Critics of the company blame its recent weakness to the company not having invested in remodeling its stores and to improve its customer services.

It is easy to understand where the critics are coming from. Walking into a Sears or K-Mart store just does not have the same feeling as you get when you enter into a Wal-Mart or Target store. Wal-Mart and Target understand that customers want a certain “feel” from their stores, and they deliver. Walking into a Sears and you get the feeling that the store has been there for 25 years without change (and in most cases you would be right).

The typically busy holiday shopping season was dismal for the company, and for the quarter-to-date, K-Mart stores have seen a drop in same store sales of 4.2%, while Sears stores have seen a drop of 6%.

The company stated that it had not yet decided which K-Mart and Sears stores would be closed, but that it would make the list public on its media website once the final list had been determined. It also stated that it was not sure at this point whether or not the store closings would lead to job cuts, but it is hard to imagine that the closing of 100+ stores would not lead to job cuts.

If Sears is able to absorb the criticism it has been given, and puts its focus on remodeling and vamping up its customer service then it may have a chance to get back to its glory days, but unless it is able to make serious changes, and make the quickly, then it is hard to imagine the retailer ever getting back on the same level as its major competitors.

Wall Street reacted as expected to the news, with the stock closing the session down 27.2%, down $12.47 to $33.38.

The following video on the subject is from MarketWatch:

1. Gamestop (NYSE: GME): The video game retailer is due to report its third quarter numbers tomorrow morning before the opening bell. Analysts are expecting the company to show earnings of 30 cents per share. For the same period last year, the company had earnings of 34 cents per share. The stock is trading up 0.6% on the day.

2. Sears Holding (NASDAQ: SHLD): The retailer is going to be reporting its third quarter numbers tomorrow, and analysts are expecting to see a loss of $1.09. For the same period last year the company had a loss of 90 cents a share. The stock is trading down 1.2% on the day. The company will be reporting its numbers before the market opens.

3. Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS): The clothing retailer is going to be reporting its third quarter results tomorrow, and Wall Street is looking to see the company show 44 cents per share. For the same period last year the Gap had earnings of 35 cents per share. The stock is trading down 0.8% in today’s market.

A big day for retailers, and will give us a better view of just how strong the current recovery actually is.