Sears Canada Reports Reorganization of Repair Services and Parts Business

Sears Canada Inc.

announced today that, following a comprehensive review of its Repair Services and Parts businesses, it will be implementing a number of significant changes designed to improve efficiency, profitability and the overall customer experience.  The changes will take place over the next six months and will result in a workforce reduction of 712 associates. In Repair Services, Sears will be shifting to using exclusively Sears-authorized contracted technicians in mid-markets, which it has been using successfully in smaller markets for several years, resulting in a reduction of Sears technicians and support teams in these locations.  Due to their complexity and size, major markets will continue to be primarily serviced by Sears technicians, although the teams will be streamlined.  There has also been a shift of in-warranty repair work on major appliances from Sears to its suppliers as is the industry standard. In the Parts division, sixteen existing stand-alone Parts processing locations and a central processing centre in Belleville, Ontario will be consolidated into three major fulfillment centres located in Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.  Where a Parts processing location is closing outside of these three cities, a