Sears faces online calls for boycott
TORONTO — Sears Canada is facing a social media campaign calling for a boycott after the company said it planned to pay millions in bonuses to keep executives on board during restructuring, while not offering severance to laid-off workers.
The retailer’s Facebook page has been flooded with comments from people vowing not to shop at Sears, and the hashtag #BoycottSearsCanada has been gaining traction on Twitter.
Sears Canada, which is operating under court protection from creditors, began liquidation sales on Friday at 59 department and Sears Home stores slated for closure.
The company has said it plans to cut approximately 2,900 jobs, without severance, while paying $9.2 million in retention bonuses to key staff as part of a court-supervised restructuring process.
The deal was met with fierce backlash from social media users, many of whom wanted the retailer to know they were taking their business elsewhere.
Sears Canada declined to comment on the matter.
Retail analyst Bruce Winder said Sears is up against a public relations “storm” that could spell the end of one of Canada’s most trusted brands.
“People don’t like it when big brands behave badly, in their opinion,” Winder said in an interview. “It’s a powder keg for social unrest.”
Winder, who co-founded the Retail Advisors Network, said most consumers are workers themselves and they have long memories when it comes to perceived injustice against people they see as vulnerable, such as retail workers.
He said the boycott could hurt people still working at the stores, but it may not make a difference if the retailer goes out of business.
“I don’t think (Sears) is going to survive this,” said Winder. “Unfortunately, those employees are probably going to find themselves out of work anyway.”
Dan O’Reilly, who is participating in the boycott, said he’s spent tens of thousands of dollars at Sears over the past 35 years, but has been shopping there less in recent years because he’s noticed a decline in customer service, which he said is no surprise given that the company treats its retail workers like “pieces on a game board.”
O’Reilly said he doubts that losing a once-loyal Sears customer will persuade the company to treat its ex-employees any better. The 64year-old retiree acknowledged that the boycott may have an impact on the remaining retail staff at Sears, but said the “writing is on the wall” for the retailer, and he won’t be sad to see his local outlet in St. Catharines shut.
Tracy Brown, who is also boycotting Sears, agreed that the campaign may do little to affect former retail workers. Brown said she wants to hit Sears executives where it hurts: their paycheques.