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TORONTO, Oct. 16, 2017 /CNW/ - Sears Canada Inc. ("Sears Canada", "Sears" or the "Company") is announcing that it has received approval from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (Commercial List) (the "Court") to proceed with a liquidation of all of its inventory and furniture, fixtures and equipment located at its remaining stores (the "Liquidation Sales").
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The Liquidation Sales are expected to commence on October 19.
Sears Canada and certain of its subsidiaries (the "Sears Canada Group") were granted an Initial Order and protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ("CCAA") on June 22, 2017. As authorized by the Court, the Company, with the assistance of its financial advisors, conducted a comprehensive sale and investment solicitation process to seek out proposals for the acquisition of, or investment in, the Sears Canada Group's business, assets and/or leases. Sears Canada received and obtained court approval of going-concern transactions for various lines of business but following exhaustive efforts, no viable transaction for the Company to continue as a going concern has been received to date. Accordingly, Sears Canada, with the recommendation of its advisors and approval of the Monitor, FTI Consulting Inc., sought and received an order authorizing the Company to proceed with the Liquidation Sales.
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The Court also extended the Stay Period to January 22, 2018.
Sears Canada has a long and well-documented history of being a great place to shop and work.  Sears thanks its customers for their loyalty and support since 1953, when it began serving Canadians coast to coast under its then corporate name, Simpsons-Sears Ltd.  Sears also extends heartfelt thanks to its associates, both current and former, who helped build the Company into what was, for much of its existence, Canada's number one retailer, providing great value through quality products, exceptional services and outstanding prices. Sears, thanks to the dedication and hard work of its associates, also earned a reputation of trust and goodwill providing significant financial and moral support to community groups and charitable organizations that reflected the interests of the communities that Sears served. Over the past 18 months, Sears Canada had embarked on a reinvention plan that had begun to gain traction with customers. Unfortunately, despite the outstanding efforts of dedicated associates across the Company, Sears Canada does not have the financial resources to provide it with the time necessary to complete its reinvention.
After October 18, Sears will no longer be in a position to honour Sears Protection Agreements to customers. Most merchandise normally sold by Sears comes with a one-year manufacturer's warranty, which will be available to customers directly from the manufacturers as is presently the case. Refunds on protection agreements will be allowed to customers that have purchased them within the past 30 days per normal procedures. Servicing on furniture and mattresses under the Guardsman (Valspar) protection plan will continue to be honoured in accordance with the protection plan documentation provided to customers at time of purchase. Delivery service will continue to be available until November 30, 2017. The Company will continue to accept Sears gift cards and redeem Sears Club Points during the liquidation period. During the liquidation period, all sales will be final and not returnable or exchangeable. Sears continues to seek a purchaser for the Sears Canada Product Repair Services (PRS) business but the terms upon which an acquirer of that business would provide services to Sears customers are not known at this time.
Leadership Announcement
Brandon G. Stranzl has resigned from the Board of Directors. In light of the liquidation, his services are no longer required as Executive Chairman. The Company thanks Brandon for his service to Sears Canada and wishes him well in the future.
Additional Information
The contractual joint venture ("JV") of Gordon Brothers Canada ULC, Hilco Global (through its Canadian division, Merchant Retail Solution ULC), Tiger Capital Group, LLC and Great American Group , LLC (through its Canadian division GA Retail Canada ULC) has been retained by the Company to operate the Liquidation Sales at all of its full-line and Sears Home locations. The JV group has significant experience in Canada, having conducted the liquidation sale in the Sears Canada stores previously announced for closing this summer as well as liquidation sales for other retailers in Canada including Target Stores, Express and BCBG.
Copies of Sears Canada's motion materials are available on the Monitor's website at http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/searscanada. Information regarding the CCAA process may also be obtained by calling the Monitor's hotline at 416-649-8113 or 1-855-649-8113 (toll free), or by email at searscanada@fticonsulting.com. Sears Canada will continue to provide updates regarding its restructuring as developments warrant.
About Sears Canada
Sears Canada Inc. is an independent Canadian digital and store-based retailer whose head office is in Toronto.  The Company operates as a separate entity from its U.S.-based co-founder, now known as Sears Holdings Corp., based in Illinois.
Forward Looking Information
Certain matters set forth in this news release including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the Sears Canada Group's CCAA application and proceedings are forward looking.  These forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on certain assumptions, including assumptions as to future operating conditions and courses of action, restructuring alternatives, economic conditions, and other factors that management believes are appropriate.  Such forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in these statements, including the risk that the restructuring may be protracted as well as those risks and uncertainties identified under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in Sears Canada's management's discussion and analysis for the 52-week period ended January 28, 2017, and for the 13-week period ended April 29, 2017, available at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this news release, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them, either publicly or otherwise, to reflect new events, information or circumstances.

Bulk Inventory Buyers
In the age of the Internet, it's adapt or die for many brick-and-mortar retailers. Sears looks like it's closer to the latter and here's why. USA TODAY
The power of a brand is that it can instantly give consumers the impression of quality and consistency. A great brand is an assurance that a product or service is worth the asking price and more.
