Sears Holdings Shares Popped: What You Need to Know

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of chain retailer Sears Holdings (NAS: SHLD) jumped 11% following news that the company has agreed to close three of its major retail stores in Canada.

So what: Struggling to generate cash, Sears announced this morning it was planning to close outlets at the Vancouver Pacific Centre, the Calgary Chinook Centre, and the Ottawa Rideau Centre by Oct. 31. It plans to return the locations back to developer Cadillac Fairview Corp. for a sum of $170 million Canadian.

Now what: Welcome to the new softer side of Sears. We've seen store closures and now the fire sales have begun. Sears' declining business has caused a serious cash crunch, and it's doing its best to shore up its balance sheet. However, I don't see a magic pill solution to Sears' problems. It's going to take years to rebrand the company and move its focus back to its primary growth brands like Craftsman and Kenmore and, given that, I'm avoiding the stock here like the plague.

Craving more input? Start by adding Sears Holdings to your free and personalized Watchlist so you can keep up on the latest news with the company.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributorSean Williamshas no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen nameTMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen nameTrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle@TMFUltraLong.Try any of our Foolish newsletter servicesfree for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has adisclosure policy.

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