Sears tries new tack in store wars

MARINA STRAUSS,  Globe and Mail Update

Sears Canada Inc. is taking on key rivals by bolstering its apparel lines for 30-something career women, while also expanding its gift registry in a bid to become the leader in that burgeoning segment.

The move to introduce more stylish clothing comes as competing department store retailer the Bay, under a new U.S. owner, is revamping operations and putting a bigger push on fashions. Meanwhile, the Bay has an established gift registry that includes chinaware and other traditional items.

Now Sears wants to add higher end china to its shelves, while adding staff to the registry to encourage customers to think beyond dinnerware for gift-giving ideas.

“We think we're well positioned to do that, given that a lot of the traditional gift giving baby showers and bridal parties have changed from china to appliances [as gifts],” Dene Rogers, chief executive officer of Sears, told the annual meeting in Toronto on Thursday.

“We think with our very broad range of products and services we're well placed to be the gift registry leader in Canada.”

Sears isn't alone to eye the gift registry business as a growing and lucrative opportunity. For example, Crate & Barrel, the U.S. home furnishings chain, arrived in Canada last fall with an ambitious program to attract give-givers to its registry.

Sears is assigning staff at the stores to help customers with gift selection, while previously the chain only provided self-help scanners for those shoppers.

And the retailer will add prominent lines to its china ware, such as Waterford and Wedgwood, while also encouraging customers to consider lawnmowers and bed and bath products as presents, spokesman Vincent Power said.

Women's wear is another area of focus for Sears this year. The chain is adding new lines, including Liz & Co., to attract the 30- to 40-year-old crowd, Mr. Rogers said. Currently Sears' women's clothing customer is generally 40 and older.

And this fall, the chain will add the Mac & Jac brand of apparel to its stores – pointedly just as the Bay prepares to drop the lines.

Sears is racing to recapture lost business after a tough fourth quarter when its profit fell 20 per cent to $95.5-million as the retailer was forced to reduce prices extensively to attract cash-strapped consumers in the economic downturn. Revenue fell 5.8 per cent to $1.6-billion and sales at stores open for more than a year – a key measurement of retail health – decreased 6.2 per cent.

Apparel, particularly, didn't fare well in 2008. Sales of clothing and accessories dropped 6.2 per cent, compared to the comparable 2007 period. “The general state of the economy and increased competitive landscape were factors that represented challenges for all categories of appeal and accessories,” the company said in its annual report.

“In spite of these challenges, Sears national brands, seasonal footwear and outerwear experienced sales growth.”