Sears Holdings burned through another $747 million and recorded a loss of $573 million in its second fiscal quarter. The retailer is weighing additional steps to shore up its balance sheet, the company said in its earnings call on Thursday (Aug. 21).
Sears has raised $665 million to date in 2014, in part by spinning off Lands’ End to shareholders. It plans to raise $1 billion this year and may sell its 51 percent stake in Sears Canada and its Sears Auto Center business.
The company may try to refinance some debt, and also could issue debt against its real estate, an approach that JCPenney used in 2013 when it secured a $2.25 billion loan with mortgages on its property, according to Seeking Alpha.
But sales at the chain, which includes Kmart, have now fallen for 30 straight quarters. Credit Suisse is calling Sears “one of the worst service stores in America,” and Fitch analyst Monica Aggarwal said she is not optimistic at Sears’s prospects. “We don’t see them having the levers to turn this business around,” Aggarwal said. Market Platform Dynamic CEO Karen Webster also reported on brick-and-mortar stores’ death spiral in a commentary earlier this year.
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