A Victoria woman is “heartbroken” that the Sears store in the Hillside Shopping Centre will be shutting down.
“I got my fridge, stove, washer and dryer here — all my appliances,” Gwen Armstrong said outside Sears on Friday.
“I feel sorry for the mall managers, too, because I think it is going to be a tremendous loss. It has just been such a family-friendly place.”
Armstrong lives near the Hillside Centre and has been shopping at the nearby Sears for three decades.
“I am heartbroken about it.”
Sears Canada was granted permission by an Ontario Superior Court justice on Friday to liquidate its 130 remaining stores across the country.
The struggling company had decided in June to close 20 major stores plus other related outlets. These included the Nanaimo Sears store with its 104 staff, of which 85 are part time.
Sears at Hillside has 110 employees, 79 of whom work part time.
There are two smaller Sears Hometown Stores on the Island, in Duncan and Parksville. Those staff numbers were not immediately available.
Sears also has other locations on and near Vancouver Island, including at the Royal Oak Plaza, in Mill Bay, Sooke, Pender Island, Mayne Island and Salt Spring Island. These locations are within existing businesses.
Simpson-Sears took on the role of anchor tenant when the Hillside mall opened in 1969.
Outside the Sears store on Friday, Suzan Thompson of Sooke said she is sorry to see Sears come to an end, calling it an “institution” and adding that she likes it because it carries “a little bit of everything.”
“I remember going [to Sears] with my mother and I remember going with my kids.”
These days, though, Thompson does most of her shopping in the West Shore. Even if something is priced lower in the core, she takes into account travelling time and the cost of gas when deciding where to shop.
Greg and Margaret Blaney also like Sears. Margaret likes it because it is a “one-stop” store, and Greg likes its men’s clothing and reasonable prices.
Frank Bourree, of Chemistry Consulting and GT Hiring Solutions, said “chances are extremely good” that current store employees can find new work.
Victoria has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and employers are keen to hire staff.
“Anybody that wants to work will be able to find a job,” he said.
GT has a contract with the province of B.C. to provide employment-servicing, including assisting those needing replacement work, Bourree said.
As for what might become of the Sears footprint in the mall, Bourree wasn’t sure. “Big box stores are challenged by online retailing these days. Finding a replacement for that level of square footage is going to be a real challenge.”
The space is in “fantastic shape,” in a good location, and there is plenty of parking, he said.
“The trend in retailing is for smaller showcase locations and for online sales. That’s where the world of retailing is really going,” Bourree said.
The process of liquidating inventory could start as early as Oct. 19, and continue for 10 to 14 weeks, stretching closing sales across the busy holiday shopping period.
Sears Canada had as many as 17,000 employees in June.
