Sears Canada Announces Major Outlays

Sears Canada (Toronto) has said it will spend millions of dollars to renovate two existing stores — in Sudbury, Ont., and London, Ont. — and convert an Eaton's store in Winnipeg, Man., one of seven it has been planning on converting this year.

The Sudbury store will be renovated, the retailer said, “to offer a broader selection of fashion apparel and home fashion merchandise, together with an exciting new shopping environment for the Sudbury community.” The department store will remain in full operation until the grand opening in late fall.

“We'll grow from 89,000 square feet to 93,000 square feet,” said store manager Tony Commito, “as 4000 square feet will be reclaimed from areas such as stockrooms, offices, etc. An additional 10,000 square feet will be freed up from the removal of the furniture department.”

The London store, at Masonville, will be expanded from 88,000 square feet to 93,000 square feet –5000 square feet reclaimed from stockrooms and offices and 9000 from the removal of furniture.

The Winnipeg store conversion, in Polo Park, “allows us to move forward with our merchandising plans in order to re-open this location along with the five additional Eatons locations as Sears stores in August,” said chairman and ceo Mark Cohen.

The store will remain open throughout the conversion process, offering a complete assortment of merchandise categories, such as electronics, major appliances, hardware and mattresses. In addition, this store, along with the other five former Eatons locations and approximately 13 other larger Sears stores, will form the basis of a Sears “select” strategy, offering customers a broader assortment of better fashion merchandise.

In February, when the company announced its intention to convert its seven Eatons locations to Sears, it operated both Sears and Eatons in Polo Park. The decision on which store was to become Sears had not at that time been reached.

“The existing Sears store at Polo Park will remain open until the end of August and focus on clearing summer merchandise”, explained Cohen. “A decision regarding the future of this store, which we own, has not yet been determined.”

Sears Canada operates a network of 125 department stores, 37 furniture and appliances stores, over 2100 catalog pick-up locations, 134 dealer stores, 17 outlet stores, 39 floor covering centers, 52 auto centers and 109 Sears Travel offices. It is 55 percent owned by Sears Roebuck & Co. (Hoffman Estates, Ill.). In May, the company won the hand of Martha Stewart from rival Zellers, becoming the exclusive Canadian retailer for her housewares line.