Sears holdings
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: SHLD |
| Industry | Retailing |
| Founded | March 24, 2005 |
| Headquarters | Hoffman Estates, Illinois, U.S. |
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Area served
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Key people
|
Edward Lampert (Founder, Chairman & CEO) |
| Revenue |
 US$ 22.138 B (2016) |
|
US$ −1.978 B (2016) |
|
|
US$ −2.221 B (2016) |
|
| Total assets |
US$ 9.362 B (2016) |
| Total equity |
US$ −3.824 B (2016) |
|
Number of employees
|
178,000 (2016) |
| Subsidiaries | |
| Website | searsholdings |
The Sears Holdings Corporation is an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It is the owner of retail store brands Sears and Kmart, and was founded after the latter purchased the former in 2005. Sears Holdings also owns the brands Kenmore and DieHard. A sale of Craftsman is pending. Sears Holdings operates 1,503 retail locations under the mastheads of Sears, Kmart, and their subsidiaries, such as auto centers and pharmacies, in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam. As of 2014, it is the 18th-largest retailing company in the United States.
On November 17, 2004, Kmart Holdings Corporation announced its intention to purchase Sears, Roebuck and Co. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands. The merger of Kmart and Sears closed on March 24, 2005, emerging Kmart from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following affirmative shareholder votes of both companies. Sears Holdings now operates Sears and Kmart stores. The company continues to market products under brands held by both companies.
The two companies cited several reasons for combining forces:
The company is directed by a board of directors composed of members from the two companies: seven members from Kmart's board, and three from Sears. Shareholders in the Kmart Corporation received one share in the new company. Shares of Sears, Roebuck and Company stock were converted into a combination of 55 percent stock and 45 percent cash (at $50 a share). Stockholders had a choice of receiving either stock or cash, subject to the predefined ratio.
The merger was completed on March 24, 2005, after receiving regulatory approval from the government and approval by shareholders of both companies.
Sears Holdings continues to operate stores under the Sears and Kmart mastheads. In 2005, Sears introduced a new store format called Sears Essentials; some Kmart stores were converted to Sears Essentials, as well as a few locations that were acquired from Walmart and several bankrupt discount retailers. The new store format combined the Sears store concept with the Kmart format, which was supposed to help the company better compete with Walmart and Target. The project has since been resigned, and merged with the Sears Grand concept.
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Wikipedia