Eddie Lampert's latest bid to lift Sears

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Jun 25, 2008
Eddie Lampert used to be the smartest investor in retailing, if not the best investor of his generation. That was the case last summer when shares of Sears (SHLD, Financial) hovered above $170. In his recent letter to shareholders, Lampert presented a chart showing that even as Sears stock collapsed in the latter half of last year, his five-year return on investment in Sears Holdings, the combination of Kmart and Sears, exceeded 900%. His return, in fact, beat that of every other major retailer.


No more. Since May, as Sears stock has tumbled to $74, another retailer, Urban Outfitters, has risen to trump Lampert’s investment. Shares of the hot specialty retailer, at $32, are up more than eight-fold since 2003. Gamestop, the fast-growing videogame retailer that FORTUNE recently wrote about, is not far behind. “I guess you’re telling me I need to get moving,” Lampert said when I called him this morning.


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