Benjamin Schall Named Chief Executive Officer Of Seritage Growth Properties

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill., April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sears Holdings Corporation (the "Company") (NASDAQ: SHLD) today announced that Benjamin Schall has been named Chief Executive Officer of Seritage Growth Properties ("Seritage"), effective May 4, 2015. Seritage is a newly formed real estate investment trust ("REIT").

Mr. Schall joins Seritage with extensive public-company and real estate experience, especially the leasing and redevelopment of suburban retail centers. Most recently, since March 2012, Mr. Schall served as Chief Operating Officer of Rouse Properties, Inc., a publicly traded REIT that owns regional malls, where he oversaw the operations of 35 malls in 21 states encompassing approximately 25 million square feet of space. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President with Vornado Realty Trust. In this capacity, his responsibilities included overseeing all facets of Vornado's suburban retail shopping center business, which consists of approximately 18 million square feet in 140 assets. He holds a Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College. 

"We are pleased to have an executive of Ben's caliber serve as Seritage's CEO," said Edward S. Lampert, Chairman and CEO of Sears Holdings. "Ben's established track record as a successful operator, developer and public company leader in the retail REIT industry make him optimally suited to launch and lead Seritage as an independent platform. As we look to reposition Sears Holdings' real estate portfolio, Ben's deep experience and industry relationships will allow us to accelerate our efforts to reduce the operating footprint of our stores while capitalizing on the value of the underlying real estate.  His experience will be especially critical to Seritage's success and this is an important day for Seritage and Sears."  

Mr. Schall said, "I feel privileged to have the opportunity to join Seritage at such an exciting time and serve as its Chief Executive Officer. I look forward to leading Seritage and building an industry-leading real estate company in the evolving world of omni-channel retail."

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are based on the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. For a discussion of such risks, assumptions and uncertainties, see "Risk Factors" and the forward-looking statement disclosure contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other filings filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While we believe that our forecasts and assumptions are reasonable, we caution that actual results may differ materially.  We intend the forward-looking statements to speak only as of the time made and do not undertake to update or revise them as more information becomes available, except as required by law.

About Sears Holdings Corporation

Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) is a leading integrated retailer focused on seamlessly connecting the digital and physical shopping experiences to serve our members - wherever, whenever and however they want to shop. Sears Holdings is home to Shop Your Way®, a social shopping platform offering members rewards for shopping at Sears and Kmart as well as with other retail partners across categories important to them. The Company operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation, with full-line and specialty retail stores across the United States. For more information, visit www.searsholdings.com.

SOURCE Sears Holdings Corporation