Sears to Sell Off Orchard Supply Hardware: Reports

Sears Holdings Corp. may be looking for a buyer for its Orchard Supply Hardware unit.

CEO Alan J. Lacy was quoted by the Associated Press as saying the unit could be sold or spun off so the company could focus on its core business following its merger with Kmart.

OSH was founded in 1931 by mostly prune growers in San Jose, CA. Tough times brought a group of 30 farmers together each putting up $30 to buy farm supplies as a cooperative, thus the birth of OSH. The unit currently operates a chain of 82 garden and hardware stores in California featuring more than 45,000 items.