant Davidowitz & Associates.
