Sunday, August 24, 2014

Will struggling Sears stick around for revamped Brentwood?

With Sears seeing serious sales struggles over the past few years, the question begs; will it still be around for the revitalization of Brentwood Town Centre?  The anchor tenant, situated at the eastern end of the mall occupying the 3 floors of the old Eatons, has had a major geographic presence but low sales volumes for a long time.

The store seems to be out of touch with the retail needs of shoppers in 2014.  A quick search in Google News will result in numerous articles about Sears' struggles and about how it is currently exploring selling a majority stake of its shares after having already sold a large portion of its assets last year.

The Metrotown location will see a redevelopment initiated by Sears on the massive site that it owns and occupies there.

If it does move out of Brentwood Mall, what might we see taking up shop in the 3 level space the Sears currently occupies?  That part of the mall site is expected to have a relatively "quieter" commercial square which will likely include a supermarket.




Related articles below

Struggling Sears Canada swings to loss as revenue slides


Globe and Mail

Reuters
Published 
Last updated 
Struggling department store chain Sears Canada Inc reported its ninth loss in 14 quarters as sales continued to decline.

Same-store sales fell 6.8 per cent in the second quarter ended Aug. 2. 
Same-store sales at Sears’s home and hardlines business dropped 9.3 per cent.

The company blamed the slump partly on a relatively cold spring.

Total revenue fell 12 per cent to $845.8-million, said Sears Canada, whose sales have declined for six straight years.
The company, which traces its Canadian roots back to the early 1950s, has lost market share to aggressive U.S. rivals such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Target Corp.
It has eliminated about 3,000 positions since November, closed many stores and sold several of its most valuable leases over the past year, including one for its flagship store at Toronto Eaton Center.
Hedge fund billionaire Eddie Lampert and his Sears Holdings Corp said in May they were looking to sell their 51 per cent stake in Sears Canada.
Buyout firm Sycamore Partners was considering a bid for Sears Canada, New York Post reported this month.
Second-quarter operating loss widened to $64.2-million from $5.3-million a year ago, Sears Canada said.
The company reported a net loss of $21.3-million, or 21 cents per share, compared with a profit of $152.8-million, or $1.50 per share, a year earlier.
The year-ago quarter’s profit included a one-time pretax gain of $185.7-million.


Leader-Telegram

Sears may close more stores
Posted: Friday, August 22, 2014 12:00 am
By McClatchy-Tribune


HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. - Sears Holdings said Thursday its loss widened significantly in the second quarter and announced it may close additional stores on top of the 130 closures already under way this year.

Sears lost $573 million, or $5.39 per share, during the quarter that ended Aug. 2, nearly three times the loss of $194 million, or $1.83 per diluted share, during the same period last year. Adjusting for one-time items, its loss was $313 million, or $2.87 per diluted share.
It is the ninth consecutive quarter that the once-mighty retailer has reported losses as it attempts to transform itself from a traditional department store into a member-centric shopping service driven by its Shop Your Way rewards program.
Revenues also continued their eight-year tumble, down 10 percent to $8 billion for the quarter from $8.9 billion last year, largely because of the loss of Lands' End business after that company spun off from Sears earlier this year, as well as having fewer Sears and Kmart stores in operation, weak performance in Sears Canada, and a decline in sales in existing stores.
The results missed expectations on Wall Street, where analysts on average had estimated a loss of $2.63 per diluted share and revenue of $8.13 billion.
Efraim Levy, an equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ, said he was disappointed by Sears' estimates that its store closures will lead to $1 billion in sales losses and only $25 million in improved profitability.
"With all the money they are losing, you'd think they have more losses that they could get rid of by closing certain stores," said Levy, who has a strong sell opinion on Sears Holdings shares. In better news, Sears was able to reduce its pension obligations, which frees up cash.
"You won't (see) a profitable Sears on the scale that the company is currently operating. They have to slim down a lot to get back to profitability."

2 comments:

  1. Let 'em die... Nordstorm is what we need there

    ReplyDelete
  2. The stores should start working on fulfilling the needs of the retailers, as they are the key to success probably.

    ReplyDelete