New program set for all stores with moderate price points

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — Sears is set to re-enter the ready-to-assemble furniture business, a category it exited in 2004.

The new Sears RTA program will be in all stores, including Sears Grand off-mall stores, and will focus on moderate price points. The offering will include bedroom, dining room and living room furniture.

A company spokesperson said further details would be forthcoming.

In 2002, Sears said it would drop its RTA furniture business, and completed the phaseout in 2004. Then Chairman and CEO Alan Lacy said the move was part of an effort to cut costs. The company had merchandised the category in about 850 stores, and industry estimates put its RTA furniture volume at over $90 million in 2001.

Sears is now a unit of Sears Holdings Corp., which also owns discounter Kmart. The company is converting a number of Kmart stores to the Sears Grand format.

Kmart sells RTA furniture under its Martha Stewart Everyday and private-label Essentials brands.