Sears Holding Corp., which owns the Sears and Kmart chains, has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that “substantial doubt exists related to the company”™s ability to continue as a going concern.”
In a filing with the SEC, Sears Holdings said its efforts to cut costs, sell property, explore additional new funding sources and make other moves have thus far proven ineffective. The company reported a $2.2 billion loss for last year.
Sears has been in a tailspin for a number of years, something that played into its agreement in 2004 to be acquired by Kmart in a deal valued at $11 billion. At the time of the deal”™s agreement, the resulting Sears Holding entity had some 3,500 outlets; today it has approximately 1,430.
In addition, Sears Holdings has lost more than $5 billion over the last three years via ongoing sales declines. Its long-term debt as of January totaled nearly $4.2 billion, almost double from the same period the previous year, according to the filing.
Earlier this year, Sears Holdings sold its Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker in a deal worth more than $775 million.
Today, Sears operates stores in Danbury and Shelton in Fairfield County, and in White Plains, Yonkers, Yorktown and Yorktown Heights in Westchester County. There are no Kmart stores in Fairfield, with Westchester outlets in White Plains and Yorktown Heights.