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However, when a brand goes bad, it can be caught in a negative feedback loop that the company, despite its best efforts, can't escape. The five household names below are in this predicament, and it may only be a matter of time before they disappear.
Kmart
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While the whole structure of Sears Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) looks like it's teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, Kmart may be the division of the company that succumbs first — the lamb that's sacrificed in an effort to save the Sears brand.
Although Kmart is actually performing slightly better than Sears, relatively speaking, the Kmart chain has endured the largest number of store closures over the past year. At the end of the second quarter in July, there were 273 fewer Kmart stores operating than there were in the year-ago period, while Sears had 69 fewer stores.
Sears chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert swore last year he wasn't shuttering the Kmart chain despite all appearances to the contrary, saying that as long as one store remained profitable, there would always be one open. Though the chain still shows an operating profit at the moment and its sales aren't declining as quickly as Sears', it's still being dramatically downsized, and it may ultimately shrink to the point of disappearing.
Shoppers walk toward a Kmart store on August 24, 2017 in Elmhurst, Illinois. Sears Holdings Corporation, the owner of Kmart, said today it was planning on closing another 28 Kmart store including this Elmhurst location.   (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images, 2017 Getty Images)
The Limited
The Limited was once a popular working woman's clothing brand owned by Limited Brands, which also owns Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. But the parent company must have seen the writing on the wall when it sold The Limited to private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners. The Limited ended up closing every single one of its 250 brick-and-mortar stores and firing 4,000 employees, with the intent to move all its inventory online.
It's not an unprecedented move. Kenneth Cole shut down its physical operations and went all in as an online-only store, as did women's fashion outlet Bebe. Filene's Basement, after declaring bankruptcy, was revived by Macy's (NYSE: M) in 2015 as an online-only discount site.
In mid-January, however, The Limited declared bankruptcy and was subsequently purchased by private-equity firm Sycamore Partners. Just last month, The Limited products were made available for purchase once again on its own website, but whether it can remain viable is anybody's guess.
Mattel
Toymaker Mattel (NASDAQ: MAT) is reeling from the poor retail environment that caused Toys R Us to go bankrupt, as well as Hollywood's bust of a summer blockbuster season. So bad was its third-quarter earnings report that it ended up suspending its dividend, a step few companies take unless they're in truly dire straits.
Mattel just can't sell its dolls anymore. Worldwide sales of Barbie were down 7%, American Girl dolls were down 30%, and other girl dolls like Monster High and Polly Pocket were down 42%. Things haven't gone well for Mattel since Disney stripped it of the Frozen and Princess line of dolls and gave them to archrival Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) last year.
Hasbro may now be able to acquire its competitor at a low price. Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean the Mattel name would live on; it's the toys and the games that have value, while the Mattel brand could be allowed to expire.
A woman photographs a wall of Barbie dolls in the Mattel display at the annual Toy Fair, February 14, 2010 in New York.   (Photo: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images, This content is subject to copyright.)
J.C. Penney
The once venerable department store chain J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) is circling the drain right along with Sears. The retailer had briefly shown signs of a comeback, but its recently released third-quarter earnings report fueled speculation that all of the changes it made may have been for naught.
After being upended by efforts to drag the aged department store into the 21st century, J.C. Penney undid virtually all the new-era improvements that had been made, and the chain's finances appeared to have stabilized. However, amid a severe slump in sales, the company recently decided to "reset" its women's apparel department by liquidating much of the inventory. Given that this segment accounts for a quarter of J.C. Penney's revenue, that inventory dump did little to inspire confidence in the company's turnaround efforts.
Unlike Sears, which can dip into the deep pockets of its hedge fund chairman to stay afloat, J.C. Penney is bereft of benefactors. As Amazon.com positions itself to become the biggest apparel retailer in the market, the outcome for this shopping-mall mainstay looks bleak.
Bed Bath & Beyond
It was expected that when Linens n Things went bankrupt, Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) would pick up the ball and keep running downfield. Instead, Amazon suddenly became a viable competitor to home goods retailers, even as mass merchandisers like Walmart, Costco, and Target expanded their selections.
Bed Bath & Beyond also made a major mistake in almost completely ignoring the online space. It wasn't until late in the game that it made a concerted effort to build up its e-commerce presence, and even then it got distracted, creating failed "flash sale" site One King's Lane and branching out into more categories that are far afield from its core competency.
In addition to Buybuy Baby, Christmas Tree Shops, Harmon Face Value, and Cost Plus World Market, it also owns Of a Kind, PersonalizationMall.com, Chef Central, Decorist, and Linen Holdings. And now there are more competitors encroaching on its territory, such as At Home, a sprawling home decor supercenter.
In the wake of its niche's upheaval, Bed Bath & Beyond may have made itself superfluous.
Sign at a Bed Bath & Beyond store on April 10, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.    (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images, 2013 Getty Images)
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Rich Duprey has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Hasbro, and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool recommends Costco Wholesale. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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