Sears to Cut Prices, Expand Web Business in Overhaul

Sears, Roebuck & Co. will attempt to win back customers with a radical make-over of its retailing business, which will include slashing prices, creating new advertising and intensifying its Internet presence.

In what Chairman and Chief Executive Arthur Martinez called its “second revolution” of the 1990s, Sears hopes to revitalize sluggish sales with new lines of clothing and in-store displays aimed at younger audiences.

Sears also promised price cuts of as much as 15% on certain clothes, the introduction of dinnerware, flatware, gardening and other housewares, and new credit card promotions.

The nation’s largest department store chain also revealed Wednesday that it is considering dumping or sharply scaling back its long-running “Softer Side of Sears” advertising campaign as it struggles to win back customers lost to discount chains and specialty stores.

Sears also announced it plans in coming months to increase its presence on the Internet with the launch of Appliance.com, a site that will sell major appliance brands and models online. The retailer hopes to dominate the category by promising delivery in most areas within 48 hours and by leveraging the Sears name, a company spokeswoman said.

Sears executives acknowledged they became too complacent following the retailer’s phoenix-like rise from the brink of bankruptcy earlier this decade.

Shares of Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears fell $1.63 to close at $39.63 on the New York Stock Exchange.

In Other Consumer News . . .

Heinz to Cut 4,000 Jobs: H.J. Heinz Co. said it will cut as many as 4,000 jobs during the next four years, sell its Weight Watchers diet classes and close some factories to boost profit. The Pittsburgh-based company said it plans to concentrate on its core food products. Heinz said the restructuring is designed to save $2.6 billion over four years. Heinz has 100 factories and 40,500 employees worldwide.