Sears moves higher after expanded Amazon tire pact

Shares of Sears (SHLD) are moving higher on Wednesday after the retailer announced that its Auto Center Tire Installation Program With Amazon (AMZN) is being expanded to an additional 71 Stores. EXPANDED AMAZON COLLABORATION: Last month, Sears Auto and Amazon announced a collaboration that enables all tires ordered on Amazon.com to be installed at select Sears Auto Centers. The new ship-to-store capability was initially available at 47 Sears Auto Centers in eight metropolitan areas. Sears said yesterday that Sears Auto has expanded the availability of the tire installation service to an additional 71 stores, bringing the total to 118. "Amazon customer reviews have been very positive and we are two months ahead of schedule," said Mike McCarthy, VP and general manager of Sears Automotive. "Customers are taking advantage of additional services during the tire installation process, such as oil changes and alignments. We are meeting our 60-minute tire installation commitment and over 90% of the Amazon customers are new Sears Automotive customers," McCarthy added. AMENDED LOAN PACT: Last week, shares of Sears jumped on news of amended and restated loan agreement that would extend the payback time. In a June 5 filing, Sears said it would extend the maturity date on an earlier $593M to July 20, 2020, and that it would be getting a bump up of $186M in credit bringing the total loan to $779M. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Sears are up 8.5% in afternoon trading to $2.66 per share, while Amazon is up fractionally.