Sears Holdings Corp. is limping into the critical holiday season, after the struggling company reported its quarterly sales fell 26 percent and it continues to close dozens of stores, the Wall Street Journal reported. Total revenue plunged by more than $1 billion to $3.18 billion for the three months ending Aug. 4, compared with a year earlier. Sales excluding newly opened or closed stores fell 4 percent at Sears and 3.7 percent at Kmart locations. The quarterly decline at existing stores wasn’t as sharp as it has been in recent quarters. In fact, executives said that same-store sales turned positive in July and August. Overall, the company hasn’t posted a quarterly gain since 2011. The company lost $508 million for the period, compared with a $250 million loss a year ago. Sears has closed 384 stores since last year and is struggling to attract shoppers to its remaining Sears and Kmart locations. The company had 866 stores as of Aug. 4.
