Sears Holdings announced yesterday that it had lost nearly a billion dollars in the first six months of the year, the New York Times reported today. The company has been bleeding money for several quarters as its leadership has tried to transform the business from a traditional retailer into a more targeted company that relies on loyal shoppers, who are offered personalized deals. Members of its free Shop Your Way rewards program accounted for 73 percent of quarterly sales, the company said on Thursday, and its online sales in the quarter grew 18 percent from the period a year earlier. Sears Holdings, which owns Sears and Kmart stores, lost $573 million in its second quarter and $975 million during the first half of the year. The company’s quarterly revenue declined to $8.01 billion from $8.87 billion in the period a year earlier.
