TORONTO – Tired of buying your kids new back-to-school clothes in September only to find you need to replace them a couple of months later because of a growth spurt? Sears Canada now has a solution for you.
In an effort to regain customers, the troubled retailer is launching the KidVantage Grow Out Guarantee — a program that will allow parents to exchange an article of clothing purchased at Sears for the next size up during the course of the school year.
“Back-to-school shopping can be stressful on parents and on their budget,” Vincent Power, VP of Corporate Affairs and Communication at Sears Canada said in a press release. “The Grow Out Guarantee means parents can buy what fits their kids now and exchange later if needed.”
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According to a Fusion Retail Analytics survey of Canadian parents, 62 per cent of respondents said they purchased larger size clothes to avoid the hassle of their children growing out of items. Seventy-one per cent of those surveyed said the Sears program sounded “appealing.”
Besides helping families save money on clothing, the KidVantage Grow Out Guarantee also supports the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada by donating all returned articles in good condition to clubs across the country.
The Grow Out Guarantee does not replace Sears’ popular KidVantage Lifetime Wear Out Warranty, which covers children’s clothes and footwear from wear and tear as long as a child in the family still fits them. Sears will repair or replace these items with identical or similar items at no charge.
Sears Canada recently reported a $59.1-million net loss for the first quarter as revenues dropped 9.7 per cent from the same period a year earlier. They also announced that chief executive officer Ronald Boire will depart at the end of this summer – less than a year after taking on the job.
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In a June report published by Keith Howlett of Desjardins, the analyst said it was “now or never” for the money-losing chain and predicted the fate of the company would be determined around the 2016 holiday shopping season.
“The next seven quarters are ‘make it or break it’ for Sears Canada,” he wrote. “Our current view is that an operating turnaround is improbable.”
Even with a slew of issues and store closures over the last couple of years, Sears’ physical footprint in Canada is still vast. The company says it currently has 167 corporate stores, 197 Hometown stores, over 1,300 catalogue and online merchandise pick-up locations, 85 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide repair and service network.
-with files from The Canadian Press and Global News’ Jamie Sturgeon.
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