Sears Canada announced Thursday that it had sought and obtained creditor protection, which will lead to dozens of stores across the country closing, and thousands of jobs lost.
Under the court-supervised restructuring, Sears said 59 locations in Canada will be closed, and about 2,900 jobs will be cut.
The company has been granted temporary protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The company, that opened its first Canadian location in 1953 and became a mainstay for shoppers through catalogue sales, made the announcement in a statement Thursday.
It appears struggles for the company have come to a head.
In the last year, Sears Canada stock has lost more than 80 percent of its value, piling up losses.
Meanwhile, the company has been trying to change things up in a time when more and more Canadians are turning to online shopping instead of going into stores.
At the same time, there have been a number of changes in leadership.
Sears also released the list of all stores to be closed as a result of this action.
Of the 59 stores set to shutter across Canada, 14 are in Alberta:
- Edmonton Skyview (Sears Home)
- Calgary (Sears Home)
- Cold Lake (Sears Hometown)
- St. Albert (Sears Hometown)
- Okotoks (Sears Hometown)
- Spruce Grove (Sears Hometown)
- Fort McMurray (Sears Hometown)
- Leduc (Sears Hometown)
- Sherwood Park (Sears Hometown)
- Medicine Hat (Sears)
- Grande Prairie (Sears)
- Lloydminster (Sears)
- Red Deer Relocation (Sears)
The company is also planning to continue restructuring, and has been allowed to obtain financing, up to $450 million to maintain operations while undergoing changes.
The company said it hopes to be out of court protection in 2017.
With files from Susan Amerongen
