Sears Issues Searing Response To WSJ Story

Sears Holdings on Tuesday lashed out at The Wall Street Journal over a nearly 1,500-word story detailing the decline of the retailer and how it’s “scrambling” to maintain vendors. In a company blog post, the retailer called out the Journal and described the story as “yet another rehash of inaccurate assertions and negative speculation about Sears Holdings and its future.” Company spokesman Howard Riefs told Retail Dive that Sears had no further comment. The Journal story offers a historical account of the company’s sales declines and financial struggles and makes note of suppliers who have pulled back from Sears or have tightened financial terms. That includes Whirlpool, which the Journal writes wanted to reduce its shipments to Sears and raise its prices for the retailer. Negotiations ultimately failed and the retailer and appliance maker ended their relationship in October. Sears said in the blog post that “we were unable to reach an agreement that would have allowed us to offer Whirlpool products to our members at a reasonable price” and that it still carries other major appliance brands. Read more at Retail Dive.