[LINK] Two links on the problems of American retail chains in Canada

[rfmcdonald]

Sears Canada's issues, as reported by the Hamilton Spectator, seem existential.

Sears Canada, which could be sold by its U.S. parent, saw its net loss more than double in the first quarter as it felt the impacts of shoppers staying away due to a long winter throughout most parts of Canada.

The struggling department store chain reported Wednesday it had losses of $75.2 million, or 74 cents per share, for the three-month period ended May 3. This compared with a loss of $31.2 million, or 31 cents per share, for the same period a year earlier.

"The unseasonable weather had an adverse effect on our revenues," president and chief executive Douglas Campbell said in a statement.

"Sales of spring merchandise were below last year, as winter-like weather was prevalent in most parts of the country well into the new season with cooler temperatures and significantly more snow in many areas," he said.

Campbell said an upside to the cold weather was that it allowed the retailer to clear leftover fall and winter merchandise, "virtually emptying our stockrooms and getting it in front the customer."

Sears Canada Inc. said its net loss included pre-tax expenses of $7.6 million primarily related to severance costs. Also included in net loss for the quarter were pre-tax lease exit costs, warranty and other costs related to such things as the future settlement of retirement benefits, totalling $11.2 million.

Same-store sales, which are stores open for at least a year and are an important metric in the retail industry, decreased by 7.6 per cent year-over-year.

Target Canada, at least in this CBC report, merely seems interested in getting things to work.

Target has sacked the president of its Canadian operations and replaced him with a 15-year veteran of the company's U.S. operations.

Effective immediately, Mark Schindele, 45, who was senior vice-president of merchandising operations, will replace Tony Fisher as head of the Canadian operation.

[. . .]

Target opened more than 100 stores in Canada to much fanfare in late 2012, but the early returns have been underwhelming, with the Canadian unit losing about $1 billion since launch. The company is also trying to recover from a massive data breach in the U.S. that has cost it customer trust.

Canadian shoppers have complained that prices are too high, and the Canadian stores have been wrestling with inventory problems.

"Target came here trying to stoke expectations and they were very successful in that," retail analyst Doug Stephens says. "Their problems began with delivering on the ground."

Stephens says Target ran into a Canadian consumer base eager for the type of a shopping experience it had heard about in the U.S., but the company was quickly plagued by avoidable problems in their supply chain.