After more than 50 years, Sears Canada is closing its doors in Prince Rupert.
The current Park Avenue location at the intersection known as “five corners” has been open since 2005, and operated by Sal Ferlaino since 2010. The franchise’s will be open until Oct. 28 and products are marked down for liquidation — anything left will be sent back to the company.
The store is following suit after the Canadian retailer announced a restructuring in June 2017. The company has since closed 59 locations across the country. A motion put forward by Sears Canada to close 10 more locations is being reviewed by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on Oct. 4. Three of those locations are in B.C., as listed in a statement released on Sept. 29.
“I’m upset,” said Shirley Marogna, a longtime customer of Sears in Prince Rupert. “I use the catalogue all the time. We used it for everything.
“I’m sure there are a lot of people in the north who feel the same way because it costs us almost $1,000 to get to Vancouver, or you drive two days to get there,” she said.
Now, Marogna said she’ll likely have to drive to Terrace for her shopping needs. At 70 years old, she doesn’t use a computer often and said she doesn’t want to learn how to shop online.
“Sears gave you a choice, and gave you all the facts about that product and you could make a decision
“Another business in Rupert is gone,” she said with a sigh.
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keili.bartlett@thenorthernview.com
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