The Sears store in Chatham is set to close in October of next year as the retailer shifts more of its business to the web.
Sears Canada spokesperson Vincent Power says the company won't be renewing its lease at the Downtown Chatham Centre when it expires in October 2017.
He says employees at the store were notified a little over a week ago, adding there are 56 associates at the store -- almost all of whom are working part-time.
Power says while there are no other locations in Chatham for those employees to work at once they move out of the mall, all of the employees who are affected will be "given primary consideration" to transfer to another location within the company, "provided they have the skills required for the jobs that become available."
The closure announcement comes a few years after the Chatham location was converted into an outlet format, changing over its business model to selling off surplus goods from the catalogue and other retail stores.
Power says the company made the decision not to renew to the lease in an effort to "be more efficient overall from a sales and profit-per-square-foot viewpoint."
Instead of offering goods out of a physical location in Chatham, the company now plans to invite its customers in the area to shop on their website.
