Sears December same-store sales fall 7.3 percent

Retailer Sears Holdings Corp. said Thursday that December same-store sales dropped 7.3 percent, weighed down by weak sales at domestic Sears stores.

The company, whose proprietary brands include Kenmore and Craftsman, said Kmart same-store sales fell 1.1 percent for the period ended Jan. 3. Sears domestic same-store sales sagged 12.8 percent for the month.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, is a key indicator of retailer performance since it measures growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Sears said Kmart's sales were helped by a rise in purchases made through its layaway program. The company blamed the soft performance of its namesake stores on lower sales across most of its hardlines and apparel segments, as well the ongoing housing downturn and eroding credit.

Consumers have pulled back on discretionary spending as economic conditions have worsened and concerns have grown over issues such as unemployment and rising food costs.

For the quarter- and year-to-date, same-store sales are off 7.9 percent.

Sears also said it expects fourth-quarter profit between $300 million and $380 million, or $2.44 to $3.09 per share. It reported net income of $426 million, or $3.17 per share, in the prior-year period.

Sears said its forecast excludes the possible impact of store closings, goodwill and other charges as well as items such as severance, mark-to-market gains and losses on hedge transactions by Sears Canada.

Analysts expect fourth-quarter profit of $1.90 per share, according to a Thomson Reuters survey. Analysts estimates' typically exclude one-time items.

Sears predicts full-year earnings for the period ended Jan. 31 in a range of $163 million to $243 million, or $1.27 to $1.90 per share.

Analysts anticipate net income of 62 cents per share.

Last month Sears posted its biggest quarterly loss since financier Edward Lampert combined Sears and Kmart into one retail company, due mainly to hefty charges related to store closures and disappointing U.S. sales.

Sears is in the midst of a restructuring aimed at reconnecting with shoppers and reinvigorating its sales at established stores, which have been dropping for nearly three years.

Sears had more than $50 billion in annual revenue and runs about 3,900 full-line and specialty retail stores in the U.S. and Canada.