Sears Holdings to close 92 'underperforming' Kmart pharmacies

HOFFMAN STATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings will close 92 “underperforming” Kmart pharmacies, as part of its corporate restructuring program, the company announced.

"Earlier this year, we initiated a strategic restructuring program and committed to improving our operating performance and financial flexibility in a very challenging retail environment," said Edward S. Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings. "While we have made significant progress in reducing our cost base and enhancing our member value proposition, we need to take further action. Accordingly, we will increase our structural cost savings target by $250 million on an annualized basis and accelerate our efforts to maximize value from our real estate portfolio, which we believe will improve our financial flexibility as we pursue our strategic transformation."

According to Sears, thus far it has realized $700 million in annualized cost savings already actioned to date.

Further steps the company is taking include simplification of the organizational structure of Sears Holdings through consolidation of the leadership of retail operations for Sears and Kmart and elimination of certain senior management roles; and a comprehensive review of the Company's value chain to identify broader opportunities for competitively priced products and drive operational efficiencies.

"Consistent with our ongoing strategy of focusing on our best stores, best categories and best members, we will continue to take difficult yet necessary actions. As we sharpen our focus on profitable areas of our business, we will also continue to closely evaluate the longer-term viability of stores where a clear path to return to profitability is not in sight. We are determined to take all necessary actions to improve the performance of Sears Holdings and will leverage our lease optionality to reconfigure our stores and reduce capital obligations," said Lampert.