Sears Holding Corp. plans to shut down up to 120 Sears and Kmart stores due to bleak holiday sales, an internal memo to employees said Tuesday. Lou D'Ambrosio, president and CEO, said the company could no longer afford to maintain "marginally performing" stores, and needed to focus its attention on money-makers. What's to blame? Analysts say competition — Wal-Mart and Target are snatching lower income shoppers, while Macy's is grabbing others — a bad economy, and a stale in-store setup that hasn't been remodeled in years. "There's no reason to go to Sears," said retail analyst Brian Sozzi. "It offers a depressing shopping experience and uncompetitive prices." The company, which has more than 4,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, did not indicate which stores would be targeted or how many workers would lose their jobs.
