New Sears CEO vows turnaround

Sears' new CEO pledged Tuesday to help turn around the ailing retailer by relying on its core brands like Crafstman and Lands' End and being smarter about marketing to customers.

Louis D'Ambrosio told shareholders at Sears Holding Corp.'s annual meeting that improving the company's long-sagging clothing business will be a priority. He did not lay out a detailed plan for how to achieve that, although he cited strong hopes for two new clothing lines in particular: the Kardashian Collection, which debuts in August in 400 Sears stores, and Sofia Vergara, from the star of ABC's "Modern Family."

He has a lot of work to do. Sears' shares fell about 10 percent Tuesday after the company warned late Monday that its first-quarter loss will be bigger than expected. Standard & Poor's Equity Services changed its view of the retailer's shares from "Hold" to "Sell."

"We believe these results point to the increasingly dire prospects for Sears," another analyst, Gary Balter of Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients Tuesday.

D'Ambrosio was brought in by Chairman Edward Lampert two months ago as Sears' first permanent CEO since 2008.

He hopes to succeed where his predecessors could not: End a sales slide at both its Sears and Kmart chains.

D'Ambrosio, who previously was CEO at technology company Avaya Inc., said Sears can take better advantage of its 4,000 stores and its huge real estate holdings, although he did not elaborate. He

indicated that the company's best-known brands - Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard, Lands' End - will be the centerpiece of any future strategy.

Another top priority, D'Ambrosio said, will be extending Sears' industry lead in appliance sales through innovation and selective discounting. Sears maintains a 30 percent share of the appliance market and has a 20 percent or more in tools, power fitness equipment and power lawn and garden tools.

He also wants to expand Sears' services business, possibly by branching out into electronics and by outsourcing home improvement services to outside firms.

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