Citigroup Inc. has reached an agreement with Sears Holdings Corp. to continue issuing private-label credit cards for the retailer and its core brands, which include Sears, Kmart and Lands’ End, the companies announced Oct. 25.
Citi has provided branded payment card processing services for Sears since 2003, the company said in a press release.
Described as the nation’s fourth-largest retailer, with Lands’ End as the nation’s largest online apparel retailer, Sears Holdings encompasses more than 2,200 Sears and affiliated stores and more than 1,300 Kmart stores, the release states.
The Sears Card, derived from the long-running store credit operation of one of the nation’s oldest retailers, compromises “some of our most loyal customers,” Jai Holtz, Sears Holdings vice president of financial services, said in the release.
Citi, which put its private-label credit card operation up for sale in 2009, on Oct. 17 announced its decision to take it off the block after an analysis revealed renewed opportunities in the sector (
Citi also operates private-label credit card programs for Home Depot USA Inc., Macy’s Inc. and its Bloomingdale’s division, and gasoline retailers Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips Co.
