‘I’m sorry to see it closing’: Sad shoppers lament Sears closing

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This article was published 21/06/2017 (2500 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shoppers roamed the Sears outlet in north Winnipeg, hunting for bargains Thursday in the wake of the company’s announcement it would be shuttering dozens stores and laying off thousands of people in the coming months.

The mood inside the Garden City Shopping Centre location remained all business, if tinged with a little melancholy, as shoppers eyed everything from riding lawn mowers to clothing.

The McPhillips Street location is one of 59 across the country that will be closed as Sears Canada enters a restructuring under legal protection from its creditors, the company said. The move will put an unknown number of its 70-plus full- and part-time employees out of work.

“We’re not supposed to talk to anybody,” one sales associate told a reporter, referring further questions to store management.

“We will not be making a statement,” said an employee in the store’s administration office, referring all questions to the company’s Ontario-based media specialist.

On the other side of the bill, Thursday’s news brought out both the curious and the loyal.

“I’m not a big Sears shopper, but I thought I’d take a look and see if there were any additional specials or anything being offered because of the announcement,” said Audrey, who asked to have her last name not published.

“It’s unfortunate… even with the restructuring there’s going to be massive layoffs. If they’re not able to save it, it’s going to be worse.”

Carol Grierson, an area resident who heard the announcement Thursday morning, pondered the future of the longtime Canadian retail icon and the Garden City mall as she carried her Sears purchases to her car.

“This is not a surprise this is happening. (News of the company’s financial woes) has been around for a long time,” she said. “And there are so many other competitors.

“Unfortunately, its going to be closing and I feel that’s going to impact this mall,” she said. “We shopped here regularly… I don’t know how it is going to affect this area, in that its quite a bit to travel (to another Sears), especially for the elderly, who seem to like it.

“It is sad because our generation knew Sears, Eaton’s, and these two department stores are closed” or closing.

“The brand name (means) something,” Audrey agreed. “My mother-in-law shops (at Sears) on a regular basis.

However, “I phoned and left a message for two people I know to make sure if they have any gift certificates or loyalty points of any kind to make sure they get in and cash them.”

Waiting for her husband outside the building’s McPhillips Street doors — now bearing signs the entrance is closed on a permanent basis and directing shoppers to the north-end access — Joyce Tarnowski echoed the sentiments.

“I’m sorry to see it closing. I may be a customer that doesn’t shop often enough here, but I’m sorry to see it close,” said the Gimli resident, who described herself as a semi-regular Sears customer.

“Years ago, when I lived in the city, it was a regular spot. I knew this mall inside out,” she said with a laugh, adding on a sombre note: “I don’t know how the mall is going to do afterwards.”

scott.emmerson@freepress.mb.ca