By Geoff Smith (@smithco on Twitter) and the Canadian Press

Lethbridge survives list of Sears store closures

Jun 22, 2017 | 9:51 AM

LETHBRIDGE — Sears Canada plans to close 59 stores across Canada as part of a restructuring effort. But its Lethbridge location will remain open.

The department store chain announced Thursday, June 22 that it has been granted protection from its creditors, to allow it to continue its restructuring efforts. Sears went on to announce its intent to eliminate 2,900 positions in its retail locations and head office.

20 “full-line” Sears locations are slated to close, including Medicine Hat, Grande Prairie, Red Deer, and Lloydminster. Also closing are 14 “Hometown” stores, including Okotoks and six others in Alberta; ten “Outlet” stores; and 15 Sears Home locations, including Calgary and one in Edmonton.

Absent from the list of closures is the Sears store in Lethbridge’s Park Place Mall. The company said all stores not on the list continue to be open.

Under the plan, Sears Canada has been authorized by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to obtain up to $450 million in financing to maintain operations throughout the restructuring.

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The struggling retailer has piled up losses over several years and seen its stock dive, losing more than 80 per cent of its value in the last year, despite efforts to reinvent itself at a time.

Headquartered in Toronto, Sears Canada had 94 department stores, 23 Sears Home stores and 10 outlets prior to the CCAA restructuring.

It says it hopes to exit court protection as soon as possible in 2017.

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