Content about Hoffman Estates, Illinois

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores Inc. will begin trading next week on Nasdaq, Sears Holdings Corp. announced Tuesday.

The price of shares is initially set at $15 for Sears Hometown. 

Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings reported a second-quarter net loss of $132 million, compared with a loss of $146 million in the year-ago period.

Sears Holdings said Friday it has again been selected to participate in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star National Building Competition: Battle of the Buildings.

For the third consecutive year, Sears will participate in the competition, this year entering 56 facilities that will compete against thousands of other teams representing buildings across the country. All efforts will be focused on eliminating waste through improvements in energy efficiency with help from EPA's Energy Star program.

Orchard Supply Hardware reported first-quarter net sales of $155.0 million, down 5.37%, as comparable-store sales declined 3.1%. The company posted a loss of $4.5 million, compared with a loss of $1.0 million in the first quarter of 2011.

The company, which describes itself as a retail concept that occupies the space between the big box and the hardware store, still expects to turn its comp-store sales into the black for the full year.

Frank Filmeck, president and CEO of Busy Beaver, talks like a modern-day retailer who has been running a hardware store for several decades. But he joined the regional chain — which is marking its 50th anniversary this year — in 2002. Before that, he worked for ICI/Glidden Paint as a senior VP, handling such companies as Home Depot, Sears, Walmart and Kmart. Filmeck still remembers what it was like to sit in an airport — in this case, Cleveland — and wait for a flight that would take him to a meeting with Menards.

Sears Holdings Corp. has announced plans to pursue a partial spinoff of its interest in Sears Canada.

The move will reduce the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings’ stake in Sears Canada from 95% to about 51%, the company said. 

Ahead of its annual shareholders' meeting, Sears Holdings has provided first-quarter guidance calling for net income of $155 million to $195 million (between $1.46 and $1.84 per diluted share from continuing operations) versus a net loss from continuing operations of $165 million ($1.53 loss per diluted share from continuing operations) for the first quarter in 2011. The above range includes approximately $235 million, after tax and minority interest, of gains from the sale of certain U.S. and Canadian stores. These transactions generated $440 million of cash proceeds.

Whether it’s a product designed to bring efficiency to the home, save time for the DIYer or allow a consumer a chance to feel good about buying a Made-in-the-USA product, show organizers have taken steps to give permanence to the show-floor activity.

The May 1 to 3 event at the Las Vegas Convention Center will see a few new twists.

For the first time at the show, a “Made in the USA Pavilion” will showcase domestic-made products.

San Jose, Calif.-based Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corp. plans to open a new Orchard Supply Hardware store in Fresno, Calif. on April 14th. 

The store will be Orchard’s 88th, and the fourth store in Fresno. Grand Opening events include a ribbon-cutting ceremony beginning at 7 a.m., as well as day-long vendor demos, spin and win, kid’s activities and door prizes, including a patio set and a Weber Summit Grill.

In a move to ensure that vendors continue to supply Sears its goods, Sears Holdings Corp.'s top shareholder ESL Investments, a hedge fund owned by Edward Lampert, has agreed to assume some payment obligations.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday and reported by Reuters, Sears said ESL made a deal on Jan. 26 with a financial institution to acquire 80% interest in an agreement designed to ensure payment to vendors in the event of a bankruptcy filing by a company.

Dev Mukherjee, president of the home appliances business at Sears for the past 16 months, has departed the company, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune. A replacement will be named “in a few weeks,” according to a Sears spokesman.

Sears quietly added all nine of its Great Indoors stores to the list of store closings on Feb. 23.

Store managers were informed on Thursday, a Sears spokeswoman confirmed, but no exact date has been given for the closings.  

The upscale remodeling and home décor stores began opening in 1998, long before the Sears and Kmart merger. At one point, Sears operated 20 of the units, but they were never a big moneymaker for the company.