Sears Looks to Web Sites, New Strategy for Growth

The chairman of Sears Holdings Corp. said Monday that the retailer is working to change how customers interact with it in stores and online.

Speaking at an annual shareholder's meeting at Sears' suburban Chicago headquarters, financier Edward Lampert said the company was upgrading its Web sites, selection and interactivity to help the company emerge stronger than ever from the recession, particularly as competitors slash prices in an effort to sell merchandise.

"Make no mistake, I'd rather have our sales going up, and rather have same-store sales going up," he said. "But not at the expense of generating profit. When you give product away, you're renting market share. We want to own market share. And you do that by providing better experiences."

Coming off a year when sales sank 8 percent and profit tumbled 90 percent, Sears — which owns both Sears and Kmart stores — is using its massive footprint of 3,900 stores to experiment.

Lampert highlighted the company's newest effort, known as mygofer, which opened its first store last week in the southwest Chicago suburb of Joliet, where shoppers can go online, select items and receive curbside delivery at the location right away. The store, which operates more like a warehouse than a traditional retail location, features few displays, in the hope that shoppers won't miss strolling through aisles of toilet paper and detergent.

"We think that's going to be a better way for people to shop," he said. "This is not just about there being a new store experience, it's about there being a different way for people to shop."

Executives hope the customer-focused efforts, along with the online ventures, help Sears succeed where competitors have failed. The latest among them, Filene's Basement, filed for federal bankruptcy protection Monday morning.

Lampert acknowledged the efforts may not succeed, much like the ill-fated Sears Essentials stores, which sold merchandise from both Sears and Kmart, but never resonated with shoppers.