This weekend marks the end of an era in Canadian retail.
Bargain shoppers have been taking advantage of their liquidation sales for months, but tomorrow, all Sears stores across Canada will go dark for good.
The 80 percent off signs have brought people in and out of the Barrie store all day. Tomorrow, this store and the one in Newmarket, will close.
“As a young boy, 50 years ago, my parents always shopped at Sears. And here we are, decades later and it’s closing. So sad to see,” says shopper Jim Smith.
CTV Barrie spoke with a number of long-time customers who say they are greatly disappointed by the closure.
“I’m sad. When I was first married in 1967, the very first credit card I ever got was a Sears credit card. We just have a long history with Sears,” says Anne Worts.
Many of them, nostalgic about their time spent walking through the store.
“We love Sears. I’ve been a loyal Sears shopper for years, and I’m sorry to see it go,” remembers Smith.
Liquidation sales started at Sears’ 130 stores in Canada at the end of October.
The closure has brought employment to thousands. Some twelve thousand people have lost their jobs in the retail giant’s shuttering.
Some shoppers tell us it’s simply a sign of the times.
“People aren’t buying at retail stores anymore, it’s all moving online,” says one shopper at Georgian Mall in Barrie.
