Appointment is designed to help the struggling retailer regain its footing.
Sears Holdings Corp. has announced the appointment of Jason Hollar as the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO), replacing Robert A. Schriesheim, who left the post in May to pursue other career opportunities. In addition, Sears has consolidated responsibility for its internal audit, treasury and the capital markets finance functions under the leadership of Robert Riecker, who has been vice president and controller since 2011. This leadership combination provides a “deep bench of financial leadership,” according to Sears Holdings chairman and CEO Edward Lampert.
In a statement, Lampert acknowledged, “In his time with the company, Jason has been focused on driving efficiencies and creating value as our company undergoes rapid change. His leadership and financial acumen are important skills as we accelerate our transformation and deliver for our members, associates and shareholders.”
The struggle facing Sears is real, as both the Sears and Kmart chains are facing a “challenging retail environment” that includes store closings and other cost-saving measures. Earlier this month, Lampert publicly addressed rumors that Kmart was shutting down altogether, asserting that the demise of the retailer has been greatly exaggerated, as Innovative Retail Technologies reported.
In a blog post regarding the future of Kmart, Alasdair James, president and chief member officer for Kmart, and Gareth Glynne, head of Kmart Retail, assured that “Sears Holdings is highly focused on restoring profitability to the company and Kmart remains a key part of our asset portfolio. We’re proud of our associates for the work they do each and every day to help us continually improve and serve our members.”
Experts have been predicting the “demise” of Sears for years now, following 10 years of declining in-store sales, but somehow the retailer is still hanging on, albeit tenuously. Earlier this year, Sears has revealed major moves that are part of a strategy to reclaim some of the losses and help right the flailing ship, including the sale of Kenmore and Craftsman brands, as Innovative Retail Technologies reported.
But even amidst these announcements, the company has begun shuttering more stores. Sears Holding has informed employees that Kmart stores in at least 13 states will be closing in mid-December. Those stores began liquidation sales on September 22. This announcement followed an earlier one that stated 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores would be closed this summer nationwide.
Sears’ financial difficulties reveal a changing retail landscape in which traditional leaders are struggling to maintain a market share against innovative, new, and more omnichannel flexible competitors. And Sears’ competition is eager to take advantage of its demise: JCPenney, for example, has recently entered the home appliance game to leverage on Sears store closings.
But Sears is not yet ready to give up the ship, and Lampert asserted, “We are fortunate to have a deep bench of finance leadership as Sears Holdings continues to transform its business to an asset-light organization centered on its Shop Your Way program powered by our integrated retail innovations.”
