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EDDIE, THE CRYING TOWELS ARE IN HOUSEWARES

By
Richard Wilner
Published Dec. 2, 2007, 10:00 a.m. ET

Hedge fund whiz Edward Lampert, who has produced results unmatched by rivals – 20 percent annual returns in all but two years of a two decade plus career – last week produced a different result no other executive has done: his Sears Holdings retail chain produced same-store sales declines in each quarter over two years.

Retail watchers were left scratching their heads when asked if any other retail chain in memory ever pulled off that feat.

Lampert has asked for patience in the past as he has tweaked the retail recipe at Sears and Kmart – for example, moving the popular Kenmore and Craftsmen brands into Kmart while putting some Martha Stewart brand items into Sears.

But nothing has worked to turn around slumping sales. For a while, cutting costs and successfully investing Sears’ excess cash propped up profits. But now, profits, too, are falling.

Shoppers now favor Target over Kmart while Sears customers now flock to Best Buy, Home Depot and Costco for hard goods and to mid-level department stores like Kohl’s for apparel.

After investors greeted last week’s poor third quarter results by sending Sears Holdings to a 52-week low, Lampert lashed out at the media and Wall Street for not getting what he is doing.

“Much of the commentary in the media and on Wall Street following the results ignores the strength of our company and the progress that we have made,” Lampert wrote in a letter to employees, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Over the past several years, we are one of the few retail companies that have actually reduced our overall debt levels, while at the same time investing over $1 billion on capital expenditures, making investments in inventory for our customers, contributing significantly to our pension plans for our past and future retirees and repurchasing over $3 billion of our shares,” the letter continued.

Sure, Mr. Retail Executive, that’s all fine. But haven’t American shoppers been voting with their feet over the past two years in ever increasing numbers by shopping somewhere else?

Lampert, the chairman of Sears Holdings, calls the chain an “underdog” and promises to work for better result in the future.

Sears Holdings shares fell 6.3 percent last week to close at $105.51.