Sears Canada (1952-2017)

[ShonTron]

The latest version of the Globe article states: "The CCAA plan calls for dropping product categories that have long been associated with the Sears brand, such as home appliances, tools, electronics and auto parts."

The only reason most people I know ever go to Sears is for appliances. No more of that. Sears will increasingly = Winners, but with its own in-house brands thrown in.

Like I said before, Sears sounds like it's going the way of Montgomery Ward.

 

[Consilium]

Landlords (and even suppliers) won't want another Target.

I would attribute Target Canada's failure to opening stores promptly without listening to the community response, as well as not properly stocking shelves. I think I would put Sears' decline to not being able to generate enough sales to sustain the market (don't tell me I'm wrong if I am.) However, I do know that Target Canada had massive losses from what was mentioned at the top of this post.

 

[Bruno Republic]

I would attribute Target Canada's failure to opening stores promptly without listening to the community response, as well as not properly stocking shelves.

Ultimately everything cascaded from them starting off nationally instead of regionally, which meant that every little teething problem they encountered became a huge problem. But the specifics was a colossal logistics failure traced back to using new-to-Target systems which weren't configured or functioning properly. On the American side, it's a well-oiled custom-built machine, but they couldn't use this in Canada for a number of reasons. So they went with off-the-shelf systems without really checking if they would work, and we all saw the results.

As for Sears, they would've had challenges regardless, but not like this. Lampert's refusal to invest in the stores, thinking that reduced capital expenditures would compensate for lower sales, made them such unpleasant environments to be in that it felt like they'd already gone out of business years ago. As with Target, empty shelves and merchandise in disarray is retail poison.

 

[Skeezix]

I wasn't comparing Target to Sears; merely saying that landlords (and even suppliers) who suffered through the loss of Target may have an interest in helping maintain Sears as an ongoing concern.

 

[Bruno Republic]

Oh, and Lampert's belief that a major retail chain would be well-served by using Objectivist principles as a management guide was another factor.

 

[Amare]

Here's a video that shows how ruthless they were with some of the layoffs:

 

[jje1000]

The only reason most people I know ever go to Sears is for appliances. No more of that. Sears will increasingly = Winners, but with its own in-house brands thrown in.

Is there any room in the retail market for another Winners-eque competitor?

 

[Skeezix]

Maybe. The off-price market is growing. But Sears has neither the expertise, the business arrangements, nor the deep pockets of TJX.

 

[ShonTron]

Here's a video that shows how ruthless they were with some of the layoffs:

Brutal.

 

[AlbertC]

Laid-off workers 'very, very upset' as Sears restructuring cuts off severance pay

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/sears-employees-complaints-1.4190110

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Laid-off workers 'very, very upset' as Sears restructuring cuts off severance pay

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/sears-employees-complaints-1.4190110

Pretty disgusting.

AoD

 

[Skeezix]

Pretty disgusting.

Disgusting is a good word to describe it. It's appalling that they fired thousands of people at the end of June without severance, as they entered CCAA, but it's egregious that they have also gone back and ended severance for long-time employees that had already been terminated some time back.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Disgusting is a good word to describe it. It's appalling that they fired thousands of people at the end of June without severance, as they entered CCAA, but it's egregious that they have also gone back and ended severance for long-time employees that had already been terminated some time back.

I think bankruptcy laws maybe ripe for some reform.

AoD

 

[Skeezix]

Agreed. Particularly where a company is using insolvency to restructure and remain an ongoing concern. As is the case here.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Agreed. Particularly where a company is using insolvency to restructure and remain an ongoing concern. As is the case here.

No kidding, especially with regards to using it to discharge existing obligations. Perhaps the company should be legally obligated to encumber and transfer severance funds into an independent trust prior to triggering these mechanisms - if not at the point of severance itself.

And of course, who would want to keep working for Sears Canada now on anything beyond a paycheque to paycheque basis?

AoD