Sears Holdings Corp. has named a new CEO just six months after the merger of Sears and Kmart.
Kmart veteran Aylwin Lewis becomes CEO and president of Sears Holdings on Sept. 30, replacing Alan Lacy, Sears’ president-CEO who took the helm of the company when the retail chains merged in March. The retailer also adds a new post, chief administrative officer, to be filled by current CFO William Crowley.
In an unusual move, Sears Holdings Chairman Edward Lampert assumes direct oversight of marketing, merchandising, design and online retail for Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End.
The change comes as Sears and Kmart both report sales declines for the quarter, with total sales of just over $13 billion. Kmart sales fell 3.2% for the 13 weeks ended July 30, due mostly to post-merger store closings. Kmart’s same-store sales were relatively flat (down 0.3%) as the size of transactions shrank.
Sears’ sales fell 3%, with same-store sales down a whopping 7.4% for the quarter as Sears weaned off some promotions and cut inventory to lower its holding costs. That was offset, in part, by higher home-service sales.
Lewis, who had been Kmart’s CEO before the merger, will oversee all Sears and Kmart stores (3,900 in total) and the home services, finance, legal, supply chain, information technology, and human resources divisions for Hoffman Estates, IL-based Sears Holdings. Lacy continues as vice chairman and keeps his seat on the board of directors; he’ll remain as chairman of the board for Sears Canada and assist Lampert with ongoing merger integration.
“Our goal is to build one company with multiple ways of connecting with our customers, including our various store formats, online offerings, service relationships, and credit products,” said Lampert in a statement.
Separately, Sears Canada will sell its Credit and Financial Services business to JP Morgan Chase & Co. for $1.8 billion. The deal is expected to close by yearend; no decision has been made on how Sears Canada will use the proceeds.
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