Sears puts chairman Lampert in charge of online and Lands’ End businesses

In a shake-up of its senior management, Sears Holdings Corp. has named former Kmart CEO Aylwin B. Lewis as its new top executive, replacing Alan Lacy, and put its chairman, Edward S. Lampert, in charge of its online and Lands’ End businesses, the company said today.

“The Kmart people are now asserting control of the company,” says Neil Stern, senior partner of retail consultants McMillan Doolittle.

Today’s announcement follows the departure last month of Lands’ End CEO Mindy Meads, who was replaced by Lands’ End executive vice president David McCreight. In April, Chris Shimojima, a Sears marketing vice president, replaced Bill Bass as vice president of Sears Customer Direct, the company’s online and catalog unit. McCreight and Shimojima will now work under Lampert instead of Lacy, who will remain as vice chairman of Sears Holdings and chairman of Sears Canada.

Analysts say it’s unclear what impact the change in senior management announced today is likely to have on the company’s ability to grow and improve as a multi-channel retailer.

Lampert, who served as Kmart’s chairman before its acquisition of Sears and is known for his financial management expertise, will now direct overall marketing and merchandising in addition to online operations and Lands’ End. “Ed Lampert is a money manager, but as brilliant as he is, he doesn’t have experience in merchandising and marketing,” says Ulysses Yannas, a stock analyst who follows Sears at New York investment firm Buckman Buckman and Reid.

Sears Holdings needs to do more to improve its stores, including its merchandise and the way it displays products, in order to improve its overall multi-channel performance, Yannas says, adding that Lampert is not known for being bullish on store investments.

In a letter to shareholders posted Thursday on the Sears Holdings web site, Lampert says he’s getting more directly involved in operations to help make Sears a more customer-oriented organization. “My decision to become more deeply involved in certain aspects of Sears Holdings’ business reflects the board’s and my desire to make the company more responsive to our customers and to involve me more directly in the renewal of the company,” he says, adding: “As we consider our merchandise choices for Sears, Kmart and Sears Essentials, we are paying particular attention to development of close relationships with out vendors. Many of our vendors will see increased sales as a result of working with us to lower our costs and to improve our customer presentation and experience.”