After being open for more than 40 years, the Sears outlet in Thompson is closing its doors for good.
While Sears Canada has been struggling for some time now, all their issues came to a head on Oct. 10 when the retail titan announced that they would be seeking court approval to shut down all of their remaining stores across the country, including their location in the Hub of the North.
“It’s not sinking in yet that it’s going to be completely over,” said owner Hekuran Vlahna.“I’m so used to seeing people all the time and dealing with people all the time. It’s like a daily thing. I know most of the customers by name.”
This news comes on the heels of Sears Canada’s well-documented money troubles over the past couple years, which eventually led to failed attempts at restructuring and the liquidation of 59 stores this past summer
Despite this persistent economic instability, Vlahna said that his store has managed to turn a tidy profit since he took it over in 2010. This is due to the fact that they not only serve Thompson, but also act as a lifeline to smaller northern communities who can’t access quality furniture and appliances except in Thompson.
“Here in town we were actually doing really good,” said Vlahna. “Every year we increase our sales. It’s just that, nationally, the big stores are not doing well. That’s where all the money is and they had no choice but to shut down.”
Even though no official closing date has been set as of right now, Vlahna said their liquidation sales will continue, with the hopes that all their inventory will be gone before the end of December.
While the shutdown announcement blindsided many Canadians, it didn’t come as a surprise to sales associate Rita Cummings, one of the approximately 12,000 Sears Canada employees who will be out of job in the not too distant future.
As someone who’s been working at this local Sears store for the last 34 years, including at its previous location at the Thompson Plaza, Cummings could tell that something was wrong when head office kept shortchanging them on inventory.
“I remember when you couldn’t even find a place to put most of the stuff that came into the store,” she said. “And now… all of a sudden, 40 boxes in a day is gone to 16 little parcels in a week. That’s what happened in a year.”
Even though there are a variety of reasons why Sears Canada is folding in 2017, Cummings feels a big part of the organization’s failure is a consumer base that is increasingly looking to buy things on the web.
“There’s way too much online, Amazon and that kind of thing, and Sears didn’t change with the times,” she said, alluding to Sears Canada’s attempts to institute a more user friendly approach to e-commerce in 2016. “I think it was too late and they’re saying that to themselves.”
As liquidation sales continue throughout the country, Cummings has mixed feelings about the whole affair.
While she finally has an excuse to retire, the veteran sales associate said she’ll definitely miss her customers, Vlahna and Sears-specific consumer rituals like ordering gifts for her family at Christmas.
“I have bought pajamas every year for Christmas for all seven of my grandchildren for 22 years from Sears,” said Cummings. “This is will be the first year that I don’t because there isn’t going to be one.”
As for Vlahna, once everything wraps up he is going to focus on his construction business instead of investing in another retail franchise.
Like many local business owners, Vlahna is wary about the uncertainty surrounding Vale’s mining operations, which might make renting out their current location at 117 Commercial Place a little bit difficult. But even though the future is uncertain, Vlahna still thinks that his journey into the world of retail was worth it in the end.
“I just want to thank all the customers and everybody for all their business,” he said. “I never did retail before in my life, and I owned different businesses when I was younger, but I got so used to it and I really liked doing it.”
Currently, Sears Canada is in the process of closing down its remaining 130 locations across the country. Liquidation sales went into full effect on Oct. 19, although many customers have complained about the apparent lack of discounts.
