A customer pushes a shopping cart outside a Kmart store. Three local Kmarts will soon close as the store scales back nationwide. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Sears says it will accelerate plans to close unprofitable stores and will consider additional staff cuts as it tries to stem the red ink after what it called a “challenging” holiday selling season.
Sears Holdings on Tuesday said fourth-quarter sales in stores open at least a year fell 7.2 percent in Kmart stores and 6.9 percent at Sears stores, despite the company entering the holiday period “with key product offerings and promotions intended to build engagement with our members and provide them with the best experience possible,” the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For the full year, that measurement of sales fell 7.3 percent at Kmart and 11.1 percent at Sears.
But while spokesman Chris Brathwaite noted Sears wasn’t the only company that struggled during the holiday season, it fared worse than some competitors.
Macy’s saw a 4.7 percent drop in November and December sales compared with 2014 in stores open at least a year. J.C. Penney reported a 3.9 percent increase in sales over that time period, while Kohl’s reported a 0.4 percent increase over 2014 for the full fourth quarter.