A Big To-Do in Kalamazoo

Celebration for Lewis Planned at Sears Portage, Mich. Store on Sat., Dec. 16

At 9 a.m.

KALAMAZOO, Mich., Dec. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Bill Lewis is having visions of bench power tools and cordless drills -- and with good reason. The 37-year-old resident of Kalamazoo, Mich. has won the grand prize in the "Dream Workshop Sweepstakes" sponsored by Sears. A celebration for Lewis is planned at the Sears at Crossroads Mall in Portage, Mich. on Sat., Dec. 16 at 9 a.m.

Lewis will be able to select $15,000 worth of tools from Tool Territory, Sears new hardware department, which features Craftsman® products and 72 new brands of tools, as well as interactive product displays and testing stations. A woodworking and automotive enthusiast, Lewis submitted his award-winning entry form while visiting the Sears in Portage, Mich.

"It's incredible, especially since I've been a Craftsman fan forever," said Lewis. "I'm going to buy one of everything ... starting with the bench power tools." His award-winning entry was selected, by random drawing, from among thousands of names entered in the nearly 140 Tool Territory departments that Sears rolled out this year.

"We're just as pleased as Bill is and can't wait to help him pick out his tools," said Don Scherzinger, store general manager of the Portage Sears. "After all, we have 18,000 of them to choose from -- everything from carpentry and woodworking, to mechanics and general-purpose tools." That selection includes brands such as Craftsman, Stanley, DeWalt, Makita, Delta, Fluke and Estwing.

"The 'Dream Workshop Sweepstakes' was designed to show our customers how excited we are about our new Tool Territory departments, which we've been rolling out in the East and Midwest this year," said George Kurkowski, Sears national marketing manager for Tool Territory. "We've dramatically changed our hardware department to give more choices and services to loyal customers like Bill Lewis."

Kurkowski added one suggestion for Lewis' shopping list: tool-storage units, so the winner has places to put some of his "dream workshop" selections.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE: S) is a leading U.S. retailer of apparel, home and automotive products and services, with annual revenue of nearly $40 billion. The company serves families throughout the country through approximately 860 department stores, more than 2,100 specialized retail locations, and a variety of online offerings accessible through the company's Web site, www.sears.com .

SOURCE: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Contact: Media, Maureen Jenkins of Sears, 847-286-9017; or Carol Simantz
of Catalyst Marketing, 847-692-6311, for Sears

Website: http://www.sears.com/