Shares of Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:SHLD) plummeted on Monday after its CEO took to the internet to post a bizarre statement against one of the company’s vendors.
In a blog post on Monday, CEO Eddie Lampert attacked One World, writing: “Today, we are taking a stand against one vendor that is trying to take unfair advantage of us: One World, a company with whom we have had over a nine-year business relationship, has threatened to refuse to perform under their Supply Agreement unless we agree to what we believe are unreasonable demands.”
One World is a part of Hong Kong-based Techtronic Industries, which makes power tools and accessories for Sears' Craftsman brand.
The CEO also wrote "there have been examples of parties we do business with trying to take advantage of negative rumors about Sears to make themselves a better deal – a deal that is unilaterally in their interest.”
“In such a case, we will not simply roll over and be taken advantage of – we will do what’s right to protect the interests of our company and the millions of stakeholders we serve.”
According to Lampert, “One World has enjoyed significant benefits from its relationship with Sears – we have paid One World more than $868 million since 2007 – a relationship that helped One World build a formidable presence in the tool industry.”
The company’s stock price closed down 12.43% on Monday. Sears has suffered, along with other retailers, to keep up sales and in-store traffic. Lampert’s latest rant has seemingly hurt his company—at least in the short-run.
Other Bad News
On top of the outburst from the CEO that helped its stock price fall on Monday, the once-powerful retailer saw a financial industry giant openly talk about its potential bankruptcy.
Yesterday, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) touched on the likelihood that the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based company could go under.
"[Sears] one- and two-year credit default swaps imply the market is pricing a high profitability of default over the next 12 to 24 months," Morgan Stanley noted. "If Sears files for bankruptcy this year and subsequently liquidates, JCP could be a major beneficiary."
Sears’ stock price has plummeted by almost 40% over the last month alone and closed at $8.31 per share on Monday. The company currently holds $4 billion in net debt and has a negative cash flow of $1.38 billion.
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