Sears Canada to close three stores

Sears Canada Inc. said Friday it is closing three of its stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa as the struggling retailer continues to contend with deteriorating sales and shrinking market share.

The department store chain will sell three of its leases back to Cadillac Fairview Corp. Ltd., for a total of $170-million. Sears plans to shutter all three locations by Oct. 31.

The three stores are in the Vancouver Pacific Centre, Calgary Chinook Centre and Ottawa Rideau Centre shopping malls.

The Sears in Calgary has been open since 1965, while the other two have been operating since 2000.

Employees at these locations will get the chance to apply for jobs at other nearby Sears stores. The company will also consider opening other stores in the affected areas.

“While we had no plans to close stores, the transaction for these three specific locations provides an attractive financial benefit for the company which strategically allows us to drive growth in areas which can be most beneficial,� Calvin McDonald, chief executive with Sears Canada, said in a release.

The move signals the first Canadian closures for Sears, after its U.S. parent announced plans to shut down as many a 120 of its Sears and Kmart stores in January. At the time, Sears said it had no plans to shutter any Canadian locations.

In February, Sears laid off 400 employees in its head office and stores, as part of changes related to Mr. McDonald’s three-year plan to revive the retailer.