Jeff Stollenwerck, a 15-year veteran of Sears Holdings Corp. and president of its real estate business, will soon be departing the U.S. department store operator, Reuters reported. Stollenwerck’s departure comes as billionaire Sears CEO Eddie Lampert said in a letter this week that his hedge fund, ESL Investments Inc., would be interested in acquiring the struggling retailer’s real estate, including its $1.2 billion in debt, Kenmore appliances brand and parts of its home services business. Stollenwerck was instrumental in Sears’ real estate financings and deals, which over the years included a spin-out of its 235 best properties into a publicly traded real estate investment trust, Seritage Growth Properties, some of which the retailer then leased back. Read more.
Occupancy issues are at the heart of many significant retail cases, as detailed in the forthcoming ABI publication Retail and Office Bankruptcy: Landlord/Tenant Rights, available at the ABI Store.
