Sears Holdings Corp Says Kmart Isn't Closing (SHLD)

Rumors that Kmart is closing have been greatly exaggerated, according to the discount store's parent company, Sears Holdings Corp (ticker: SHLD).

This latest rumor about Kmart and parent company Sears stemmed from recent credit ratings agency reports. Fitch recently referred to Sears a retailer that might "default on its debt," reports CNN Money, while Moody's called into question "the viability of the Kmart franchise" in September.

Sears CEO Eddie Lampert set the record straight in a blog post: "Recent reports have suggested that Kmart will cease its operations," he said in the post. "I can tell you that there are no plans and there have never been any plans to close the Kmart format." That said, if unprofitable stores don't see improvements, the company would close them.

Lampert also discussed efforts to bring the company back to profitability and acknowledged the overall challenging state of the retail industry.

And challenging it is, across everything from discount chains like Wal-Mart Stores (WMT) and Target Corp. (TGT) to Amazon.com's (AMZN) increasingly engulfing retail dominance.

What could make Sears investors happy is a division sale. The company's stock rose 16 percent off a Tuesday report from Bloomberg saying Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) was a Craftsman sector bidder, CNN Money notes.

For what it's worth, Lampert said in the same blog post, "We have a process underway to create value by positioning our Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard businesses as well as our Sears Home Services business to benefit from broader distribution and partnerships that will allow them to grow beyond Sears Holdings." The company announced it could sell these divisions back in May, CNN Money reports.

Sears stock has plummeted about 40 percent on the year.

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David Oliver is Associate Editor, Social Media at U.S. News & World Report. Follow him on Twitter, connect with him on LinkedIn, or send him an email at doliver@usnews.com.