Sears Hometown Posts Q4 Loss

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. SHOS posted a loss for the fourth quarter. The Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company posted a quarterly loss of $4.63 million, or $0.20 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $3.72 million, or $0.16 per share. Its revenue dropped to $562.3 million from $602.5 million. Comparable store sales slipped 7.7%. Comparable sales declined 9.9% in its Hometown segment, while comparable sales fell 0.5% in its outlet segment Gross margin shrank to 22.5% from 23.2%. Franchise revenue slipped to $1.7 million, compared to $10.8 million, in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA shrank to $(5.9) million versus $13.2 million, while operating income slipped to $(9.7) million from $7.8 million in the quarter. Bruce Johnson, Chief Executive Officer and President, said, "Looking ahead, we are taking steps to improve performance in 2015. In our Hometown segment we are testing several initiatives that leverage our core strengths in home appliances by focusing on the top 10 appliance brands, boosting the selling skills of our associates, independent dealers and franchisees, providing our customers with enhanced service levels from product selection to delivery, and offering the lowest prices with our price match program. We anticipate continuing to make progress in our Outlet segment sourcing initiatives and operational efficiencies. We are also enhancing our online capabilities with improvements in online marketing and the user experience on searsoutlet.com." Sears Hometown shares rose 0.85% to close at $13.00 yesterday.