Sears’ Remaining Stores May Not Garner Much Demand, as Retailer Faces New Struggles

Sears Holding Corp. CEO Eddie Lampert is not giving up on the idea that Sears, which has struggled as a retailer for years, still holds untapped value in its remaining real estate. In an April 23 letter to Sears’ board of directors, Lampert proposed that ESL Investments, the hedge fund that he runs separately, carve out and buy the retailing company’s best remaining assets.

From a real estate perspective, however, executives are unsure of how much value ESL Investments, or anyone else, can ultimately extract from the retailer’s assets. In addition to the real estate, ESL would buy the Kenmore home appliances brand and a couple of other Sears home-related businesses, according to the letter.

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RSK: Just like most real estate...does the location work for the proposed use. If so it is worth something if not much less. Plus your use has to be compatible with other users in the Mall.