4 retailers that are wishing for some serious holiday cheer _ and why that might be tough

NEW YORK — The holiday shopping season is always a make-or-break period for struggling retailers.

But this year, the fight to grab shoppers has intensified, making it difficult for stores to use the season that accounts for about 20 percent of the retail industry's annual sales to bounce back.

Stores face cautious shoppers who are juggling stagnant wages and higher costs for food and health care. And Web-savvy customers are using information easily available on their smartphones to hold out for ever-better deals. All of that means that stores have had to discount more — and earlier — this holiday shopping season.

"If you're a retailer on the edge, it's harder to maintain your viability and return to profitability because of the intense promotional environment," said Ken Perkins, president of RetailMetrics LLC., a retail research firm.

He expects fourth-quarter earnings for the 123 retailers he tracks will rise 7.7 percent, down from a projected 16 percent increase in June.

Here, four retailers with years of sales declines that could use a good holiday season:

SEARS HOLDINGS CORP.:

Billionaire hedge fund manager Edward Lampert, now chairman and CEO, combined Sears and Kmart in 2005, about two years after he helped bring Kmart out of bankruptcy. But that merger hasn't been successful, and the company's financial results keep worsening.

The company on Thursday said its revenue fell 13 percent in the third quarter. In the first three quarters of the year, Sears has lost $1.6 billion.

It's on track to lose money for four straight years and record eight straight years of falling revenue when it reports its annual results early next year.

The fix: To raise money, Lampert is closing weak stores, cutting inventory and selling assets to raise cash to keep the company afloat. Year-to-date, the company has closed 129 stores and for the full year it expects to close a total of 235 stores. That's resulting in several thousand job cuts. At the same time, Sears says it is shifting its focus from running a store network to operating an online and offline business tied together by its Shop Your Way loyalty program

The prospects: Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategies at Belus Capital Advisors, says crowds at both chains were thin over the Thanksgiving weekend. And the latest third-quarter results will likely make it critical for Sears to keep selling assets and stores to prop up its operations.

The financial maneuvers "are basically enabling (Sears) to tread water on the operating losses," said Everscore ISI's Greg Melich.

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RADIOSHACK CORP.

The problems: Long known as a destination for batteries and obscure electronic parts, RadioShack's problem has been that the functions of so many products it sold have been taken up by smartphones.

So it sought to remake itself as a specialist in wireless devices and accessories. But growth in that business is slowing because more people have smartphones and see fewer reasons to upgrade.

The fix: RadioShack's turnaround efforts have included cutting costs, renovating and closing stores, and shuffling management. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company has tried to update its image and work on adding new products, including private brands and exclusive items.

RadioShack disclosed plans in March that it intended to close 1,100 stores, or about a fifth of its U.S. locations. It didn't specify the number of job cuts.

The prospects: RadioShack has been fighting with its lenders during the holidays, which is hampering its efforts to restructure the business and close some of its stores to help raise cash. This week the lenders notified RadioShack of alleged breaches to a $250 million loan and want the company to prepay some of its debt, along with other fees. RadioShack says that is unreasonable.

"I think they're going to close, but it's about doing it on an orderly basis," says David Tawil, co-founder and portfolio manager of Maglan Capital, which follows distressed companies.

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The problems: Teen retailer Aeropostale reported a widening loss and falling sales on Thursday, and its forecast for the holiday quarter mostly fell short of analysts' predictions.

Aeropostale, like many traditional teen destinations including Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters, has struggled with changing fashion tastes among teens. Those chains face intense competition from fast-fashion retailers like Forever 21 and H&M, which offer a wide and quickly changing array of clothing at low prices.

Aeropostale thrived during the depths of the recession because of its affordable logoed T-shirts and pants. But fashions with brand logos have lost their appeal, and the trendier items that have replaced them have not excited shoppers.

The fix: In August, Aeropostale reinstated its former CEO Julian Geiger. But Geiger told investors this week that the chain went too far to try to be trendy in its quest to rival fast fashion chains. "I still believe that while (teens) strive for individuality ... there's still a uniform that they wear that makes them cool and fit in," he said.

In May, Aeropostale announced it would close 125 of its mall-based P.S. from Aeropostale stores by the end of its fiscal year. It didn't specify how many job cuts are associated with the closures, but it's also cutting 100 corporate jobs.

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J.C. PENNEY CO.

The problems: J.C. Penney is still trying to recover from a botched transformation plan spearheaded by former CEO Ron Johnson that sent its sales in a freefall and resulted in mounting losses.

Mike Ullman returned to the CEO job in April 2013 and has stabilized the business by restoring discounts and basic merchandise. But it's now up to Marvin Ellison, who will take over Ullman's job in August, to remake it as a shopping destination.

The fix: In October, Ullman laid out a strategy to improve productivity, expand e-commerce and spruce up some departments that it said would boost sales to $14.5 billion by fiscal 2017. That's still well below the $17.23 billion it generated before the sales plunge. It remains to be seen whether it will further pare down its fleet, which totals about 1,100 stores. In its latest round of layoffs in January, it closed 33 underperforming stores and laid off 2,000 employees.