When the company declared bankruptcy Oct. 15, it filed a budget with revenue forecasts of $241 million for the week of Christmas and $1.93 billion for the two months ending Jan. 12. But an updated budget filed Friday shows only $215 million the week of Christmas and $1.69 billion for the entire two months, almost $246 million less than originally projected.
Sears also now expects negative operating cash flow in the weeks leading up to Christmas and net cash flow before financing of minus $434 million for the 13 weeks through Feb. 16. The revised figures were included in documents filed late last week with the federal bankruptcy court handling the case. A Sears representative declined to comment.
“There’s no place in the world for a retailer who can’t produce cash flow during Christmas,” said Noel Hebert, a credit analyst who covers Sears for Bloomberg Intelligence. “It’s very difficult to envision a scenario where liquidation isn’t the end game.”
The revised budget is “a clear indicator that sales are worse than they were six weeks ago,” said Burt Flickinger, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a retail-advisory firm. “They’re not selling hard goods, they’re not selling soft goods, and they’re not selling consumables. They’re in a free-fall.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-05/weaker-sears-holiday-forecast-heightens-doubts-about-survival