Behind every billionaire there is a story!

Eddie Lampert’s failing Sears-Kmart experiment

Inside a Sears store in the Cincinnati suburbs, Steve Sunderland, the vice president for store initiatives at Sears Holding is exuberant as he shows off his company’s latest experiment. With his oversize blue blazer and slightly nasal voice, Sunderland bears a passing resemblance to Steve Carell of The Office. Periodically, he interrupts our conversation to race over and hold a door open for a customer or to call out, “Have a great day, ladies!”

At this particular Sears store, Sunderland is point man for the latest test run by hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, who is using the company as a petri dish to try out his ideas for the retail business.  Instead of the usual layout, which groups merchandise by type—clothing, toys, appliances—this two-level store is organized around rooms of the home, including a kitchen, kid’s bedroom, garage, and laundry room. The areas are set up, Sunderland says, “holistically.” Refrigerators and stoves are in the kitchen area, and washers and dryers are in the laundry zone.

read the rest published by Portfolio Magazine here:

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/01/14/Kmart-Sears-Merger