Sears Canada to shutter 10 more stores across country

Sears Canada will close another 10 stores across the country in a move which will affect 1,200 employees.

The company announced late Friday night that the stores at Avalon Mall in St. John’s, NL, Fairview Pointe-Claire in Quebec and Polo Park in Winnipeg are all slated to close.

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In addition, three stores in B.C. (Nanaimo North Town Centre; Brentwood Town Centre, Burnaby; Kelowna) and four stores in Ontario (Lime Ridge Mall, Hamilton; Oakville Place; Fairview Mall, North York; Scarborough Town Centre) will also be shuttered along with a Sears Home store in Kelowna.

The number of employees affected by the Sears restructuring now balloons to 4,100 with over 70 stores now on the way out.

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Once a go-to for shoppers, Sears Canada has struggled in recent years despite efforts to change along with the shifting retail landscape.

The department store chain has come under fire for forgoing retirement benefits or severance pay for former employees, while paying $9.2 million in bonuses to keep key employees on board while under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

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The retailer announced a plan in June to close 59 locations across the country. It had planned to finish liquidation sales by Oct. 12.

The company will seek an extension of the stay period to Nov. 7.

— With files from Canadian Press