Sears to Operate in Five Units

Its new structure will include five units: operating businesses, support businesses, brands, online and real estate.

Each will have a leader, an advisory group of senior executives and a separate, internal profit-and-loss statement.

Operating business units will include lines of business such as home appliances, electronics and apparel.

Support units will provide operation and administrative support, including marketing, store operations, customer strategy and finance.

Brand units will focus on the company's brand portfolio, and the company's real estate and online units will focus on sales productivity of bricks-and-mortar and online property.

"By creating smaller focused teams that are clearly responsible for their units, we increase autonomy and accountability, create greater ownership and enable faster, better decisions," Sears Holdings Chairman Edward S. Lampert said in a statement.

Sears has been battling lackluster sales amid an uncertain retail environment. Last Monday, Sears Holdings told investors it would likely post fourth-quarter earnings well below Wall Street forecasts as eroding sales push its profit down as much as 57 percent.

Besides operating Sears and Kmart stores, Sears owns Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard brands and apparel brands such as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, among others.