BC Business
Sears Shutters Stores | BCBusinessSears Canada announced Friday it will close down three major locations, including its Pacific Centre store, to cut costs.
Sears Canada is signallng how deeply the retailer is troubled as it announces it will shut the doors of three major locations, including Vancouver’s Pacific Centre store. One my first trip to Vancouver, I exited the City Centre SkyTrain and was bombarded by the sights and sounds of downtown. I looked up to see the TD skyscraper, London Drugs and the most massive Sears I’d ever seen. But soon that Sears location will shut its doors for good.
One my first trip to Vancouver, I exited the City Centre SkyTrain and was bombarded by the sights and sounds of downtown. I looked up to see the TD skyscraper, London Drugs and the most massive Sears I’d ever seen. But soon that Sears location will shut its doors for good. Sears Canada announced Friday it would close three locations in major markets, including Chinoook Centre in Calgary, Rideau Centre in Ottawa and Vancouver’s Pacific Centre. The company is shuttering the stores to cut costs and expects to vacate the locations by the end of October. Sears Canada will sell the leases back to the locations’ landlord (all three are leased from Cadillac Fairview) for $170 million. The announcement combined with the recent price slash of 5,000 items is obviously a cry for help. The retailer is facing stiff competition as Target Corp. expands into Canada in 2013 and now there are rumblings in the retail world that American department store Nordstrom could soon hit the scene in Canada. The newly available locations in prime markets will prove to be a boon for Sears’ competitors and could be the final nail in the retailer’s coffin.