Sears posts 7.1 pct drop in 4th-qtr sales at established stores

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Sears Holdings Corp reported a 7.1 percent drop in sales at established stores during the holiday quarter compared with a year earlier, and said it would speed up closures of unprofitable stores in the next few months.

The company estimated sales of $7.3 billion for the three months ended Jan. 31, just short of analysts' average estimate of $7.43 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sears said it planned to cut costs by $550 million-$650 million in 2016, depending on overall volume of sales.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)