Despite selling its Metrotown property to Concord Pacific, Sears Canada has no immediate plans to close the store, according to CEO Ron Boire.
"We have a long-term lease here. Concord has plans to redevelop the area, so we’ll see how those plans come together in the coming years," he told the NOW. "We’re still excited about being here and about serving this market."
Sears is in the midst of selling three of its properties to the Concord Pacific Group of Properties, with the sale going through in June, and then plans to lease the properties back.
Boire came to town recently to celebrate the company’s strong roots in Metrotown, he said.
“We’ve been here since 1954,” he said. “We were here before there was a ‘here’ here.”
Boire took a tour of the Metrotown store last Thursday.
“They have an incredible team here. It’s just a lot of fun to be here with them,” he said. “It’s great to be here with them at the store and hear what’s working and more importantly, what’s not working, and what we’ve got to help them with.”
Boire took over as interim CEO last October and was officially named CEO at the end of January.
"I think the most important thing for a department store is to be special," he said regarding the retail industry. "Really it’s about re-establishing Sears as the place people come for value. We have great products here. We need to tell the story louder and prouder about what we’re really good at."
Sears may see more business now that Target Canada has shut down, but Boire said it's unfortunate that Target employees lost their jobs.
"It’s always sad to see that happen to so many good people who are working there," he said. "We certainly have an opportunity in some of the categories where they did a good business."
The company is looking at investing in its website and expanding its shopping options, according to Vincent Power, vice-president of corporate affairs and communications.
"We consider ourselves very healthy rivals in the Canadian marketplace," he said. "Other stores that focus on price and discount are at a different place in the spectrum, but I think for us, Canadians are looking for a great value.
"For middle-income Canadians, I think that Sears is still the place for them. For the quality you get it is the best value, for sure," he added.
As for what the future holds for both the Metrotown and Brentwood stores, Sears is taking a wait-and-see approach with regards to the planned property developments, Power said.
The most important thing is to continue to create loyal relationships with customers, according to Art Evans, general manager of Sears at Metrotown.
"So many of our customers are customers that we’ve been serving for decades," he added.
