NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Sears Holdings are falling a day after the retailer announced that chairman and hedge fund billionaire Edward Lampert will take over the role of CEO.
The investor queasiness came even as the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company offered an update on holiday sales that showed some improvements at its Sears stores. Overall, the company still faces a long, uphill battle to turn itself around.
Lampert succeeds Louis D'Ambrosio, who is leaving February because of family health matters. D'Ambrosio, who will remain on the board until the company's annual meeting in May, was named CEO in 2011.
Lampert has been known as a hands-on chairman at the operator of Sears and Kmart. The change formalizes that role at a time when the retailer is struggling with sales declines and losses.
