• by Karl Greenberg , June 10, 2009

Sears is supporting its new marketing platform, "Life. Well spent," with a joint venture with AOL News -- a new Web channel called Good News Now, at GNN.com.

The channel is intended to counter the horrors of modern life by offering up a bromidic palette of stories, photos and videos from around the world: a pair of seniors ties the knot; a boy discovers a seven-leaf clover; and a two-year-old has a stellar IQ.

The companies say the new site is there to "help consumers remember that good news does exist."

"Good News Now addresses the fundamental human need for fulfillment and joy," said Don Hamblen, Sears' chief marketing officer, in a statement. "We recognized there was so much negative news out there and people needed a positive break, so we developed a site with heart-warming stories on kindness and good deeds -- that's Good News Now."

Sears will also use the site as a platform for online shopping with a link to Sears.com. The site also has weather and financial news, but no rain or bearish news, respectively.

Sears said a previous site garnered millions of unique visitors per month and an average visit time of over four minutes. The site will expand this summer.

Sears Holdings, which includes Kmart, has been struggling with the economy. For the fiscal quarter ending May 2, Sears' revenues decreased $1.0 billion to $10.1 billion, versus $11.1 billion for the 13 weeks ended May 3, 2008. The company posted sales declines of 7.4%, with Sears down 11.7% and Kmart comparable-store sales declining 2.1% for the quarter.

Sears has been hurt by slowdown in the housing market, which has put the brakes on sales of home appliances, lawn and garden, and tools, per the company, which says apparel sales have also taken a hit.

Kmart has also been hit by slower apparel volume, but while Sears' exposure to major appliances doubled the pain, Kmart benefited from strong home electronics performance.