Chief Executive talked with a handful of people—CEOs, academics and consultants—about what they would do to fix these companies, but they were hard-pressed to come up with ways to straighten out the mightily struggling retailer that owns both the Sears and Kmart chains.
“Sears’ emphasis on its “Shop Your Way” loyalty program is only “doubling down on a fatally flawed program.”
Hedge-fund manager and Sears CEO Edward Lampert has been running the company into the ground for a long time with few indications of a turnaround. Revenues are falling and same-store sales remain weak as Sears has been trying to streamline its operations by shedding businesses and closing locations while moving to a model focused on members rather than stores.
Lampert’s latest merchandising strategy is to shift focus from selling TV sets and other things individually and instead pursue a “connected living” approach for meeting all the needs of the customer, by selling appliances, fitness equipment, electronics and auto services. He also aims to overhaul Sears’ approach to apparel sales yet again after another failure in penetrating this soft goods market.
Kurt Jetta, CEO of the TABS consumer metrics company, believes that Sears’ emphasis on its “Shop Your Way” loyalty program—which accounted for 74 percent of sales during the fiscal first quarter, up from 68 percent a year earlier—is only “doubling down on a fatally flawed program.”
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
