• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 2, 2008

Sears Holdings, the parent of Sears and Kmart, posted a hefty loss, and says its comparable-store sales slid 9% in its fiscal third quarter. And in addition to its recently announced plans to close 22 stores, it says it will continue to evaluate store closings going forward.

The company, which has been without a permanent CEO since January, also announced several executive appointments as it continues its efforts to shore up thinning management ranks.

For the quarter, the Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based company says total sales slipped to $10.7 billion in the third quarter, which includes a 10.6% comparable-store sales decline at Sears U.S. stores, and a 7% dip at Kmart. Its losses total $146 million, compared to net income of $4 million in the same period a year ago.

"We believe we have positioned ourselves well for a difficult holiday shopping season," the company's interim CEO says in a release. "We have reduced our inventory levels, cut expenses, and announced the closing of select underperforming stores as part of our ongoing review." But it says its sales have continued to decline throughout November, dropping 7.8% at domestic Sears stores and 10% at Kmart.

While it chalked its poor results up to "severe conditions in the economy" and withdrew its previous forecasts, some of Sears' competitors--including Wal-Mart Stores and some of the dollar stores--have posted sales gains in the same period, and others such as Target have posted much smaller sales declines.

So far, Sears says it will close 22 stores, but more may be ahead. "Given the current economic and retail environment, we will carefully evaluate alternatives that provide financial flexibility in the near-term, while enhancing shareholder value in the long-term. These actions may include additional store closings or divestitures, remodels or repositioning of existing stores."

Separately, the company says it has hired Scott Freidheim as EVP, Operating and Support Businesses; he had been EVP and chief administrative officer at Lehman Brothers. It also tapped Nick Coe, formerly SVP of merchandising at the Gap's Banana Republic, as SVP and president its Lands' End division.