Sears Holdings said Tuesday that it has hired an executive to head up real estate development, looking for ways to use properties that are no longer retail stores.
David Lukes, chief executive of Mall Properties Inc., will be president of real estate development for Sears’ real estate business unit. Mall Properties is a New York-based real estate firm with a commercial property portfolio worth $3 billion, according to its website.
Hoffman Estates-based Sears said in late December that it plans to close as many as 120 poorly performing Sears and Kmart stores. In addition, it plans to shutter all nine of its Great Indoors stores and 53 specialty stores. These specialty stores are made up of small hardware stores, generally run by independent dealers in rural areas, and corporate-owned locations that sell Craftsman tools, DieHard car batteries and Kenmore appliances.
Sears has historically made money from real estate holdings “through store acquisitions, strategic store sales and our leasing and licensed business programs,” Lou D’Ambrosio, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “David’s hiring allows us to expand our capabilities to include the enhancement and re-development of appropriate properties.”
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