ESL, which has long been one of Sears' largest shareholders, now owns about half of the company with Lampert.Ībout a year after the deal to create Sears Holdings closed, Lampert described the company - which included more than 3,000 Sears and Kmart stores - as a "$55 billion-revenue, 350,000-person startup." Then in 2005, he combined it with Sears to create Sears Holdings in what was, at the time, the largest retail merger ever. The ever private Lampert has never spoken about the incident publicly.Īt the time of the kidnapping, Lampert was hammering out the final details of a deal to acquire the discount retailer Kmart out of bankruptcy. Most notably, on a January evening in 2003, as Lampert was walking to his car from his office in Greenwich, Connecticut, four people grabbed him, shoved him into a rented SUV, and took him to a cheap motel, where he was held captive for 28 hours, according to The Journal. While the failure of the company could certainly wipe out his hedge fund's investment in the stock, these deals have set Lampert up to benefit in other ways, creating a conflict of interest, a shareholder lawsuit claims.Įddie Lampert's home on Indian Creek Island.īut Lampert's career before Sears' downfall was not without drama.
#DEATH SPIRAL HOLE ITS SIDE COMPLETELY SERIES#
He denies widespread claims that he's stripping the company of all its most valuable properties and brands and hastening its bankruptcy.Īt the same time, he has executed a series of real-estate and financial transactions to help prop up Sears. In the past, Lampert has defended his strategy, saying he intends to turn Sears into a more "asset-light" organization, but one that would still include physical stores. Senior executives say Lampert has cut investments in stores because he's trying to turn it into a tech company that collects and sells customer data through the Shop Your Way program. The employees who spoke to Business Insider describe an internal mess with a revolving door of executives and low morale. Requests to interview Lampert were also declined. The content of this article was described in detail to two Sears spokesmen, both of whom declined to comment when asked. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
0 kommentar(er)
