HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears Holdings Corp. has filed for chapter 11 protection from creditors in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court at White Plains, N.Y., and CEO Eddie Lampert has resigned from that role effective immediately. The iconic retailer, famous for its catalogues since its days as Sears, Roebuck & Co., struggled in recent years to retain its customer base in the face of online competition. Extensive debt, meanwhile, hamstrung the company’s ability to turn itself around.
Sears will be run for the time being by the office of the CEO, while independent directors will oversee the process of dismantling the company’s assets. Lampert is staying on as chairman. His ESL Investments Inc., Sears Holdings’ largest shareholder, is in talks to buy “a large portion of the company’s store base,” according to a Sears statement.
