Sears Canada said headed for liquidation

[retailisking]

Are Fast Eddie's US holdings next?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-20/sears-canada-is-said-to-seek-creditor-protection-in-coming-weeks

[Zayre88]

There’s no happy ending to this really crappy movie that we’re watching - Former Sears Canada Mark Cohen

http://www.bnn.ca/no-happy-ending-to-this-really-crappy-movie-former-sears-canada-ceo-1.785105

[retailisking]

It's official, but not the liquidation predicted. Not yet, anyway.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/sears-canada-files-for-creditor-protection/article35418399/

[Zayre88]

Correct...  it's just the beginning.

Just the prospect of the company collapsing will have a negative effect on sales for the remaining stores. 

Personally, I would not want to buy a Craftsman lawn tractor or a Kenmore fridge from company that may disappear in a few months..

We're loosing our store here, now the nearest Sears full-line store will be 65 miles away.

[retailisking]

Correct...  it's just the beginning.

Just the prospect of the company collapsing will have a negative effect on sales for the remaining stores.  

Personally, I would not want to buy a Craftsman lawn tractor or a Kenmore fridge from company that may disappear in a few months..

We're loosing our store here, now the nearest Sears full-line store will be 65 miles away.

Even if the warranties are backed by GE or some other stable insurer, and even though those big-ticket items are OEM'd by major manufacturers, the uncertainty triggered by their bankruptcy filing will decimate their durable goods turnover - that is, until the inevitable liquidation sales. Funny how consumer psychology works...

[Zayre88]

When the item is branded Kenmore, even though it's probably manufactured by Whirlpool or Electrolux, it's a Sears/Kenmore warranty.  The uncertainty will affect that indeed.  Lawn equipment, appliances, power tools...

But yeah I have already heard people saying «Sears is closing... we'll go buy a fridge at a liquidation price»

I have looked at the list of full-line stores that are closing (in Quebec) and nothing's surprising there.

These stores were very old and dated, in remote locations, smaller stores or in lower class malls:


Hull - old store in an odd struggling downtown mall with just Sears as the anchor
Chicoutimi - 1 level store way north in the struggling Saguenay area.
Saint-Georges - small store
Alma - small store in the struggling Saguenay area.
Drummondville - mid size store


Sears is also closing 3 Quebec liquidation stores (That used to be full-line stores):
Saint-Eustache
Montreal - Place Vertu
Sorel

[BillyGr]

Correct...  it's just the beginning.

Just the prospect of the company collapsing will have a negative effect on sales for the remaining stores.  

Personally, I would not want to buy a Craftsman lawn tractor or a Kenmore fridge from company that may disappear in a few months..

We're loosing our store here, now the nearest Sears full-line store will be 65 miles away.

Even if the warranties are backed by GE or some other stable insurer, and even though those big-ticket items are OEM'd by major manufacturers, the uncertainty triggered by their bankruptcy filing will decimate their durable goods turnover - that is, until the inevitable liquidation sales. Funny how consumer psychology works...

No way to say for sure if they will, but when Wards closed up around here (which was prior to the final closings for the chain) they had a repair center (for those familiar with the area, just down the street from their former main store in Menands (NY) near Albany), which remained open for many years after the store closings.  So, there was still someone to deal with if you needed something done with an item you had purchased there.

[Zayre88]

Back when I was working at Sears, they had techs working for them, repairing lawnmowers, drills, dehumidifiers and more.  Our store was a small one but we always had two techs assigned to our location, one for power equipment, one for appliances/electronics.

That was back in the days when Sears offered a lot of service. Then they fired almost all of them and sent repair contracts to local sub-contractors.  There was a large service & repair center in Quebec City and it closed too.

Today I can't tell what they offer...or will offer after a bankruptcy.   

Sears Canada closed these, closed stores, call centers, sold mall leases, closed the Auto Centers, sold the Sears credit card, their head office building in Toronto... now 59 more stores are closing... there's not much else to sell or save.

[Zayre88]

Sears Canada gets the green light to sell itself

http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/sears-canada-extends-benefits-to-former-employees-while-seeking-approval-for-sales-process/wcm/e21f8768-8e7d-4e69-8c00-a78755770056

[Zayre88]

Sears Canada’s Largest Stockholders Call Off Joint Bankruptcy Bid

Eddie Lampert and Bruce Berkowitz called off a potential joint bankruptcy deal for Sears Canada Inc., clearing the way for other bidders to challenge its two largest shareholders.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sears-canadas-largest-stockholders-call-off-joint-bankruptcy-bid-1501249738

[Zayre88]

A small Sears Canada mall store closing in Quebec.  All cosmetics were shipped back to other stores remaining open.  Counters are now filled with home decor junk:

[Zayre88]

 Brandon Stranzl, executive chairman of Sears Canada has stepped down in order to focus on making a bid for the insolvent retailer, currently operating under court protection:

http://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/head-of-sears-canada-brandon-stranzl-steps-down-to-launch-bid-for-troubled-retailer/wcm/ac352387-8659-4fad-91ac-6580da574945

[standa]

A small Sears Canada mall store closing in Quebec.  All cosmetics were shipped back to other stores remaining open.  Counters are now filled with home decor junk:

That's a great photo of a Sears that's closing. In which town is it located?

[Zayre88]

It's over.

