By Dhanya Skariachan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sears Holdings Corp
The company, controlled by billionaire investor Eddie Lampert, on Wednesday named a former technology executive with no retail experience as CEO after a three-year search.
On Thursday, it said sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year fell 1.2 percent, with those at its namesake department stores down 4.5 percent.
"Sears is a big company long heading downhill with nobody applying the brakes. And now they've changed the driver, but the real back seat driver--who controls the brakes, gas pedal, steering wheel and maintenance--is staying the same," Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, said, referring to Lampert.
Lampert, who formed the company by merging Kmart and Sears in 2005 and had a stake of 59 percent in Sears Holdings as of August 20, has cut costs, trimmed inventories and shaken up management.
But retail experts have blamed him for focusing too much on borrowing costs and inventory levels -- or the financial problems that are his strength -- rather than merchandising. A string of executive departures and the lack of a permanent CEO for about three years were also worries for some.
On Wednesday, Sears named former Avaya Inc
Over the last six months D'Ambrosio has worked with Sears Holdings as a consultant to the board of directors on strategic and operational initiatives. Prior to joining Avaya in 2002, he spent 16 years at IBM.
Johnson said he has "heard some good things" about D'Ambrosio, adding that the new CEO has a tough job ahead of him.
Sears is "expecting him to succeed in an environment much more competitive and fragmented than the cozy world of enterprise selling, and then finding disappointing results and dispirited employees," Johnson said.
Sears also faces stiff competition from mass merchants such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc
While the Sears chain has been losing market share in appliances and apparel, Kmart has managed to keep some budget-conscious U.S. shoppers. In the quarter, Kmart's same-store sales rose 2.5 percent.
Net income fell to $374 million, or $3.43 a share, in the fourth quarter ended on January 29, from $430 million, or $3.74 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Sears earned $3.67 a share.
Analysts have criticized the retailer for relying too heavily on cost-cutting rather than improving its merchandise mix and customer service.
Sales fell about 0.8 percent to $13.14 billion, but beat the analysts' average estimate of $12.97 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
On Wednesday, the company's Canadian unit, Sears Canada Inc
(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman)
