BASIS OF PRESENTATION

3 Months Ended

May 04, 2013

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Sears Holdings Corporation (“Holdings”) is the parent company of Kmart Holding Corporation (“Kmart”) and Sears, Roebuck and Co. (“Sears”). Holdings (together with its subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” or the “Company”) was formed as a Delaware corporation in 2004 in connection with the merger of Kmart and Sears (the “Merger”), on March 24, 2005. We are an integrated retailer with 2,009 full-line and 53 specialty retail stores in the United States, operating through Kmart and Sears, and 461 full-line and specialty retail stores in Canada operating through Sears Canada Inc. (“Sears Canada”), a 51%-owned subsidiary. We have three reportable segments: Kmart, Sears Domestic and Sears Canada.

These interim unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required in annual consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (which include normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full fiscal year. The retail business is seasonal in nature, and we generate a high proportion of our revenues and operating cash flows during the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, which includes the holiday season. These interim financial statements and related notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2013.

Depreciation Expense

Depreciation expense included within depreciation and amortization expense reported on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations was $181 million and $189 million for the 13-week periods ended May 4, 2013 and April 28, 2012, respectively.

Separation of Sears Hometown and Outlet Businesses

On October 11, 2012, we completed the separation of our Sears Hometown and Outlet businesses through a rights offering transaction. We accounted for this separation in accordance with accounting standards applicable to common control transactions as ESL Investments, Inc. (together with its affiliated funds, "ESL") is a majority shareholder of Holdings and became a majority shareholder of Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc. ("SHO") as a result of exercising subscription rights pursuant to the rights offering. Accordingly, we classified the difference between the proceeds received and carrying value of net assets contributed to SHO as a reduction of capital in excess of par value in the Consolidated Statement of Equity for the period ended February 2, 2013.

In connection with the separation, Holdings and certain of its subsidiaries entered into various agreements with SHO under the terms described in Note 13. Because of the various agreements with SHO, the Company has determined that it has significant continuing cash flows with SHO. Accordingly, the operating results for the Sears Hometown and Outlet businesses through the date of the separation are presented within the consolidated operations of Holdings and the Sears Domestic segment in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements. Additionally, the Company has guaranteed lease obligations for certain SHO store leases that were assigned as a result of the separation. See Note 13 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for further information related to the agreements with SHO.