American home appliances seller Sears Hometown & Outlet Stores Inc.. narrowed its fiscal first-quarter loss to $9.4 million from a loss of $21.4 million in the same quarter a year ago, the company said in its earnings release June 8.
The company, which was spun off from Sears Holdings Corp. in 2012 but is still controlled by Sears CEO Edward Lampert's hedge fund, reported an EPS loss of 41 cents in the 13 weeks ended May 5, narrower than the EPS loss of 94 cents in the comparable period a year earlier.
The company reported sales of $381.3 million in the quarter, compared with $448.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Comparable store sales decreased 10.5%
Sears Home closed 21 stores in the quarter and said it plans to close another 90 to 100 stores in its Hometown segment in the second quarter. But it is also planning to open 10 to 15 Buddy's Home Furnishings stores in fiscal 2018.
