Who is kmart ceo

Sears filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. This has been a long time in the making and periodically predicted since at least The company did reach a deal with lenders over the weekend that will allow it to keep stores open through the holidays, as the Wall Street Journal reported.

Thousands of jobs are in jeopardy as stores are expected to close immediately, with another potentially on the chopping block. As my Inc. What heart. In other words, the company is a complete mess. In addition, the company has long lost its way, ignoring the need for innovation in the face of smart competitors.

Such a pity, because Julius Rosenwald, the man behind the explosive success of Sears, making it the combination of Walmart and Amazon in its day with stores and catalogs, understood opportunity -- and responsibility. He worked with Booker T. Washington to establish 5, schools for African American children in the South. He also knew how having money didn't necessarily mean someone was smart. Here's a Rosenwald quote from an old newsreel:.

Lampert is a case in point. He made a lot of money and then decided that he had the skills to run Sears and Kmart as properties of Sears Holding. But he didn't understand the business. While Sears has spent less to spruce up stores, competitors have taken the opposite approach.

Best Buy, for instance, was left for dead five years ago, Since then, CEO Hubert Joly has plunged hundreds of millions of dollars into store upgrades and critical information technology systems. Today, the electronics retailer is back on its feet, having remade itself as a vibrant physical retailer immersed in the digital age. Sears stores, on the other hand, have fallen into disrepair. Stained carpeting, broken fixtures and dim lighting are commonplace. Analysts, industry watchers and even shoppers predict the iconic retailer doesn't have much time left.

While Sears has steadily lowered its investment in store upgrades over the last five years, the company has loaded up on loans due to Lampert himself. As the company bleeds cash and puts prized brands up for sale, some industry watchers question whether a greater focus on its stores — or even a declaration of bankruptcy some years ago — could have put it on the path to profitability.

Now, instead, the company's demise may be inevitable. Now, "I've got to believe when they head into a bankruptcy If that happens, Lampert has put the hedge fund in position to snap up some of the company's prime assets, analysts said. This would come after the CEO orchestrated a series of complex financial deals in which he effectively has played the unusual role of both seller and buyer or lender and borrower. Lampert has previously said he does not believe in pouring money into stores that would not provide sufficient return on the investment.

Instead, he has pursued partnerships, including recent deals with Amazon. Dreher recommends that investors sell the stock. Susquehanna is a market maker in the stock, meaning it buys and sells shares to help investors execute trades. To be sure, Lampert has a lot to lose if he can't turn Sears around. He is paying for it. Many of the retail sector's challenges, including declining mall traffic and Amazon's rise, were already intense by the time Lampert became CEO.

Lampert signaled his reluctance to heavily invest in stores in a letter to shareholders in — roughly a year after he engineered the merger of Sears and Kmart to create the new parent company, Sears Holdings.

That philosophy may have led to Lampert's decision to scuttle a pilot project to renovate dreary stores within weeks of his appointment as CEO in early The plan had involved fresh paint, new carpeting, replacement fixtures, updated lighting, additional staffing and new products for about five locations to prove the business case for upgrading other stores, said a former Sears executive who revealed details about the plan on the condition of anonymity.

We plan to make our stores more inviting by using technology and information in a different way. I love this they way you explain how Customer loyalty helps your business to grow.

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