HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.,
April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Sears Holdings Corporation (the "Company") (NASDAQ: SHLD)
today announced that Benjamin Schall
has been named Chief Executive Officer of Seritage Growth
Properties ("Seritage"), effective May 4,
2015. Seritage is a newly formed real estate investment
trust ("REIT").
Mr. Schall joins Seritage with extensive public-company and real
estate experience, especially the leasing and redevelopment of
suburban retail centers. Most recently, since March 2012, Mr. Schall served as Chief Operating
Officer of Rouse Properties, Inc., a publicly traded REIT that owns
regional malls, where he oversaw the operations of 35 malls in 21
states encompassing approximately 25 million square feet of space.
Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President with Vornado
Realty Trust. In this capacity, his responsibilities included
overseeing all facets of Vornado's suburban retail shopping center
business, which consists of approximately 18 million square feet in
140 assets. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from
Harvard Business School and a Bachelor
of Arts degree from Swarthmore College.
"We are pleased to have an executive of Ben's caliber serve as
Seritage's CEO," said Edward S.
Lampert, Chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings. "Ben's
established track record as a successful operator, developer and
public company leader in the retail REIT industry make him
optimally suited to launch and lead Seritage as an independent
platform. As we look to reposition Sears Holdings' real estate
portfolio, Ben's deep experience and industry relationships will
allow us to accelerate our efforts to reduce the operating
footprint of our stores while capitalizing on the value of the
underlying real estate. His experience will be especially
critical to Seritage's success and this is an important day for
Seritage and Sears."
Mr. Schall said, "I feel privileged to have the opportunity to
join Seritage at such an exciting time and serve as its Chief
Executive Officer. I look forward to leading Seritage and building
an industry-leading real estate company in the evolving world of
omni-channel retail."
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which
are based on the current beliefs and expectations of our management
and are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties
that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to
be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking
statements. For a discussion of such risks, assumptions and
uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" and the forward-looking statement
disclosure contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K
and other filings filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. While we believe that our forecasts and assumptions are
reasonable, we caution that actual results may differ
materially. We intend the forward-looking statements to speak
only as of the time made and do not undertake to update or revise
them as more information becomes available, except as required by
law.
About Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) is a leading
integrated retailer focused on seamlessly connecting the digital
and physical shopping experiences to serve our members - wherever,
whenever and however they want to shop. Sears Holdings is home to
Shop Your Way®, a social shopping platform offering members rewards
for shopping at Sears and Kmart as well as with other retail
partners across categories important to them. The Company operates
through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and
Kmart Corporation, with full-line and specialty retail stores
across the United States. For more
information, visit www.searsholdings.com.
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SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation