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Sears Holdings history
Sears Holdings company history timeline
In 2005, Sears introduced a new store format called Sears Essentials.
In 2005, Sears Holdings sold a stake in hardware chain Orchard Supply Hardware to private equity firm Ares Management.
In November 2006, speculation rolled around as The Chicago Sun Times reported that Sears may buy Safeway, Home Depot, Gap, BJ's Wholesale Club, Radio Shack, Pep Boys, and Anheuser-Busch.
A former executive was quoted as saying the company faced an "uncertain future". Surprisingly, a third of pre-tax income in the third quarter of 2006, according to The Washington Post, was due to financial trades and not the retail business.
The Washington Post, in a March 11, 2007, article, described the current Sears as a hedge fund with money being diverted from the maintenance and improvement of stores to non-retail financial investments.
On December 14, 2007, the company submitted a draft merger agreement to buy Restoration Hardware for $6.75 a share.
Like Target stores, Kmart-branded stores in Australia belong to Wesfarmers (which acquired former owners Coles Group in 2007); Wesfarmers also holds the rights to the Kmart brand in New Zealand.
In 2007, the company placed its three major brands in KCD IP, a "separate, wholly-owned, bankruptcy-remote subsidiary". KCD stands for the three brands: Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard.
In June 2008, Sears launched Servicelive.com, which was intended to connect Sears customers with local contractors for home improvement projects.
On February 22, 2010, the Sears Automotive business launched a new Independent Sears Auto Center franchise program that offers automobile dealers the opportunity to operate licensed Sears Auto Centers, with the first dealership in New Jersey.
Servicelive.com was redesigned in March 2010.
He accepted to sell his stake at $30 a share on April 23, 2010..
On December 14, 2011, Sears Holdings announced that it would spin off its remaining holdings in Orchard Supply to shareholders effective December 30, 2011.
On December 27, 2011, after poor holiday sales, the company announced 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores would close.
The first quarter of 2011 did not appear any better, with the company posting a net loss of $170 million, or $1.58 a share.
On February 23, 2012, Sears Holdings Corp. announced it is closing all nine "The Great Indoors" stores.
On December 6, 2013, Sears Holding Corp. announced that it will spin off Lands' End catalog business as a separate company by distributing stock to the retailer's stockholders.
During this period, the company announced that it would close 150 stores (109 Kmart and 41 Sears outlets), in an attempt to cut its losses after a decline in sales of 12 to 13 percent during the holiday shopping season and the largest quarterly loss since 2013.
Lands' End stock began trading on the NASDAQ on April 7, 2014.
In 2015, Sears Holdings planned to spinoff 235 of its properties into a new REIT to be called Seritage Growth Properties, with the package of properties backed by a $925 million loan from JP Morgan Chase Bank.
In May 2016, Sears Holdings announced that it was seeking strategic alternatives for its house brands to increase their revenue, including expanding their presence outside of Sears and Kmart.
On January 9, 2017, Sears announced that it had reached an agreement to sell the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker for $900 million, plus royalties on new Craftsman sales for a 15-year period.
In December 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sears Holdings Corp. had not paid for any national television commercials since late November 2017, for both Kmart and Sears, instead relying on online marketing.
On September 11, 2018, the company stated it would announce its quarter 2 earnings when the market opened on September 13.
On November 8, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close an additional 40 Kmart and Sears stores.
That year Lampert bought a controlling stake in Sears Canada, but it closed in 2018.
Big box rival Lowe’s started selling Craftsman tools in 2018.
In March 2019, Sears Holdings sued Transform Holdco LLC for $57.5 million it says it is owed from the sale.
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Sears Holdings competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Home Depot | 1978 | $159.5B | 500,001 | 21,781 |
| Dillard's | 1938 | $6.6B | 40,000 | 17 |
| Nordstrom | 1901 | $15.0B | 74,000 | 1,050 |
| Walgreens | 1901 | - | 210,500 | 20,439 |
| Kroger | 1883 | $147.1B | 465,000 | 7,642 |
| Kohl's | 1962 | $16.2B | 110,000 | 1,314 |
| Staples | 1986 | $18.2B | 75,000 | 1,769 |
| Vudu | 2004 | - | 180 | - |
| BJ's Wholesale Club | 1984 | $20.5B | 25,001 | 660 |
| Lowe's Companies | 1946 | $83.7B | 300,000 | 8,381 |
Sears Holdings history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Sears Holdings, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Sears Holdings. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Sears Holdings. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Sears Holdings. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Sears Holdings and its employees or that of Zippia.
Sears Holdings may also be known as or be related to SEARS HOLDINGS CORP, Sears Brands, LLC, Sears Holdings, Sears Holdings Corporation, Transform Holdco LLC, sears, sears portrait studio, sears auto center, sears home services, sears outlet, sears automotive, sears optical, sears hardware, sears home improvement, sears logistics services, sears grand, sears call center, sears essentials, sears automotive center, sears logistics, sears credit, sears warehouse and Sears Hometown & Outlet.