Sears Holdings reports 5% Q3 revenue drop

Sears Holdings Corp., the fourth-largest broadline retailer in the US, reported revenue and net income losses in the third quarter, due mostly to declines at its Sears stores. The company saw a year-over-year Q3 revenue decrease of more than 5% to $9.7 billion and a net loss of $218 billion.

However, business at the company's Kmart stores improved, with its profit jumping $24 million from the same period of last year.

“While Kmart improved profitability, our third-quarter results were disappointing, in large part due to our lower sales of apparel and appliances at Sears,” said Bruce Johnson, interim CEO and president of Sears Holdings, in an earnings statement. “Our seasonal apparel sales were down, with the unusually warm weather being a contributing factor.”

The total revenue decrease at Sears Holdings was also attributed to a 4.8% drop in domestic comparable store sales and the effect of fewer Kmart and Sears stores in operation.

In the past month, Sears has released an enhanced Wish Book catalog for the holiday shopping season and has launched AdYourWay, an online shopping personalization tool.

Domestic comparable store sales at Kmart decreased by 0.7% year-over-year, driven by the food and consumables and pharmacy categories. Yet that drop was partially offset by increases in apparel, toys, consumer electronics and sporting goods.

Sears' domestic sales decline was due to home appliances, apparel and consumer electronics, all of which experienced a significant decrease in October. There was some growth in footwear, jewelry, home categories and tires, according to an earnings statement from Sears Holdings.