EVERYTHING MUST GO!

Sears Canada hopes to begin liquidating 45 stores slated for closure by July 21,

Retailer lays down preferred timeline for closings

Sears Canada hopes to begin liquidating 45 stores slated for closure beginning on July 21, according a legal motion to be submitted in court as the company struggles to restructure under creditor protection.

The stores are expected to remain open during normal hours of operation until their respective vacate dates, but not later than Oct. 12, according to the legal motion, which has not yet been approved by the court.

The motion could be heard as early as Thursday, along with numerous other motions related to the company’s insolvency, including one to allow Sears Canada to stop funding the company’s $267-million pension deficit.

Sears Canada obtained protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act on June 22, as it tries to remain afloat by downsizing and restructuring. In all, 59 stores are slated for closure.

The14 Hometown Dealer stores being closed will be allowed to run their own liquidation sales because they are independently owned and operated.

The motion specifies how the sales are to be conducted: advertising “everything on sale,” “everything must go” and “store closing” will all be permitted.

In all, 20 full-line Sears department stores will be closed, none of them in the GTA.

A further 15 Sears Home stores will be closed, including locations in Scarborough, Ancaster, London, Windsor, Woodbridge, Orillia, Sudbury and Kingston. There is only one Sears Hometown store closing in Ontario, in Orangeville.