Sears Holdings

Sears Holdings Corp. reversed a year-ago loss and posted a profit of $26 million for its first quarter as it worked to manage inventory in its stores. The results amounted to a profit of 21 cents a share, which is markedly better than a year earlier, when the retailer led by financier Edward Lampert lost $56 million, or 43 cents. Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $47 million, or 38 cents, for the three months that ended May 2. Sales fell more than 9% to $10.06 billion.

Sears Holdings Corp. is slashing costs after losing $2.4 billion in the fourth quarter, including the closure of 120 of its department stores. But one expense remains sky high: the cost of charter flights for Chief Executive Louis J. D'Ambrosio, who lives in Philadelphia and commutes to Sears' headquarters in Hoffman Estates , Ill.  Sears spent $793,224 last year shuttling D'Ambrosio by private jet back and forth, according to its latest proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Three Sears stores in California are among 79 stores nationwide slated to be closed after a dismal holiday season prompted Sears Holdings Corp. to retool its strategy. The Illinois retailer on Thursday posted a list of 41 Sears and 38 Kmart outlets targeted for closure, the first wave of the 100 to 120 stores the company plans to shut down. Two Sears stores in San Diego and one in El Monte will close at a date to be determined. No Kmart stores in the state are on the list.

Three Sears stores in California are among 79 stores nationwide slated to be closed after a dismal holiday season prompted Sears Holdings Corp. to retool its strategy. The Illinois retailer on Thursday posted a list of 41 Sears and 38 Kmart outlets targeted for closure, the first wave of the 100 to 120 stores the company plans to shut down. Two Sears stores in San Diego and one in El Monte will close at a date to be determined. No Kmart stores in the state are on the list.

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to spin off its home improvement unit, Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp., as a separate publicly traded company, the department store giant said. Often called OSH, Orchard Supply is a San Jose-based chain that operates 89 stores, all in California. Shares of OSH, which plans to be traded as OSHS on the Nasdaq once it becomes a stand-alone company, will be distributed to Sears Holdings shareholders. Sears Holdings said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday that it believed OSH would generate more value for shareholders as an independent entity and that the move would provide "financial, operational and managerial benefits to both" companies.

Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday that Vice Chairman Alan Lacy, who led Sears, Roebuck & Co. through the purchase of Lands' End, the sale of its credit card business and the chain's sale to Kmart, is leaving the company, effective July 29. Lacy was replaced as chief executive last fall, and was widely expected to step down as vice chairman sometime in July.

Hedge fund wizard Edward Lampert is taking on an unexpected new role at Sears Holdings Corp.: chief marketer and merchandiser. The billionaire chairman shook up top management at the No. 3 U.S. retailer Thursday after another poor quarter, naming Aylwin Lewis to replace Alan Lacy as chief executive and taking on a more direct role at the company. The moves come with sales still sinking at the company's two laggard chains, nearly six months after Kmart Holding Corp.'

Sears Holdings Corp. reported another mixed quarter of skidding sales alongside improved costs and profit margins Tuesday, encouraging investors while leaving questions about its direction as a retailer unanswered. The parent of Sears department stores and Kmart discount stores bested Wall Street estimates with a modest fiscal third-quarter profit of $58 million even as net income and sales fell from a year earlier. Its stock rose 5.4% in heavy trading.

The inaugural quarterly results from newly merged Sears Holdings Corp. didn't impress investors, who sent its stock tumbling Tuesday after the nation's No. 3 retailer posted a small first loss amid sluggish sales at Kmart and Sears stores. Sears Holdings, created through Kmart Holding Corp.'s March 24 acquisition of Sears, Roebuck & Co., reported a $9-million loss, or 7 cents a share, for the February to April period.

Sears Holdings Corp. abruptly announced the departure of President and Chief Executive Aylwin B. Lewis on Monday, leaving a management void at the top of the department store chain controlled by Chairman Edward S. Lampert. The change comes as the company tries a high-stakes restructuring to reconnect with customers and reinvigorate slumping sales. Lewis, 52, who also resigned from the board, was an executive at fast-food chain Yum Brands Inc.

Sears Holdings Corp. plans to spin off its home improvement unit, Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp., as a separate publicly traded company, the department store giant said. Often called OSH, Orchard Supply is a San Jose-based chain that operates 89 stores, all in California. Shares of OSH, which plans to be traded as OSHS on the Nasdaq once it becomes a stand-alone company, will be distributed to Sears Holdings shareholders. Sears Holdings said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday that it believed OSH would generate more value for shareholders as an independent entity and that the move would provide "financial, operational and managerial benefits to both" companies.

Sears Holding Corp. said Wednesday that more than 7,000 job openings at Sears and K-Mart will be posted on Twitter, a move experts say is a way to advertise and market its brands to 18- to 34-year-olds, the mainstay of the social networking site. "It allows for multiple ways to communicate a positive message and achieve multiple goals within an organization from marketing to [human resources]," said Mike Dwyer, a social media strategist for Aon Consulting. Sears Holdings said the job tweets will be posted by TweetMyJobs.

Sears Holdings Corp. reversed a year-ago loss and posted a profit of $26 million for its first quarter as it worked to manage inventory in its stores. The results amounted to a profit of 21 cents a share, which is markedly better than a year earlier, when the retailer led by financier Edward Lampert lost $56 million, or 43 cents. Excluding one-time items, the company said it earned $47 million, or 38 cents, for the three months that ended May 2. Sales fell more than 9% to $10.06 billion.

Sears Holdings Corp. posted a loss Tuesday that was wider than analysts estimated as cash-strapped consumers bought less clothing, appliances and home furnishings, pushing sales down for the seventh straight quarter. Sears abandoned its earnings forecast for the remainder of the year and said it would repurchase as much as $500 million in additional shares and close more stores. Fiscal third-quarter revenue fell 8.3% to $10.7 billion. The results indicate that Chairman Edward Lampert has yet to find a successful strategy to win customers since he brought the Sears and Kmart chains together in 2005.

Sears Holdings Corp. abruptly announced the departure of President and Chief Executive Aylwin B. Lewis on Monday, leaving a management void at the top of the department store chain controlled by Chairman Edward S. Lampert. The change comes as the company tries a high-stakes restructuring to reconnect with customers and reinvigorate slumping sales. Lewis, 52, who also resigned from the board, was an executive at fast-food chain Yum Brands Inc.

Sears Holdings Corp. forecast lower quarterly profit Tuesday and said it needed to better control its costs and stock more items that its shoppers demand, sending shares down 10%. The company, which runs the Sears and Kmart chains, also said its board had approved the repurchase of as much as an additional $1 billion of common stock. Under the control of hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, Sears has been seen as much as a financial stock as a retail stock.

Kmart Holding Corp. bought Sears, Roebuck & Co. for $12.3 billion Thursday, combining two faded retail icons whose sales have been declining for years into the nation's third-biggest retailer with $55 billion in annual sales. Shareholders signed off on the deal in separate meetings at Sears' suburban Chicago headquarters, which now becomes the base for a company that adopts the name Sears Holdings Corp. It trails only Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot Inc. among U.S. retailers.

Sears Holdings Corp. said Tuesday that Vice Chairman Alan Lacy, who led Sears, Roebuck & Co. through the purchase of Lands' End, the sale of its credit card business and the chain's sale to Kmart, is leaving the company, effective July 29. Lacy was replaced as chief executive last fall, and was widely expected to step down as vice chairman sometime in July.