From the article:”Sears Holdings‘ annual meeting apparently turned into a battle of the hedge fund managers as William Ackman took Sears chairman Edward Lampert to task over the retailer’s performance.
“You’re the reason we’re here,” Mr. Ackman, the head of hedge fund Pershing Square Management told Mr. Lampert. “We think Sears is undervalued. Your disclosure is not as forthcoming as it should be.”
Mr. Ackman said investors need more transparency on operations, such as the home services business.Mr. Lampert said that retailing “hasn’t gotten better” but he expects to hit the ground running when the shopping slowdown ends.
But The Chicago Tribune noted that Mr. Lampert, a star hedge fund manager who owns half of Sears Holdings, is disinclined to disclose much. Even when pressed by shareholders to be more forthcoming and break out the financial performance of its various businesses, Mr. Lampert apparently did his best to keep his specific plans for the retailer’s future under wraps.
From the 10K:
Page 3:
Home Services—Product Repair Services, the nation’s largest product repair service provider, is a key element in our active relationship with more than 43 million households. With over 10,000 service technicians making over 13 million service calls annually, this business delivers a broad range of retail-related residential and commercial services across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands under the Sears Parts & Repair Services and A&E Factory Service brand names.
A&E Factory Service is an appliance-repair joint venture owned by Whirlpool and Sears Holdings Corp. What does Ackman see in A&E Factory Service? How much revenue does A&E generate for Sears Holdings? Does Ackman want to see Sears sell its stake in A&E?
On A&E Factory Service website, the company boasts over 2 million+ in-home service calls per year. Two million services calls @ $100 average repair can add up to some significant revenue.
From the Sears Parts Direct website:
Sears Home Services, a unit of Sears Holdings Corporation, is the nation’s largest provider of home services for our customer’s products and homes. With more than 13 million service calls made annually, Sears Home Services maintains the nation’s largest mobile service fleet with over 10,000 certified technicians trained in the latest technology offering nationwide coverage and repairs on most major brands of appliances, electronics, and lawn and garden, HVAC and fitness equipment, no matter where they were purchased.
Sears Home Services provides customers with flexible scheduling options 24 hours a day, seven days a week via its Client Call Center and sears.com. We also offer state-of-the-art repair centers conveniently located throughout the U.S. that support repairs for carry-in products. For the home, we provide a wide variety of services, including window replacement, cabinet refacing, siding, carpet and duct cleaning and more.
Sears PartsDirect is the premier provider of repair parts and accessories for all major brand appliances, electronics, and lawn and garden equipment regardless of where you bought them. As a member of the Sears Home Services family,Sears PartsDirect offers genuine parts from the original manufacturers, all backed by the Sears Satisfaction Guarantee.
Sears PartsDirect has more than 7 million parts and accessories from more than 450 manufacturers and we offer more than 750,000 product schematics to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
The popular thesis for Sears is the “value of the real estate”, but I find it interesting that Ackman mentioned the Home Services business during the Annual Shareholder Meeting.
From the 1-22-2008 Press Release:
Sears Holdings Corporation today announced that it is implementing an organizational structure and operating model designed to simplify the way its business lines are managed and create greater autonomy and focus forthe business unit management teams.
The new structure is built on five types of business units that enable each organization to focus on their core categories and capabilities: operating businesses, support, brands, online and real estate. The operating business units will consist of the company’s current lines of business such as home appliances, electronics, and apparel. The support units will include the functions that provide operational and administrative support to the operating businesses including marketing, store operations, customer strategy and finance. The brand units will be responsible for growing the value of Sears Holdings brand portfolio. The real estate business unit and an online business unit will focus on increasing the sales productivity of the company’s physical and virtual real estate.
Where will Home Services live within the new organization structure? Will Lampert spin-off the Home Services business or sell it?
__________
Souce: Concentrated Value
“You’re the reason we’re here,” Mr. Ackman, the head of hedge fund Pershing Square Management told Mr. Lampert. “We think Sears is undervalued. Your disclosure is not as forthcoming as it should be.”
Mr. Ackman said investors need more transparency on operations, such as the home services business.Mr. Lampert said that retailing “hasn’t gotten better” but he expects to hit the ground running when the shopping slowdown ends.
But The Chicago Tribune noted that Mr. Lampert, a star hedge fund manager who owns half of Sears Holdings, is disinclined to disclose much. Even when pressed by shareholders to be more forthcoming and break out the financial performance of its various businesses, Mr. Lampert apparently did his best to keep his specific plans for the retailer’s future under wraps.
From the 10K:
Page 3:
Home Services—Product Repair Services, the nation’s largest product repair service provider, is a key element in our active relationship with more than 43 million households. With over 10,000 service technicians making over 13 million service calls annually, this business delivers a broad range of retail-related residential and commercial services across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands under the Sears Parts & Repair Services and A&E Factory Service brand names.
A&E Factory Service is an appliance-repair joint venture owned by Whirlpool and Sears Holdings Corp. What does Ackman see in A&E Factory Service? How much revenue does A&E generate for Sears Holdings? Does Ackman want to see Sears sell its stake in A&E?
On A&E Factory Service website, the company boasts over 2 million+ in-home service calls per year. Two million services calls @ $100 average repair can add up to some significant revenue.
From the Sears Parts Direct website:
Sears Home Services, a unit of Sears Holdings Corporation, is the nation’s largest provider of home services for our customer’s products and homes. With more than 13 million service calls made annually, Sears Home Services maintains the nation’s largest mobile service fleet with over 10,000 certified technicians trained in the latest technology offering nationwide coverage and repairs on most major brands of appliances, electronics, and lawn and garden, HVAC and fitness equipment, no matter where they were purchased.
Sears Home Services provides customers with flexible scheduling options 24 hours a day, seven days a week via its Client Call Center and sears.com. We also offer state-of-the-art repair centers conveniently located throughout the U.S. that support repairs for carry-in products. For the home, we provide a wide variety of services, including window replacement, cabinet refacing, siding, carpet and duct cleaning and more.
Sears PartsDirect is the premier provider of repair parts and accessories for all major brand appliances, electronics, and lawn and garden equipment regardless of where you bought them. As a member of the Sears Home Services family,Sears PartsDirect offers genuine parts from the original manufacturers, all backed by the Sears Satisfaction Guarantee.
Sears PartsDirect has more than 7 million parts and accessories from more than 450 manufacturers and we offer more than 750,000 product schematics to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
The popular thesis for Sears is the “value of the real estate”, but I find it interesting that Ackman mentioned the Home Services business during the Annual Shareholder Meeting.
From the 1-22-2008 Press Release:
Sears Holdings Corporation today announced that it is implementing an organizational structure and operating model designed to simplify the way its business lines are managed and create greater autonomy and focus forthe business unit management teams.
The new structure is built on five types of business units that enable each organization to focus on their core categories and capabilities: operating businesses, support, brands, online and real estate. The operating business units will consist of the company’s current lines of business such as home appliances, electronics, and apparel. The support units will include the functions that provide operational and administrative support to the operating businesses including marketing, store operations, customer strategy and finance. The brand units will be responsible for growing the value of Sears Holdings brand portfolio. The real estate business unit and an online business unit will focus on increasing the sales productivity of the company’s physical and virtual real estate.
Where will Home Services live within the new organization structure? Will Lampert spin-off the Home Services business or sell it?
__________
Souce: Concentrated Value
