Sears Plans To Close 80 Stores As Shopper Exodus Continues

Sears Holdings Corp. (NYSE:SHD) said Thursday that consumer demand for electronics is still falling at its stores, so it’s shifting its focus away from televisions to products like appliances, fitness equipment and auto services.

CEO Eddie Lampert called the new plan a “connected living” strategy in a Thursday conference call with investors and also said the company will close 80 stores.

Sears also reported that its same U.S. store sales rose 0.2 percent during April, but absent consumer electronics, they would have risen 0.8 percent.

Shares of Sears fell 2.4 percent on Thursday after the company, which also owns K-Mart, released the news.

Sears was once the nation's largest retailer, but it lost that crown forever in 1990 when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) overtook it.