Edward Lampert is once again carving up Sears Holdings Corp. in a bid to save his retail empire, offering to purchase the Kenmore appliance brand and other Sears units after the struggling company was unable to find other buyers, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Sears chief executive, through his hedge fund ESL Investments Inc. which currently owns a controlling stake in the retailer, said in a letter to the Sears board that ESL is willing to submit proposals to buy the Kenmore brand, Sears Home Services’ home improvement business and the company’s Parts Direct business. Sears has been exploring strategic options for the units for nearly two years, but Lampert said in his letter that it has been unable to find a buyer. The moves are an effort by Lampert to inject cash into Sears and stave off a bankruptcy filing, while at the same time allowing the hived-off businesses to grow by distributing their products and services beyond Sears and Kmart. Some critics, however, have argued that the strategy further weakens Sears by giving shoppers less reason to visit the retailer.
