This site is approaching its seventh birthday and over the years a number of sectors have featured prominently on these pages. Energy. Media. A smattering of REITs, restaurants and conglomerates. Retail is one sector though that, excluding Sears (SHLD and ugh) hasn’t seen all that much activity so it was exciting to see a rumor pop up yesterday.… Read More »
Nearly three years after its April 2014 spinoff from Sears Holdings(SHLD), Lands’ End(LE) is fairing only marginally better than its former parent, which is teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. Lands End, which just after its spinoff had a market capitalization of $900 million, is worth just $485 million today. The company has nearly $500 million in long… Read More »
Every Spring in Chicago gives birth to new hope that this year will be different. It is rarely long, however, before hopes for this year are dashed and talk shifts to a focus on rebuilding for next year. We are not talking about the Cubs, but rather about iconic Chicago retailer Sears Holdings(SHLD). Once again, Sears posted a… Read More »
Another week, another heavily leveraged spin from Eddie Lampert. Just last week, Sears Holdings(SHLD) shareholders received shiny new shares in Lands’ End(LE). But Sears received a bigger gift- $500 million in cash paid as tribute by the new company. Lands’ End, like many Sears and Kmart customers, borrowed heavily to give this gift and now will be constrained… Read More »
Land’s End (LE) is now in control of its own destiny. The well-known retailer was spun off from Sears Holdings (SHLD) after the close on Friday and began trading regular way on Monday. Sears shareholders should have received 0.300795 shares of LE for every SHLD share owned. Investors haven’t been too thrilled with the new company and shares… Read More »
After following the space for a few years, you start to notice a few companies which are best described as ‘serial spinners’. These companies have a rich history of spinoffs and some have even passed that tradition on to their kids leading to a few ‘grandchildren’. It would be interesting to come up with a ‘Spinoff Power Rankings’… Read More »
It was, some thought, a mismatch from the beginning. When Sears(SHLD) purchased Lands’ End for $1.9 billion in 2002, the New York Times spoke of a union of “pants and power drills”. The hope of then-CEO Alan Lacy that Lands’ End would revive Sears’ struggling apparel business was never realized. By the time Kmart purchased Sears in late… Read More »