Eddie Lampert: Kmart is not closing

Don’t believe the rumors. Kmart is not going out of business.

 

That’s according to Eddie Lampert, the beleaguered  CEO of Kmart parent company Sears Holdings Corp.

 

"Recent reports have suggested that Kmart will cease its operations,” Lampert said in a blog post Monday. “I can tell you that there are no plans and there have never been any plans to close the Kmart format. To report or suggest otherwise is irresponsible and is likely intended to do harm to our company to the benefit of those who seek to gain advantage from posting these inaccurate reports."

 

In the posting, Lampert noted that Kmart continues to operate more than 700 stores, a significant number of which are profitable. He said that improvements the chain is making to increase store productivity, including reducing inventory stored in the stockrooms, are designed "to make our stores easier to operate and to eliminate unproductive inventory and processes."

 

Lampert's posting comes in the wake of recent reports that have the chain on the verge of going out of business. Kmart’s second-quarter same-store sales fell 3.3%, the seventh straight quarterly decline.

 

Year to date, Kmart's operating loss is $125 million, The Street reported.

 

To read Lampert’s full posting, click here.