Ed Lampert whines about Sears critics


Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD) logo Not so long ago, Sears (NYSE: SHLD) had become something of a value glamor stock. Journalists waxed about hedge fund manager-turned-Sears chairman Eddie Lampert's plan to turn the company into an investment vehicle -- comparisons to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) were ubiquitous.

After yet another terrible quarter, Sears is down nearly 50% from its 52-week high, Herb Greenberg has even suggested that CEO Alwyn Lewis could be shoo-in for his Worst CEO of the Year Award.

Lampert's reputation as Sears chairman has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse pretty quickly, and he's not too happy. In fact, he's lashing out at critics. In a letter to employees on Friday, he wrote that:

While we were not pleased with these results, much of the commentary in the media and on Wall Street following the results ignores the strength of our company and the progress that we have made . . .
As Aylwin said yesterday, we cannot blame our results entirely on the retail and macro-economic environments, and we need to continue our quest to improve. At the same time, it is also the case that many retailers, including Home Depot, Lowe's, Macy's, Kohl's and JC Penney, have suffered from the economic environment of the past year and have had disappointing sales and earnings results. Much of the commentary following their results focused on the difficulties in the housing markets, the overall macro environment, and the highly promotional nature of the retail environment that has existed recently. An analyst for Fitch, the credit rating agency, reacting to JC Penney's new store openings was cited as praising JC Penney for keeping expenses under control. When other companies manage expenses carefully, it is often characterized as a sign of good management and prudence. In the case of Sears Holdings, meanwhile, expense controls are often cited as a root cause of poor performance.

Does he have a point? Perhaps. But it's still bad form for the chairman of a company that is underperforming by his own admission to criticize analyst coverage.

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