Lampert

Edward S. Lampert has a message for employees of the old Sears, Roebuck and Co. and it's one they are likely to find disconcerting: Get ready to work really hard or move on. Lampert, the 42-year-old hedge fund manager who brought Kmart out of bankruptcy two years ago, looks more like a recent MBA graduate than the man who just pulled off the $12.3 billion acquisition of Sears. But underneath his clean-scrubbed, perfectly tailored appearance lies a tough-minded approach to business that has earned him a fortune estimated at $2.5 billion.

On December 28, 2008, ADAM S. BRANDT, beloved son of Hedy (nee Lampert) and Charles Brandt; devoted brother of Amy Brandt; loving grandson of Ava Lampert; devoted nephew of Sheila Glassner and Bruce Brandt; dear cousin of Wendy Glassner, Craig Glassner and Warren Kovitz. Funeral services will be held at Columbia Meeting House, Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia, MD 21045, on Wednesday, December 31, at 10:30 AM. Interment Columbia Memorial Park - Columbia MD. Please omit flowers.

NEW YORK - Edward S. Lampert, who engineered Kmart Holding Corp.'s purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Co., earned an estimated $1 billion last year, the most of any hedge fund manager, according to Institutional Investor Inc.'s Alpha magazine. The windfall for Lampert, the 42-year-old chairman of ESL Investments Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., came in large part because his Kmart stake more than tripled in value. His earnings more than doubled from 2003, while the average for the 25 top hedge fund managers in 2004 rose 21 percent to $251 million from $207 million a year earlier, the magazine said.

I would like your opinion of my shares of Sears Holdings Corp. I'm not sure about its future. - C.L., via the Internet The famed retailer, with about 3,900 full-line and specialty stores in the United States and Canada, has a shopping list of concerns that include the economy. High energy costs, a weak housing market, the need to upgrade stores and strong competition from narrowly focused retailers have all contributed to sales declines last year and this year. Meanwhile, it has made some improvement in profit margins and inventory in portions of its business.

When hedge fund investor Eddie Lampert decided to take over operating control of Sears Holdings on Thursday, he decided to take charge himself rather than leave the job to professional managers. It was a decision fraught with risk: a financial investor with virtually no management experience taking control of one of the nation's largest retailers. This sort of coup by bankroll happens rarely in business, and for good reason: It doesn't work. Cable titan Ted Turner became so frustrated with the play of his Atlanta Braves that he donned a baseball uniform and managed from the dugout until Major League Baseball forced him to stop.

CHICAGO - Billionaire hedge fund manager Edward Lampert thinks he can succeed where a host of others have failed: selling more merchandise at Sears. Lampert, who orchestrated the takeover of Sears, Roebuck and Co. in March after bringing Kmart Holding Corp. out of bankruptcy, said yesterday that he will oversee marketing, merchandising, design and online businesses at Sears Holdings and its Lands' End clothing unit. His management shake-up at the nation's third-largest retailer also included the demotion of Sears Roebuck Chief Executive Officer Alan Lacy, whose four-year tenure as Sears' leader was marked by falling sales and capped by the takeover of the venerable retailer by Kmart.

On December 28, 2008, ADAM S. BRANDT, beloved son of Hedy (nee Lampert) and Charles Brandt; devoted brother of Amy Brandt; loving grandson of Ava Lampert; devoted nephew of Sheila Glassner and Bruce Brandt; dear cousin of Wendy Glassner, Craig Glassner and Warren Kovitz. Funeral services will be held at Columbia Meeting House, Oakland Mills Interfaith Center, 5885 Robert Oliver Place, Columbia, MD 21045, on Wednesday, December 31, at 10:30 AM. Interment Columbia Memorial Park - Columbia MD. Please omit flowers.

Harry Lampert, 88, the illustrator who created the DC Comics superhero the Flash and later became known for his instructional books on bridge, died of cancer Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla. He began drawing professionally at 16, inking cartoons at Fleischer Studios in New York for characters such as Popeye and Betty Boop. Six years later, he created the DC Comics original Flash Comics 1 in 1940, collaborating with writer Gardner Fox. The first-edition featuring the physics-defying superhero has become a classic among comic book collectors.

In a stunning move that alters one of Chicago's most enduring business icons, Kmart Holding Corp. pounced on Sears Roebuck and Co. yesterday in a merger valued at $11 billion. The new company, which will be called Sears Holdings Corp., will become the nation's third-largest retailer. It will continue to occupy Sears headquarters in suburban Hoffman Estates, Ill. But it will be controlled by Kmart's chairman, Edward J. Lampert, a 42-year-old Connecticut investor who made his name buying Kmart out of bankruptcy last year and raising almost $1 billion in a matter of months by selling many of its stores to other retailers, including Sears.

On February 8, 2004, BESSIE N. WOODEN (nee Kershman); beloved wife of the late Edgar Wooden, Henry Reding and Joseph Holzman; beloved mother of Theodore Wooden, Frank Holzman, Leon Holzman, Stanley Holzman, Stewart Holzman, Elaine Lampert and the late Rhona Tamres; devoted mother-in-law of Geraldine Wooden, Estelle Holzman, Ellen Van Horn, Debbie Holzman, Ann Marie Holzman and Larry Lampert; devoted sister of Sam Kershman and the late Elsie Lutins and...

