Sears CEO: ‘The reality is a lot better than the perception’

The chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings said the use of the word bankruptcy with regards to his company is holding it back.



“Every time people use the word bankruptcy, somebody who reads that doesn't get past that word, Edward Lampert told The Chicago Tribune in a rare interview. “It makes it very unfair for us, and it’s a very uneven playing field for us.”



With many wondering why the chain not declared bankruptcy, Lampert brought up Sears’ decision to honor all of its obligations to its retirees and pension beneficiaries, calling it “very, very hard to afford.”



“The choice that I've made, the choice of the company and board to honor those obligations, it's something we took very seriously but it's come at a tremendous cost,” he said. “It doesn't help that you have to put $4.5 billion in a pension plan when you're trying to deal with an industry that's undergoing tremendous transformation and (with a company that) has a very large footprint you need to maintain and update as well.”



Asked whether Sears still has time, Lambert replied the company has as much time as its vendors and lenders are willing to give it.



“It's up to us to basically demonstrate to people that we can drive results to get people behind us,” he said. “We're trying to be proactive with our vendors, we're trying to be proactive with our members, with our employees, associates, etc., to explain that the reality is a lot better than the perception.”



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