Lampert tells shareholders Sears will redo merchandise, services; puts heavy emphasis on Web

Lampert: Sears to revamp merchandise, grow on Web

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The financier who leads Sears Holdings Corp. says the retailer is gearing up to revamp merchandise and services in its stores. And Chairman Edward Lampert says the company’s Internet presence will continue to balloon as more customers shop online.

Speaking during the company’s annual shareholder meeting Tuesday, Lampert told a roomful of investors that in five years Sears will be “unrecognizable compared to what the company was 20, 30, 40 years ago.”

Based in suburban Chicago, the retailer owns Sears, Kmart and Land’s End and popular brands such as Craftsman, Diehard and Kenmore. But it is increasingly focusing its efforts on the Web.

Also Tuesday, shareholders elected interim CEO and President W. Bruce Johnson to Sears’ seven-member board.