Sears Canada moved a step nearer to permanent closure after several attempts to find a buyer failed, with the retailer saying it will seek court approval on Friday to shutter its remaining 130 stores, leaving 12,000 employees without jobs, Reuters reported yesterday. Sears Canada, which began operations in Canada in 1952, expects liquidation sales to begin on about Oct. 19, and continue for 10 to 14 weeks, the Toronto-based company said yesterday. Weighed down by over C$1.1 billion ($879 million) in liabilities, almost matching its assets, and falling sales every quarter since it was spun off from Sears Holdings in 2012, Sears Canada filed for creditor protection in June. It laid out a restructuring plan that included cutting 2,900 jobs and closing roughly a quarter of its stores. It last week won court approval to close 11 stores and sell some businesses, and to extend creditor protection to Nov. 7. The only takeover bid that offered some hope of keeping Sears Canada afloat failed, with creditors arguing that liquidation would yield a better payout than to keep the company solvent.
