Sears makes amends with top supplier

The public feud between Eddie Lampert, chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings, and a top supplier seems to have been resolved.



In his May 15 blog, Lampert took aim at some of the chain’s vendors in a blog post. It read:



“There have been examples of parties we do business with trying to take advantage of negative rumors about Sears to make themselves a better deal – a deal that is unilaterally in their interest. In such a case, we will not simply roll over and be taken advantage of – we will do what’s right to protect the interests of our company and the millions of stakeholders we serve.”



Lampert also called out — and then sued — One World Technologies, a China-based subsidiary of Techtronic Industries in the blog. He accused the company, which is the maker of Craftsman tools, of trying to cut a deal "that is unilaterally in their interest.”



On June 5, Lampert updated the blog post with a notice that said the dispute has been solved. “The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties and we look forward to continuing our relationship with One World,” according to the post.



While the matter has been resolved, Sears continues to struggle. While the embattled retailer reported its first quarterly profit since 2015, it attributed this gain largely to the sale of its Craftsman brand, and lower expenses due to its $1.25 billion cost-cutting plan.



Overall, Sears posted net income of $244 million in its first fiscal quarter ended April 29, compared with a loss of $471 million in the year-ago period. However, Sears posted a loss of $230 million when adjusted for special items, compared with a loss of $199 million a year earlier.



As for revenues, the company continues to bleed. Revenue fell 20.3% to $4.3 billion in the quarter, down from $5.4 billion last year. The retailer said the year-over-year decline was primarily driven by having fewer Kmart and Sears full-line stores in operation, as well as an 11.9% drop in same-store sales.



The embattled chain also revealed on Wednesday, May 31, that its Kmart division was the victim of a security incident. This was the chain’s second attack in less than three years.



To read the full blog and update, click here.