Sears Holdings, the parent company of Sears and Kmart, reported that same store sales dropped to 10.6 percent during its quarter ending in July 25, following a decrease of 11 percent in the first quarter, ABC News reported.
The company said that Sears stores in the United States were negatively affected by consumer electronics. Currently, there is a very tight competition with online retailers such as Amazon and Best Buy.
The 10.6 percent quarter-to-date decline is composed of a 6.9 percent drop in Kmart's and a 13.9 percent in Sears Domestic's. Total comparable sales would have declined by 9.1 percent — 5.4 percent decrease in Kmart and 12.5 percent in Sears Domestic — if consumer electronics businesses are excluded, as per the data in the Market Watch's report.
Sears Holdings, formed when Sears and Kmart merged in 2005, is expected to release its second quarter financial results on Aug. 20, according to Nasdaq.
Meanwhile, the Sears Holdings has completed its transaction for the rights offering and sale-leaseback with Seritage, a real estate agency. The company sold 235 real properties to Seritage together with the company's 50 percent interest in joint ventures with General Growth Properties, Inc., Simon Property Group and The Macerich Company, which altogether holds additional 31 properties.
The company received a $2.7 billion aggregate gross from the transaction.
Business wasn't always that hard for Sears. According to Sears Archives, there was even a time when Sears store sales topped mail-order sales. It accounted for 53.4 percent of total sales of more than $180 million in 1931.
Sears even had more than 600 stores when World War II began in 1941. Sears was considered as the country's largest retailer based on revenue until Walmart surpassed it in the late 1980s.
Sears Holdings' loss was reportedly because of the company's initiative to streamline the operations and focus on the transformation into a member-centric retailer. 200 of its stores closed in 2014 and it significantly hit the company's revenue.
