Sears Canada to slash prices on many products by 20-30%.
Sears Canada is being forced to come up with a new plan now that Target is knocking on Canada’s door. The large retailer of clothing, appliances, outdoor equipment, children’s clothing and more, will cut prices and set their focus on their big ticket items such as those mentioned above.
The announcement of lowering prices of over 5,000 products by 20-30 percent was released on Thursday. The arrival of Target next year is most likely one of the reasons for the changes. Another being that Sears Canada has seen revenue decreasing every year since 2006.
Last year Sears Canada hired a new chief executive, Calvin McDonald, to set forth a new plan. He hope his three-year plan provides some positive change and helps the company be competitive. Some of the plans include getting rid of extra inventory, improving some of the older stores and improving their pricing strategy.
To dissect the pricing strategy aspect a little further, McDonald said Sears Canada will not only drop 20-30 percent of many products that are bought most frequently by customers, but also initiate a price-cutting program on a weekly basis including “WOW” items. These are products that are good one-time offers received from deals Sears had received from suppliers or such.
Business experts are not all feeling this move will be Sears Canada’s path to success. Some think it may be a little too late as the company did not change any policies when the world’s biggest retailer Wal-Mart came into the picture in Canada. Had they have re-vamped their pricing strategy at that time perhaps their sales would not have diminished.
However, as Wal-mart, specialty clothing stores and Canadian Tire continue to fight for their spot in the Canadian buyers pockets, Target is preparing to open 135 stores in the country starting mid-2013. The locations of these massive retail outlets are generally located in major urban areas where Sears Canada has 122 department stores.
The company has laid off approximately 470 employees since December in the food services and head office areas. Even though this shows they are moving on a new path, the savings of $10-15 million a year may not be enough to compete with these other giants. Sears Canada is hoping better prices will create more sales enabling them to compete. I guess we’ll have to watch and see.
Faye Joyce has written 108 articles on EpostMedia.
I live in the Northern BC. We have always ordered from the Sear’s catalogue, but no more!
We are fed up with speaking to customer service reps in the Phillipines. While their English is good, their manners are impeccable, their comprehension of the English langauge is not. As long as the item you order is in stock exactly as you order it, everything is fine. If the color is out of stock or the size, confusion reigns! I also do no like being told I can pick- up in Grande Praire, AB when I live 2.5 hours away. Really! I have a Sear’s applaince store in my small town where I can pick – up.