Sears warns it will consider 'all options' if efforts to refinance $1 billion fail

[Eugene]

Source: CNBC

Sears warns it will consider 'all options' if efforts to refinance $1 billion fail

• Sears' same-store sales dropped between 16 and 17 percent for the first two months of the fourth quarter.
• The department store chain has raised $100 million in new financing and is pursuing an additional $200 million from other lenders.
• Sears is pushing to return to profitability and will continue to explore ways to monetize its other assets.

Lauren Thomas
Published 2 Hours Ago Updated 2 Mins Ago

Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart stores, said it suffered another disappointing holiday season, making it more challenging as the retailer scrambles to refinance its debt.

The company said it's in talks with certain lenders about transactions that would strengthen Sears' balance sheet and could potentially improve the terms on more than $1 billion of debt. This would help the department store chain reduce cash interest expenses and extend maturities.

While reiterating his beliefs Sears has the right strategy to turn itself around, Chief Executive Officer Eddie Lampert wrote in blog post that, should the refinancing "not be fully successful, the Company's Board will consider all other options to maximize the value of Sears Holdings' assets."

Sears has also been in discussions about monetizing some of its own brands and assets, Lampert explained. That could include diversifying Sears' revenue stream through its Home Services, Auto Services, Kenmore, and DieHard businesses, but these actions require "a more stable environment and more cooperative partners," according to the CEO and hedge fund owner.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/sears-lands-additional-financing-even-as-holiday-sales-disappoint.html

[PoliticAverse]

1. I'm surprised they're still around after the Christmas season a year ago. n/t

[snowybirdie]

2. Return to mailorder

or die! Example of today's world.... Needed a kitchen item, tramped all over Wal Mart and couldn't find it. Asked an employee who directed me to another item entirely because of language barrier. Went home tired and frustrated. Sat down with tablet, ordered my item on Amazon and it will be here tomorrow. That's how commerce is done today. Sears (a previous employer of mine) wake up!

[global1]

3. Maybe They Can Get The $1 Billion From Russia....

they should talk with Trump about that. Putin could launder money thru Sears stores here in the US.

[sabbat hunter]

4. They have been in trouble

ever since Lampert bought Sears. He loaded it with debt in the merger of Kmart and Sears (he owned Kmart first). Only reason he bought Sears was for its value brands, and its property.

He has already spun off its property holdings onto a separate company that he controls. Has sold off the value brands like Craftsman, Die Hard. Looking now to sell of Kenmore, which is a joke because Sears doesn't make its own appliances, they are just rebranded from major brands (or sometimes cheap knock off brands).

He is now shutting down a big store on Long Island in Hicksville. One that used to be one of its major anchor stores, with a Sears auto in the same parking lot. He is proposing to turn the huge property it sits on, into a large residential apartment complex with bowling alley, movie theater, shopping, etc.
The area the store sits in is surrounded by single family houses, has a big mall across the street that already has a movie theater and bowling alley. His proposal is way too dense and too tall for the neighborhood. Additionally, the traffic in the area is already atrocious, his plan would create gridlock.
But Lampert doesn't give a shit, he just wants to line his own pockets further. But according to people I know who are into planning on Long Island, this plan is dead on arrival.

[sabbat hunter]

5. if Lampert really

wanted Sears to survive he would do the following
1) shut down Kmart/convert to Sears stores.
2) find someone who actually knows something about retail to run the company
3) Do a reverse spin of the real estate holdings, so that the company has some cash flow to pay off debts, renovate/update stores.