SHLDQ Sears Holdings Corporation (CE)

By Aisha Al-Muslim and Suzanne Kapner 

This article is being republished as part of our daily reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S. print edition of The Wall Street Journal (May 10, 2018).

Sears Holdings Corp. has deepened its ties with Amazon.com Inc. and will use the e-commerce giant's platform to sell some of its DieHard tires and connect with customers seeking tire-installation services.

Sears said Wednesday it will provide tire installation and balancing services for people who buy any brand of tire on Amazon, a service the retail chain expects to soon roll out nationwide. The company also plans to make its Sears Auto Center locations a pick-up point for Amazon tire orders.

The ship-to-store option initially will be available at 47 Auto Centers in eight metro areas, but will eventually be expanded to the more than 400 Auto Centers nationwide, Sears said.

The Hoffman Estates, Ill., company's plan to sell its DieHard all-season passenger tires through Amazon follows its move to sell DieHard jumper cables and other items on Amazon's site last year and car batteries in February. Sears last year also began selling Kenmore appliances on Amazon.

Brick-and-mortar chains have been cozying up to Amazon, from Kohl's Corp. to Best Buy Inc. and Nike Inc. to Chico's FAS Inc., to capitalize on the Seattle company's reach and lift sales as shoppers increasingly make purchases online. Kohl's last year began allowing customers who purchased items on Amazon to return them at a select number of its stores.

Shares of Sears, down 70% over the last 12 months, jumped 16% in Wednesday trading. Last year the stock also showed a double-digit percentage gain in a single day after it announced the Kenmore sales partnership.

Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com and Suzanne Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 10, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)

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