Skeezix
Senior Member
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- Joined
- Apr 25, 2007
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- East of this, west of that
I see the Eaton Centre store as a loss leader--it's a nice showcase for people coming from the suburbs for the day, showing off what they can expect at their store. I expect it's also subsidized heavily by the suburban stores, so if they shut down their "flagship" it means that something is wrong with the rest of the chain.
Why would a chain with mostly suburban stores need a downtown store for people coming in from the suburbs? The showcase notion seems dubious - with retailers and CF offering them good money for that space, it seems highly unlikely that Sears is keeping that store open simply because it acts as a bricks-and-mortar version of a flyer for shoppers who all live much closer to other Sears stores. And if the suburban stores are heavily subdizizing the Eaton Centre, then wouldn't that be a huge plus for the rest of the chain if this store closed? There are so many problems with Sears -- if they go bankrupt it would likely have nothing to do whatsoever with the Eaton Centre store, and closing that store would likely benefit the chain. I actually think that if the Eaton Centre store closes, someone at Sears is making some tough and wise decisions. Given that Sears is closing its downtown stores in other cities, it seems like Sears fate will be decided in the suburbs, not at the Eaton Centre.