Sears Canada Tries A New Store Format

Sears Canada unveiled a new store design at Promenade Mall on Tuesday, aimed at consumers who feel left behind as the marketplace vies for shoppers in the luxury sector. “This is about re-inventing a company. This is our canvas,” said Sears Canada executive chairman Brandon Stranzl, leading tours of a store that he called a beta design — something to build on and finesse as it is rolls out to other locations. Sears Canada now operates 95 department stores across the country after exiting certain prime locations in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary. The Promenade Sears in Thornhill is half the size it used to be, unfurling across one polished concrete floor instead of two storys. All the carpets have been removed, and the shelves and space dividers are on wheels, making it easier to create and collapse departments depending on what’s selling and what’s not — the same principle underpinning the layout at the new Nordstrom at Toronto’s Eaton Centre. Read more at The Star.