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The president and chief executive of the struggling Sears Holding Corp., Aylwin Lewis, will step down this week, as the company announces it has entered a “new phase of evolution” as a multichannel retailer.
Lewis will be succeeded by W. Bruce Johnson, an executive of supply chain and operations, according to the company. Johnson will take on the duties on an interim basis. Lewis is also resigning from the company’s board.
Edward S. Lampert, chairman of the company’s board, announced last week that the company had put a new operational structure into place in order to improve performance, writes the AP. . The announcement came after the company reported to investors that it would likely post fourth-quarter earnings well below Wall Street forecasts.
With the new operational structure in mind, Lampert said that now is the right time to bring in new leadership to take the company forward.
When Lampert demoted former CEO Alan Lacy and installed Johnson as CEO in 2005, analysts were skeptical of the move, saying it could paralyze top-ranking marketing execs at Sears.
The company said it expects to earn between $350 million and $470 million, or $2.59 to $3.48 per share, for the quarter ending Feb. 2. That’s significantly less than the $4.43 per share sought by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Sears earned $820 million in the fourth quarter a year earlier.
Sears Holdings, which owns 3,800 Sears and Kmart stores, has been struggling to maintain sales against rising competition from Target and Wal-Mart. Last spring both Sears and Kmart embarked on new advertising campaigns in order to boost falling sales. Sears Holding also replaced its existing media agencies, Mindshare and MEC Interaction, with Havas’s MPG last spring.
Retail consultant Howard Davidowitz wonders how Sears can embark on an ambitious restoration plan without a full-time chief leading the charge. Davidowitz, who has long been skeptical of Lampert’s ability to run a major retailer, says the company is in “free fall” and that, with the announcement of Johnson’s departure, things for the company look more chaotic than before.
Sears disclosed in a regulatory filing today that it may still be interested in acquiring Restoration Hardware, but for a lower price than its tentative November bid.
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