Sears Canada Approves Plan to Liquidate Most of Retail Chain’s Assets
https://www.wsj.com/articles/sears-canada-approves-plan-to-liquidate-most-of-retail-chains-assets-1507653776

Sears Canada seeks approval to liquidate all stores
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2017/10/10/sears-canada-court-approval-liquidate-stores/106501920/

[Zayre88]

See a video of the new concept Sears Canada tried to introduce right before bankruptcy:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlCqiAMmZgo&feature=youtu.be

[Zayre88]

Today was the last day for Sears Canada stores. I was there. I got to visit two locations and there was not much left.  The second story of each store was closed to the public and whatever junk was left was discounted at 80 to 90 percent off.

Some prices had obviously been raised prior to being discounted however... There were still a lot of fixtures and shelving available.  Needless to day that the market has been flooded with stores fixtures from the closing of Zellers and Target.

Very sad to see Sears go and this is most likely the outcome from the US Sears stores soon...

[danfifepsu]

Today was the last day for Sears Canada stores. I was there. I got to visit two locations and there was not much left.  The second story of each store was closed to the public and whatever junk was left was discounted at 80 to 90 percent off.

Some prices had obviously been raised prior to being discounted however... There were still a lot of fixtures and shelving available.  Needless to day that the market has been flooded with stores fixtures from the closing of Zellers and Target.

Very sad to see Sears go and this is most likely the outcome from the US Sears stores soon...

whatll happen to malls they are in?

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Today was the last day for Sears Canada stores. I was there. I got to visit two locations and there was not much left.  The second story of each store was closed to the public and whatever junk was left was discounted at 80 to 90 percent off.

Some prices had obviously been raised prior to being discounted however... There were still a lot of fixtures and shelving available.  Needless to day that the market has been flooded with stores fixtures from the closing of Zellers and Target.

Very sad to see Sears go and this is most likely the outcome from the US Sears stores soon...

whatll happen to malls they are in?

They'll find replacement retailers.

They still have Walmart, Giant Tiger, Canadian Tiger, The Bay. If their malls do not have any of those retailers, then they'll probably replace their Sears with those retailers, or the many other retailers found across Canada.

[danfifepsu]

Today was the last day for Sears Canada stores. I was there. I got to visit two locations and there was not much left.  The second story of each store was closed to the public and whatever junk was left was discounted at 80 to 90 percent off.

Some prices had obviously been raised prior to being discounted however... There were still a lot of fixtures and shelving available.  Needless to day that the market has been flooded with stores fixtures from the closing of Zellers and Target.

Very sad to see Sears go and this is most likely the outcome from the US Sears stores soon...

whatll happen to malls they are in?

They'll find replacement retailers.

They still have Walmart, Giant Tiger, Canadian Tiger, The Bay. If their malls do not have any of those retailers, then they'll probably replace their Sears with those retailers, or the many other retailers found across Canada.

and in the US when they all close whatll happen to those malls. And when will they all close in the US?

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Today was the last day for Sears Canada stores. I was there. I got to visit two locations and there was not much left.  The second story of each store was closed to the public and whatever junk was left was discounted at 80 to 90 percent off.

Some prices had obviously been raised prior to being discounted however... There were still a lot of fixtures and shelving available.  Needless to day that the market has been flooded with stores fixtures from the closing of Zellers and Target.

Very sad to see Sears go and this is most likely the outcome from the US Sears stores soon...

whatll happen to malls they are in?

They'll find replacement retailers.

They still have Walmart, Giant Tiger, Canadian Tiger, The Bay. If their malls do not have any of those retailers, then they'll probably replace their Sears with those retailers, or the many other retailers found across Canada.

and in the US when they all close whatll happen to those malls. And when will they all close in the US?

[Zayre88]

They'll find replacement retailers.

They still have Walmart, Giant Tiger, Canadian Tire, The Bay. If their malls do not have any of those retailers, then they'll probably replace their Sears with those retailers, or the many other retailers found across Canada.

Yes, but Walmart already took over several Target locations, same for Canadian Tire. Giant Tiger did take over a former Target but only re-used about 1/3 of the store. They operate small discount stores.  Many of these stores are 2-story, there's no other retailer currently able to fill the same footprint of these larger stores.  The Bay would be one but most of the time they already have a store in Sears-anchored malls and they're struggling..

For some of these malls, it will mean having to divide the space, find smaller retailers, or even turn the space into office space or residential space...

[JJBers]

Now that Sears Canada has shut down, now the last country to have a open Sears is the United States. We only have a limited time before Sears becomes nothing.
This is going to be a scar against Canadian malls across the country. I assume many locations will either remain vacant until they're demolished.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Now that Sears Canada has shut down, now the last country to have a open Sears is the United States. We only have a limited time before Sears becomes nothing.
This is going to be a scar against Canadian malls across the country. I assume many locations will either remain vacant until they're demolished.

I thought that Mexico will be the last country to have Sears locations when the American and Canadian stores go...

[JJBers]

Now that Sears Canada has shut down, now the last country to have a open Sears is the United States. We only have a limited time before Sears becomes nothing.
This is going to be a scar against Canadian malls across the country. I assume many locations will either remain vacant until they're demolished.

I thought that Mexico will be the last country to have Sears locations when the American and Canadian stores go...

It's not owned by Sears Holdings, so does it count?