When hedge fund investor Eddie Lampert decided to take over operating control of Sears Holdings on Thursday, he decided to take charge himself rather than leave the job to professional managers. It was a decision fraught with risk: a financial investor with virtually no management experience taking control of one of the nation's largest retailers. This sort of coup by bankroll happens rarely in business, and for good reason: It doesn't work. Cable titan Ted Turner became so frustrated with the play of his Atlanta Braves that he donned a baseball uniform and managed from the dugout until Major League Baseball forced him to stop.

CHICAGO - Billionaire hedge fund manager Edward Lampert thinks he can succeed where a host of others have failed: selling more merchandise at Sears. Lampert, who orchestrated the takeover of Sears, Roebuck and Co. in March after bringing Kmart Holding Corp. out of bankruptcy, said yesterday that he will oversee marketing, merchandising, design and online businesses at Sears Holdings and its Lands' End clothing unit. His management shake-up at the nation's third-largest retailer also included the demotion of Sears Roebuck Chief Executive Officer Alan Lacy, whose four-year tenure as Sears' leader was marked by falling sales and capped by the takeover of the venerable retailer by Kmart.

CHICAGO - Giving its first glimpse into its financial performance, the recently formed Sears Holdings Corp. disappointed investors yesterday with a first-quarter loss amid declining sales. The company formed by the March merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Holding Corp. lost $9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the fiscal quarter that ended April 30. The company also disclosed that it laid off 850 workers during the quarter, mostly from Sears Holdings' headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The quarter includes all 13 weeks of Kmart's results and five weeks of Sears' results.

NEW YORK - Edward S. Lampert, who engineered Kmart Holding Corp.'s purchase of Sears, Roebuck and Co., earned an estimated $1 billion last year, the most of any hedge fund manager, according to Institutional Investor Inc.'s Alpha magazine. The windfall for Lampert, the 42-year-old chairman of ESL Investments Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., came in large part because his Kmart stake more than tripled in value. His earnings more than doubled from 2003, while the average for the 25 top hedge fund managers in 2004 rose 21 percent to $251 million from $207 million a year earlier, the magazine said.

Edward S. Lampert has a message for employees of the old Sears, Roebuck and Co. and it's one they are likely to find disconcerting: Get ready to work really hard or move on. Lampert, the 42-year-old hedge fund manager who brought Kmart out of bankruptcy two years ago, looks more like a recent MBA graduate than the man who just pulled off the $12.3 billion acquisition of Sears. But underneath his clean-scrubbed, perfectly tailored appearance lies a tough-minded approach to business that has earned him a fortune estimated at $2.5 billion.

CHICAGO - Since buying Kmart out of bankruptcy court nearly two years ago, billionaire investor Edward S. Lampert has watched the stock of the discount chain surge 10-fold, from $13 to about $130. But will the Kmart Holding Corp. chairman have the Midas touch again if his proposed merger with Sears, Roebuck and Co. is consummated? The consensus seems to be yes, at least in the short run. Even a longtime Sears skeptic thinks the merged company, Sears Holdings Corp., can make money for investors early on, regardless of whether shoppers continue to defect to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp.

CHICAGO - Giving its first glimpse into its financial performance, the recently formed Sears Holdings Corp. disappointed investors yesterday with a first-quarter loss amid declining sales. The company formed by the March merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Holding Corp. lost $9 million, or 7 cents a share, in the fiscal quarter that ended April 30. The company also disclosed that it laid off 850 workers during the quarter, mostly from Sears Holdings' headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill. The quarter includes all 13 weeks of Kmart's results and five weeks of Sears' results.

CHICAGO - Going-out-of-business sales could begin Monday at some of the 300 Kmart Corp. stores chosen to close as the retailer tries to leave bankruptcy, the company's attorney said in court yesterday. Ronald B. Hutchison, Kmart's chief restructuring officer, said yesterday at the start of a two-day court hearing that with the judge's approval, the liquidation sales would begin next week and could be wrapped up by April. Kmart returns to bankruptcy court this morning to ask Judge Susan Pierson Sonderby to approve its plans to close about 300 stores, putting about 35,000 workers out of their jobs.

In a stunning move that alters one of Chicago's most enduring business icons, Kmart Holding Corp. pounced on Sears Roebuck and Co. yesterday in a merger valued at $11 billion. The new company, which will be called Sears Holdings Corp., will become the nation's third-largest retailer. It will continue to occupy Sears headquarters in suburban Hoffman Estates, Ill. But it will be controlled by Kmart's chairman, Edward J. Lampert, a 42-year-old Connecticut investor who made his name buying Kmart out of bankruptcy last year and raising almost $1 billion in a matter of months by selling many of its stores to other retailers, including Sears.

Harry Lampert, 88, the illustrator who created the DC Comics superhero the Flash and later became known for his instructional books on bridge, died of cancer Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla. He began drawing professionally at 16, inking cartoons at Fleischer Studios in New York for characters such as Popeye and Betty Boop. Six years later, he created the DC Comics original Flash Comics 1 in 1940, collaborating with writer Gardner Fox. The first-edition featuring the physics-defying superhero has become a classic among comic book collectors.