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Sears files for bankruptcy protection; Eddie Lampert steps down as CEO
CNBC ^ | 15 OCT 18 | Lauren Hirsch | Lauren Thomas

Posted on 10/15/2018 4:31:14 AM PDT by DCBryan1

Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy protection early Monday after years of staying afloat through financial maneuvering and relying on billions of CEO Eddie Lampert's own money. The company also announced that Lampert will be stepping down as CEO, effective immediately, although he remains its chairman.

The 125-year-old retailer, once the nation's largest, said Monday it was appointing Mohsin Meghji, managing partner of M-III Partners, as its chief restructuring officer.

As part of the bankruptcy, Sears will shutter 142 stores toward the end of the year. It expects to begin liquidation sales shortly.

The bankruptcy filing comes more than a decade after Lampert merged Sears and Kmart, hoping that forging together the two struggling discounters would create a more formidable competitor.

Lampert has shed Sears assets and spun out real estate to pay down the debt the retailer accumulated when that plan went askew. The company still has roughly 700 stores, which have at times been barren, unstocked by vendors who have lost their trust. Many of the stores have never been visited by younger generations of shoppers.

Also see: Sears is closing another 142 stores. Here's a map of the locations it has left

Lampert, who has a controlling ownership stake in Sears, personally holds some 31 percent of its shares outstanding, according to FactSet. His hedge fund ESL Investments owns about 19 percent.

But even with the bankruptcy filing, Lampert continues to invest in Sears. The retailer said Monday morning ESL is negotiating a $300 million debtor in possession loan to support it through its bankruptcy. That loan comes on top of an additional $300 million it has secured from investment banks.

"ESL invested time and money in Sears because we believe the company has a future," ESL and Lampert said in a statement Monday.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: amazon; bankruptcy; chapter11; kmart; lampert; retail; sears; trends
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To: Redleg Duke

My old pump shotgun is nestled in my safe next to an original 1873 winchester(circa 1882) a Garand, a us property 1911, a Trapdoor Springfield, a 1899 US Krag and a whole bunch of other rifles, shotguns and pistols.

But when I want to break clay or bust pheasants I take out the Sears model 200.


61 posted on 10/15/2018 9:18:29 AM PDT by Vaquero (Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you .)
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To: HamiltonJay
(Ever dealt with Sears subcontracted delivery service?.... or their subcontracted/licensed repair service)?

You are spot on. Too many stories to relate, but one experience in general comes to mind. A number of years ago I had a Sears Auto shop replace a car battery for me. When I got home I found the battery was securely affixed to the battery box with... string.

62 posted on 10/15/2018 9:23:38 AM PDT by Obadiah
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To: ridesthemiles

I believe Craftsman was sold to Black and Decker or Stanley a while ago now, the haven’t been an exclusive of Sears for years now


63 posted on 10/15/2018 9:32:40 AM PDT by HamiltonJay
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To: DCBryan1

Lampert should have stepped down right after the failure of the Sears-K-Mart merger. He has continually sold off Sears assets, to himself, leaving a highly leveraged shell. All while he NEVER had any true vision of how to reboot Sears into the current century. When he joined, Sears had the assets and the revenue to alter course and not be left in the dust by Amazon and Walmart. Lampert NEVER saw or knew how do to that.


64 posted on 10/15/2018 10:04:55 AM PDT by Wuli (u)
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To: DCBryan1

CEO Eddie Lampert’s networth $1 Billion. Guess he got his and everyone else got the shaft.

His B.A. in economics from Yale certainly failed for Sears.


65 posted on 10/15/2018 2:48:56 PM PDT by Wurlitzer (Nothing says "ignorance" like Islam! 969)
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To: null and void

[The middle management also blocked every good idea from the bottom. ... My IT team lead had extremely good ideas.]

Sounds pretty much like my experience in a small Kansas town. Very similar.


66 posted on 10/15/2018 5:07:40 PM PDT by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold ......)
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To: IncPen

#44


67 posted on 10/15/2018 7:48:34 PM PDT by Nailbiter
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To: Nailbiter

Amazon believes they.have reinvented the American consumer. They don’t know they’re just Sears redux. And they’re getting into bricks and mortar.

In my view in addition to the stories of mismanagement it was the $3 billion in pensions that could have been diverted to retail initiatives that did them in


68 posted on 10/15/2018 9:44:21 PM PDT by IncPen ("Inside of every progressive is a Totalitarian screaming to get out" ~ David Horowitz)
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