Shoppers saddened

During brisk business at the location on Thursday morning, some shoppers said they were saddened to hear about the chain’s exit from Medicine Hat.

Retail and business analysts say the chain has done a poor job modernizing itself in a marketplace where higher overhead retailers are challenged by online commerce and discount brands.

Medicine Hatter Bernie McKay said Sears is her regular shopping destination and she’s relied on the location for years.

“I’m sad to see it go, I really am,” she said, blaming the local closure on corporate decision making. “I’m not an online shopper. I need to see and touch something when I’m buying it.”

Roy Finlay said he hadn’t made a point to shop at Sears for “about a decade” but he still patronized the travel service.

He and his wife would apply the rewards they earned toward minor purchases, but everyday shopping took them elsewhere.

“We’re in that 60-plus demographic that they were probably relying on,” he said. “But there’s just so much competition.”

Wendy Melnik said each time her grandchildren visit the city from rural areas, they plan a trip to Sears for whatever the toddlers need.

“It is the place to go for baby stuff,” she said.

She’s unhappy she’ll have to rely on grocer retailers such as Walmart or Superstore.

“They just don’t have the selection,” she estimated.

“Where are you going to buy a crib at a reasonable price?”

Analysts say Canadians are shirking bricks-and-mortar in favour of online shopping.

Mark Cohen was the CEO of Sears until 2004 and told The Canadian Press on Thursday its problems are self-inflicted and he believes it has no vision for the future.

“This notion that they’ll come out a stronger, better company is a fantasy because they don’t have a stronger, better strategy,” said Cohen, who teaches retail studies at Columbia University. “You clean up your balance sheet but then what?”

Branding and marketing strategist Tony Chapman said Sears Canada has had difficulty adapting to changing consumer tastes, unlike competitors such as Walmart, Costco and Amazon.

“It was inevitable that a low-cost producer like an Amazon or Walmart is going to eat your lunch, and that’s what happened,” said Chapman.

-- With files from the Canadian Press