Sears Holdings Corporation Chairman and CEO: “We Are Fighting Like Hell”
May 11, 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
[This is not a press-release per se, but a slightly-abridged version of a statement delivered by Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert to the annual stockholders’ meeting. Sears has had a rough number of years, along with many other traditional retailers; Lampert has drawn fire for a number of moves including the purchase of Kmart. Recently, Sears stock tumbled after a company 10-K statement filed with the SEC stated that “Our historical operating results indicate substantial doubt exists related to the company’s ability to continue as a going concern’; the stock took another hit following Lampert’s statement below. —Ed.]
The past year will be remembered as one of the most challenging periods for “brick and mortar” retailers – and our company was one of the many affected by these headwinds. Our Board, management team and the tens of thousands of associates working at Sears Holdings understand that performance matters, and we remain committed to powering through these challenges.
However, we need the support of our members, vendors, lenders and the communities we serve to succeed. While we are not asking to be spared from informed opinions about our business performance, for far too long, many commentators have rushed to conclusions about the future of our company. Not only have these predictions been off the mark and based on incomplete and selective information or biased sources, but they have also been harmful. We have spent a lot of time educating many external stakeholders – we need each other for success – and while it hasn’t been easy, we are still here and fighting hard.
We remain a proud business with a large number of hard-working associates all over the country working toward the success of our company. While the retail environment is as difficult as it has ever been, it is important to remember that Sears and Kmart have been evolving to meet the needs of shoppers for over a century. And, during this time, we have given birth to many companies and supported many of our vendors through difficult periods and their own challenges….
People have often asked me why I am still committed to the company and why I continue to invest a significant amount of my own money in its “transformation.” The answer is that I firmly believe we will succeed in becoming a company that helps our members manage and improve their lives. I don’t know why people would root against a company that impacts so many people, but I can tell you that your Board of Directors and your management team are doing everything in our power for us to succeed – we are fighting like hell!
Sears and Kmart continue to be two of the country’s most iconic retailers – and make no mistake – they are still very important to American consumers. We continue to have a large footprint through our stores – many in leading locations. Shop Your Way has tens of millions of members actively engaging with us both online and in-store. We are also home to an industry leading home services business. All of these unique assets – whether inherited, acquired or built – are our strengths. They provide us with the necessary foundation to create value as we sharpen our focus on our Best Stores, Best Categories and Best Members.
I thank all of our associates, members, stockholders and business partners for their support and commitment to our company – we remain firmly focused on successfully executing our strategy and look forward to reporting progress.
Eddie Lampert is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Sears Holdings Corporation.
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Sharing Music and Sending Text Messages Combine to Create More Beats
Pioneering mobile company tunes into the power of music to help people connect
[I suppose it was inevitable that sooner or later someone would develop a way to send music files in a message. All I can say is: yay. According to the CrunchBase file on Beatshare, the company has had about $2.5M in funding since 2014, and lists zero employees. It’ll be interesting to see if this becomes a reality. —Ed.]
IRVINE, Calif. – (May 11, 2017)— It’s estimated that people take around 100 million selfies per day. They also love to share music and realize it helps create memories. Now, with the advent of Beatshare, they can do both in a simple manner, all from their iPhone, using iMessage or in a stand-alone version. The new Beatshare app gives people the opportunity to send a song they love or a 10 second clip of a song to someone to share their thoughts, feelings or emotions through the power of music. You can even integrate it with pictures, video, and your special message. This is a simple and quick way to convey thoughts and feelings, as well as to have a little fun with the song and message.
“We believe music should be a central component to the way we communicate and that’s precisely why we created Beatshare,” says Eli Aizenstat, founder and CEO at Beatshare. “Whether you’re a creator or spectator, Beatshare taps into the intrinsic power of music. When the beat drops, chorus hits, and a hook repeats, it evokes powerful feelings.”
Beatshare has found a way to unleash the power and potential of music within the evolving menu of messaging tools. Each individual using the app is empowered to match clips from over 100 million songs to photos or videos in a way that elevates messages to a personalized art form. Imagine picking your boyfriend or girlfriend’s favorites song, setting some pictures to it, adding a message, and sending it to them for their birthday or just to let them know you are thinking of them. Music is a message and the app helps people send it in a unique way.
Beatshare is currently accessible to the Apple iPhone. Full music catalogues from Apple Music, Spotify Premium and SoundCloud are integrated in Beatshare, which creates an unrivaled user experience.
The technology allows users to easily package intimate thoughts into a 10 second multimedia message either for direct chats with a contact or to a group of close friends and relatives, who are connected through the iOS app or iMessage extension. Having a tool to create rich media accessible within messaging enables users to create and send truly impressive, unique material, and to do so in ways so familiar, they’re second nature.
Aizenstat, the 24 year-old entrepreneur of Beatshare, points out that millennials listen to three hours of music per day and send on average a constant flow of 120 daily messages. Beatshare unites the two. Sharing a Beat with a friend connects them with the sender’s now. It’s not a tired old selfie, so one-dimensional. A Beat is a dynamic clip layered in sound, sight and emotion. The ease of use and integration represents a breakthrough in communication with the potential to rock the way mobile junkies who are crazy about music interact.
By 2019, more than one-quarter of the world’s population will be using mobile messaging apps, according to eMarketer’s new forecast. Beatshare is at the forefront of this movement and will greatly expand the capabilities and content of messaging. Incorporating Beats as an innovative use of the language of music will transform the way people everywhere engage one another.
About Beatshare (beatshare.me):
Beatshare was created to bring music into the heart of mobile communications. The application utilizes the power of music by letting users simply express their thoughts, feelings and emotions via personally chosen music clips in combination with photos or video. With Apple Music, SoundCloud and Spotify Premium integrations, just choose any song, select a 10-second clip, add a personalized photo or video and send your musical message one-to-one or to groups. Join the Beatshare movement @AppBeatshare and download the app for free from the IOS App Store or the new iMessage App Store.
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