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The bleeding continues at Sears Holdings, which lost $748 million for the third quarter, it reported Thursday, compared to a loss of $454 million for the third quarter last year. Same store sales and gross margin also declined at Sears and Kmart stores.
Sears has been losing money for more than a decade and is burning through cash as it tries to find some footing.
And yet, the company insists a transformation is still in the works and points to new initiatives for its Shop Your Way rewards program, strategic partnerships and the sale of more assets. There's even an "awesome" new Kmart store.
In May, the retailer announced it was exploring opportunities for its proprietary brands including Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard.
Sears will continue to sell assets in what has become the longest unofficial liquidation sale in history.
"We remain fully committed to restoring profitability to our company and are taking actions such as reducing unprofitable stores, reducing space in stores we continue to operate," said Sears Holdings Chairman and CEO, Eddie Lampert in a statement. "While many observers have acknowledged the significant asset base of our company, we understand the concerns related to our operating performance and are committed to transforming our company through our Shop Your Way membership program and our integrated retail investments. At the same time, we will continue to explore options to recognize the inherent asset value in a manner that complements our transformation."
But many observers have also raised questions about Sears ability to survive in any form.
During a discussion Monday on CNBC's Power Lunch, there wasn't much positive to say about Sears. Store inventory is low (based on visits) and employees are demoralized as they witness more stores closed and categories exited.
The best thing Sears has going are the assets, which are being sold to fund operations.
One Power Lunch guest, Marcus Lemonis of CNBC's The Profit and chairman of Camping World, was careful not to accuse Sears' Lampert (as many have) of using the company as an ATM machine. But he does believe the only thing left for Sears is to liquidate.
Liquidate https://t.co/flZNOrvRoZ
— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) December 5, 2016
Others that day, including FORBES contributor and former Sears executive Mark Cohen, accused current leadership of profiting from Sears downfall, Lemonis had a different option.
I did not in fact defended that bogus accusation https://t.co/UnNqxiNOD3
— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) December 5, 2016
Lampert didn't acquire the majority shares of Sears and Kmart, negotiate their merger and create a holding company purely to profit from its dismantling. I share this belief that he truly believed the two would be stronger together and that his leadership would accomplish that.
But it's a belief that has long since been debunked.
"We will continue to take actions to generate liquidity, adjust our overall capital structure, and manage our business while meeting all of our financial obligations," said CFO Jason Hollar, in a pre-recorded call. "Actions may include additional expense reductions, financing transactions and asset monetization including exploring alternatives for our Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands, our Sears Home Services business and our real estate portfolio."
Sears Holdings long liquidation sale will continue.
