Approximately 2,900 Canadians will lose their jobs following Sears Canada’s announcement of 59 store closures across the country Thursday.
The reeling retail giant plans to close five stores in B.C. including shops in Creston, Sechelt, Grand Forks, Abbotsford, and a department store in a Kamloops mall.
Sears announced no plans to close its 125,000-square-foot shop at Capilano Mall.
Speaking to Business in Vancouver reporter Frank O’Brien recently, Capilano Mall property manager Bentall Kennedy representative Courtney Lewis appeared nonplussed about the possibility of a large vacancy.
“We’ve just started to think about it,” she said.
Mall representatives did not respond to North Shore News interview requests by press time.
News of the closures – which are slated to hit every province except Prince Edward Island – appeared to exacerbate the company’s plunging stock price. The stock opened at 34 cents on Thursday. In July of 2016 the stock spiked at $3.41.
Sears Canada recently reported net losses of $144 million in the first quarter of 2017. Despite strong in-store sales, the retailer suffered online problems including not having products available on their website. The first-quarter report advised of plans for 14 new stores by the end of 2017.
Sears Canada is seeking protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act during restructuring. However, the restructuring is expected to be accomplished without director of the corporation Shahir Guindi, whose resignation was announced Thursday, citing “time constraints in his schedule.”
