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rfmcdonaldThe last time before today that I visited Sears Canada's Eaton Centre store was in December, after the announcement of the store's closure by the end of February. I was interested in visiting it with my parents on their visit, and we three visited a once-great department store. I got a pair of jeans for cheap, and my mother bought a pair of gloves (though not without having to paw through a bin for the right one).
I'd read the press of the steadily emptying store, pieces like Dakshana Bascaramurty's article in The Globe and Mail from the 8th of this month or Francine Kopun's Toronto Star article from the 21st. (I quote below from Kopun's article.)
Today at 4 o'clock, I decided to pay a visit and see what there was to be seen.
Looking at the south end of Sears in the Eaton Centre, on the last day of its operation, the emptiness of the store is visible.
The emptiness is visible at the north entrance to the store, too.
The only items left for sale were deeply discounted store fixtures.
The once-crowded cosmetics area was empty, only denuded fixtures visible.
The escalators were silent.
The -1 level was the only level apart from the main floor that was accessible, and its polished alleys stretched out uninterrupted by things like merchandise.
These fixtures were apparently destined for the Peterborough Sears, itself according to a Peterborough Examiner article from this January about to face job cuts.
I'd read the press of the steadily emptying store, pieces like Dakshana Bascaramurty's article in The Globe and Mail from the 8th of this month or Francine Kopun's Toronto Star article from the 21st. (I quote below from Kopun's article.)
At the Eaton Centre Sears on Friday, mannequins wrapped in bubble paper, looking like mummies, were leaned up against fixtures, bearing new destinations scrawled in black marker. They’re being shipped to Moncton and Peterborough and to suburban GTA stores.
Sears plans to focus on stores in smaller cities and suburbs.
Located at one of Canada’s best retail addresses, in a mall that is also a tourist attraction overlooking Yonge-Dundas Square, the Sears that was once an Eaton’s will reopen as a smaller Nordstrom in 2016.
[. . .]
Sears Canada remains 51 per cent owned by Sears Holdings Corporation in the U.S. Sears Holdings is run by hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, who has been accused of squeezing profits out of Canadian operations to return to shareholders – himself included – in the form of handsome dividends.
Outside the Eaton Centre on Friday, Sarah Chandler, 40, mourned the loss of the downtown Sears location. She shops at Sears for everything, including clothes for her son, furniture and jewellery.
She likes the selection, quality and price and…Sears was everywhere.
“I think it’s really sad, it’s the end of an era,” said Chandler, a facilities manager for United Way.
Today at 4 o'clock, I decided to pay a visit and see what there was to be seen.
Looking at the south end of Sears in the Eaton Centre, on the last day of its operation, the emptiness of the store is visible.
The emptiness is visible at the north entrance to the store, too.
The only items left for sale were deeply discounted store fixtures.
The once-crowded cosmetics area was empty, only denuded fixtures visible.
The escalators were silent.
The -1 level was the only level apart from the main floor that was accessible, and its polished alleys stretched out uninterrupted by things like merchandise.
These fixtures were apparently destined for the Peterborough Sears, itself according to a Peterborough Examiner article from this January about to face job cuts.
