Sears to focus on key brands, ease returns policy

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This article was published 18/04/2012 (4950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO — Sears Canada will slash apparel offerings as it focuses on key clothing brands and make it easier for customers to return products under a revamp of operations announced Tuesday.

The moves come as the national retailer struggles to overcome losses and forge a strategy ahead of an onset of competition from discount retailers such as Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Target (NYSE:TGT), as well as clothing stores like J. Crew and Marshalls.

“When we look at the market, times are tough. Consumer confidence is low and unemployment is not getting dramatically better,” new chief executive Calvin McDonald said Tuesday at the Sears Canada annual meeting.

“There are a lot of reasons we can sit and point to how and why it’s tough to grow topline, but we don’t look at those factors.”

Instead, the company will focus on improving its product, store presentation and marketing, he said.

The retailer will overhaul long-standing return policies that have sometimes left customers frustrated. It will scrap the 10-day return policies that have existed for years on apparel. It will also stop charging a 20 per cent restocking fee for big ticket items such as appliances, electronics and outdoor power equipment, among others.

Most items will now be returnable for at least 30 days, and store credit will be given to customers who don’t have a receipt.

McDonald was brought on last summer to help reverse the direction of Sears’ faltering operations. The company posted a full-year loss of $60.1 million in 2011 amid weaker sales. He immediately began an initiative to unclutter the stores in an attempt to change the way people think of Sears.

Last month, the company announced three high-profile department stores in Vancouver, Calgary and Ottawa would close by the end of October, affecting some 670 jobs.

While McDonald said Tuesday there are no plans to close further locations, he outlined plenty of other drastic reductions at the company that are part of a three-year plan aimed at transforming operations.

Top of the list is a massive reduction in the number of apparel brands it sells, down to 20 from a staggering 90 brands.

“We just don’t need a plethora of brands that are nominal in size and dollar volume,” he said.

— The Canadian Press