Sears needs more audibles

Everywhere I go, Sears is once again the hot topic, from show floors to headquarters. Hungry for insights, vendors (and even competitors) are trying to glean insights into this $50 billion retailing enigma. And where I used to have a much easier time answering the question, “So what do you make of Sears?” it’s becoming harder each week to analyze a company whose strategic positioning in areas such as the in-store experience is glaringly out of sync with industry best practices. One day, it seems Lands’ End is the big thrust, the next day Craftsman is on top. Or is it Ty Pennington? Kenmore? And what about that big push we keep hearing about in CE?

And it’s not as though walking Sears stores lends much in the way of clarfiying its strategic objective. I can count on one hand the number of stores I’ve visited in the last year where the merchandise presentation demonstrates a consistent, well-thought-out strategy that is seamlessly coordinated with the company’s overall marketing message.

It’s only logical, therefore, that Eddie Lampert is finally acknowledging that the current strategy is simply not working. In a widely-publicized announcement last month, Lampert concluded that Aylwin Lewis, his hand-appointed ceo-with-no-prior-retail-experience, wasn’t getting it done, and that he, Eddie Lampert, would be leading up the search for a new ceo who can promote “greater accountability, faster decision-making and increased profitability.”

According to Lampert, this search for a new ceo is just one area where Sears is focusing its attention. In a recent message on the company’s investor relations Web site, Lampert (in what has become his signature blog-like style) spelled out the game plan for 2008, which includes the optimization of brands, home services and online business. But let’s face it: When you cut to the chase, there’s clearly one issue that’s vital to the future of Sears right now, and that’s the issue of senior leadership.

In the wake of the recent changes in operational structure, in which Lampert announced the formation of essentially five new businesses under the Sears Holdings umbrella (an operating business; a support business; an online business; a real estate business; and a brand business), he announced the search for a new ceo, who will be eager “to take on the challenges of running [his] own businesses.”

What exactly that means is certainly open to interpretation. But if the opening paragraph of Lampert’s recent online posting is any indication, it’s clear Lampert himself equates running a retail business with running a professional football team. Having congratulated the New York Giants for their surprise win in the Super Bowl, Lampert goes on to draw a series of parallels between Sears and the Super Bowl-winning Giants (especially MVP Eli Manning).

“Like Eli Manning,” Lampert writes, “we know what it’s like to be underestimated and questioned.… Many pundits were declaring him a bust. Manning, however, did not give up or lose heart. He remained focused (and) continued to work hard on his game.”

And we all know how that story ended: The Giants went on to win the big game. (I’m sure there’s more than one analyst out there who has a hard time seeing the same fate for Sears.)

That said, if Lampert is truly intent on vying for the big game, he needs to start by recruiting an Eli Manning of his own. No more I-have-no-retail-experience recruits. No more just-payme-enough-and-I’ll-do-what-you-say recruits.

Sears needs its own Manning. It needs a top-notch, well-respected veteran retail executive to run the business. And if the new ceo/Lampert relationship is anything like the Coughlin/Manning relationship, the key to winning will depend on one thing: Lampert’s willingness to let his new ceo call his own audibles. Check the coach, and make your own call.

It’s no mystery that Sears could use a fleeflicker or two right about now. And its new quarterback will need the autonomy to make that call without Lampert second guessing the decision.