By Katie Davis S ears has been a part of my life for a long as I can remember. In my early years we could not wait for the Christmas catalogue to come so that we could start the pick what we wanted from Santa for under the tree. As I got older it was when I would shop for clothing and where I bought the leather sofa that is still in my husband’s man cave along with the Kenmore beer fridge. So when I read the announcement that Sears had filed for court pro- tection while it tries to reinvent itself and continue to be a major retail player in Canada, I thought to myself, how bad could it be? Sear has many loyal shoppers, like me, that have depended on Sears for basics, such clothing and appliances. Well it turns out Sears has been struggling for some time now. The company has been shrinking for 15 years, with sales of $6.7 billion in 2001 to $2.6 billion in 2016. Sears’ net losses more than doubled year-over- year in the first quarter of 2017. The news doesn’t get any better as trends in retail show that Sears will be trying to fight an uphill battle and closing 59 stores and laying off 2,900 workers is just the beginning of the end for one of Canada most known retailers.
Sears has been in survivalmode for some timenow, as the retailer that was once known for selling everything shed several catego- ries, such as electronics, hardware and automotive to try and cut losses, now it seems that I will have to buy our next bar fridge elsewhere as Sear may have to stop selling appliances also. As for store closures, Sears disclosed that the 59 stores that will shut include 20 full department stores from Newfound- land to British Columbia, along with 15 Sears Home stores, 10 Sears Outlet stores and 14 Sears Hometown locations. It is not all boom and gloom for the retailer as the company said that “Over the past 18 months, Sears Canada rebuilt its front and back-end technology platform, redefined its brand positioning, revamped its product assortment, and rebooted its customer experience and service standards,” Sear adding that it, “hopes to exit CCAA protection as soon as possible in 2017, better positioned to capitalize on the opportunities that exist in the Canadian retail marketplace.” In a year that we celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday and all things Canadian, let’s hope Sears is here to blow out the candles for Canada’s 151 st birthday.
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JUNE 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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