Lampert, a Warren Buffett acolyte, merged Kmart with Sears back in 2005 to create Sears Holdings in what's turned out to be a resounding failure. Sales have fallen in each of the past six years and during the past seven years, Sears' stock is off nearly 70 percent, closing yesterday at $47.85. That has led Lampert to make some swift changes in his investment playbook in recent months, sources say. "Our poor financial results in 2011, culminating in a very poor fourth quarter, underscore the need to accelerate the transformation of Sears Holdings," Lampert wrote in one ESL investor letter. Many observers and associates have speculated that Lampert is setting the stage to embark upon a more complete unwind of the various components of Sears Holdings. That's one reason why he's opted to shift his [hedge-fund] operation to Miami," speculated one source. "Eddie is very calculating about everything he does," the source noted.