The head of Sears (SHLD), Ed Lampert, may be a good hedge fund manager, but he is an awful retailer. (He has appointed another poor soul, Aylwin Lewis to be CEO and market whipping boy).
Sears announed today that its sames store sales had dropped 4.3% over the last quarter and it K-Mart division was down 3.8%. The company also reduced its profit projection for the quarter from a range of $170 million and $185 million to $160 million to $200 million.
The whole Sears/K-Mart thing looked so promising at one point.
Rumors that Lampert was both a hedge fund and retail genius took Sears shares from $118 in early 2006 to $195 last April. But, as retail results started to weaken, the idea that Sear Holdings would be the next Berkshire Hathaway started to fade.
The shares now hit $135 on a good day, and the notion that the two old retail chains can be turned around is a thing of the past.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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