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Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (3726)	1/4/2001 12:10:44 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

1/2 pt too little too late Thursday January 4, 10:35 am Eastern Time Sears to Close 89 Stores, Dec Sales Down HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. (Reuters) - Sears Roebuck and Co. (NYSE:S - news), the second largest U.S. retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT - news), said on Thursday that December sales at its domestic stores open at least a year fell 1.1 percent from a year earlier and that it plans to close 89 underperforming stores. Sears, which operates about 860 full-line stores and more than 2,100 retail specialty outlets, said the closings will take place in the first quarter. The stores to be closed include 53 NTB auto parts stores, 30 hardware stores and 4 full-line stores, two of which include Sears Auto Centers. Sears shares were up $1.37 at $37.40 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The company said it will take fourth-quarter pretax charges of $150 million related to asset write-downs, severance and other exit costs and of about $115 million related to its pest control business, a non-core operation for which it is evaluating strategic options. ``Our actions reflect our heightened focus on productivity and returns,'' Chairman and Chief Executive Alan Lacy said in a statement. ``We will continue to identify opportunities to more effectively deploy resources and enhance overall company profitability.'' The Hoffman Estates, Ill., company also said its total domestic store revenues for December fell 0.1 percent to $4.422 billion from $4.426 billion a year earlier due to general industry softness as well as difficult weather conditions. Email this story - Most-emailed articles - Most-viewed articles biz.yahoo.com