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| Sears and Kmart to close up to 120 stores on poor sales | Sears and Kmart to close up to 120 stores on poor sales |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Shares in US retail giant Sears have fallen 23% after announcing plans to close up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores amid poor figures. | |
| Sears Holdings, the department store group which owns the two major retail chains, blamed falling sales. | Sears Holdings, the department store group which owns the two major retail chains, blamed falling sales. |
| In the eight weeks to Christmas Day, sales at Kmart fell 4.4% and by 6% at Sears. | In the eight weeks to Christmas Day, sales at Kmart fell 4.4% and by 6% at Sears. |
| The company, which has 2,200 outlets in the US, says the closures should raise up to $170m (£108.5m; 130m euros). | The company, which has 2,200 outlets in the US, says the closures should raise up to $170m (£108.5m; 130m euros). |
| It added that it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be less than half of last year's amount. | It added that it expected fourth-quarter earnings to be less than half of last year's amount. |
| Both Sears and Kmart have experienced a decline in demand for consumer electronics, amid fears of another US recession. | Both Sears and Kmart have experienced a decline in demand for consumer electronics, amid fears of another US recession. |
| Kmart has also reported a decline in clothing sales over the same period. | Kmart has also reported a decline in clothing sales over the same period. |
| Chief executive Lou D'Ambrosio said: "Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model." | Chief executive Lou D'Ambrosio said: "Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model." |
| The results point to "deepening problems at this struggling chain and renewed worries about Sears survivability," said Gary Balter, an analyst at Credit Suisse. | The results point to "deepening problems at this struggling chain and renewed worries about Sears survivability," said Gary Balter, an analyst at Credit Suisse. |
| "The extent of the weakness may be larger than expected, but the reasons behind it are not. It begins, and some would argue ends, with Sears' reluctance to invest in stores and service." | "The extent of the weakness may be larger than expected, but the reasons behind it are not. It begins, and some would argue ends, with Sears' reluctance to invest in stores and service." |
| The firm's third quarter sales saw the company post a loss due to weakness in its Canadian stores, soft electronics sales and struggles in clothing and pharmaceutical sales at its Kmart unit. | The firm's third quarter sales saw the company post a loss due to weakness in its Canadian stores, soft electronics sales and struggles in clothing and pharmaceutical sales at its Kmart unit. |