Sears Shares Fall 3% After CEO Eddie Lampert Announces Further Store Closures

Sears Holding Corp. shares fell 3% Friday, after the company said it is closing another eight Sears and 35 Kmart stores that are unprofitable. In a blog post, Sears Chief Executive Eddie Lampert said Sears is still working to cut costs and respond to the needs of a changing consumer. Today's action "is part of a strategy both to address losses from unprofitable stores and to reduce the square footage of other stores because many of them are simply too big for our current needs," he wrote. "Having the right formats and right sized stores will help us put Sears Holdings in a better position to meet the realities of the changing retail world." The company is on track to achieve its annualized cost savings target of $1.25 billion, he said, and is still working to improve liquidity and reduce debt. It has been challenged by reduced support from some of its vendors, he acknowledged, which has put more pressure on the business. Shares have fallen 17% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.