- "Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern," the company reported. The company says that it is taking steps to improve its financial position. However, "we cannot predict, with certainty, the outcome of our actions to generate liquidity, including the availability of additional debt financing, or whether such actions would generate the expected liquidity as currently planned," it said.
Sears Holdings' CEO, Eddie Lampert, is a hedge fund manager who is also the company's biggest investor. He has been attempting to orchestrate a turnaround for the brand, which struggles to survive in a retail environment that has become increasingly tricky for physical stores.
Sears has survived to its intended goal. The lootting has been completed by the vulture firm and the company survived long enough to get past the statute of limitations on clawbacks. After that the bond holders will get shafted and the company dissolved. Liabilities far outstrip assets at this point RIP sears so debt holders will get nothing but crumbs.
It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Lampert let his personal ideology drive a 130-year old company into the ground. http://www.salon.com/2013/12/10/ayn_rand_loving_ceo_destroys_his_empire_partner/
As someone who has read Atlas Shrugged, I think it's hilarious that this guy created the flawed world (the type of people Rand called "moochers") rather than that of some industrial utopia. My opinion is the type of people who cite Ayn Rand are closer to those she was criticizing than those she was worshipping.
To piggyback off of this, snoodog, and cgod all at the same time, a lot of people are gonna get hurt by the short sighted actions and desires of board members, share holders, etc. What makes it all that worse is that SEARS isn't even close to being the only company having these problems, and the people that get hit the hardest by store and distribution center closings tend to be the ones who also have the least resources to bounce back.
Having known a few people who worked for Sears over the past few years I'm guessing that it's hopeless. Sears is completely unable to provide an enjoyable shopping experience. Employees only job is to sell warranties, credit cards an figure out ways to screw people on deliveries. Employees are under a microscope, constantly picked at and harassed by managment. the people they hire aren't often good at being socially graceful under pressure. It doesn't matter how much cash you have on hand when people hate going to your store.