What a Sears liquidation could mean for Nova Scotia

At least 140 peoplein Nova Scotiaare in danger of losing their jobs as Sears Canadaprepares to ask forcourt approval to liquidate its remaining stores and assets across Canada.

Sears Canada announced on Tuesday it isapplying to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice for liquidation approval at a hearing scheduled for Oct. 13. If a judge approves,130 stores will close.

The only Sears department store in Nova Scotia is at the Halifax Shopping Centre.

A spokesperson for Sears Canada, Peter Block, said the Halifax store employs 134 people, the "overwhelming majority"of whomworkpart time.He said staff were notified on Tuesday morning of the upcoming court date.

"The intent was to let everybody know as soon as possible and to let everybody know before they read about it," Block said.

A spokesperson for the Halifax Shopping Centre said on Tuesday it would not be commenting on the closure.

Liquidation sales could startOct. 19

If the court approves the liquidation, the process would begin on Oct. 19 and continue for 10 to 14 weeks.

Since June 22, Sears Canada has been in court-approved creditor protection and was in search of a buyer.

Sears also announced theclosure of59 stores this summer, including storesin Dartmouth andTruro, which shut their doors at the beginning of this month.ThePenhornMall location employed 15people, while theTruroMall had 29 employees.

Independents also hit

According to Sears Canada'swebsite, there are also Sears Hometown stores inBridgewater, PortHawkesburyand Kingston, althoughtheBridgewaterstore'sFacebookpage said it is permanently closed and the telephone number is no longer in service.

Block said Sears Hometown stores are independently operated and mainly sellmajor appliances, furniture and outdoor power equipment.

If the liquidation is approved, Block said, "Theycan revive themselves as something else but they certainly cannot be Sears Hometown anymore.They'd lose the Sears connection."

Block said while he didn't have the exact number of stafffor these stores, they generally employ fewer than 10 people and most arefamily-run businesses.

'This is like starting all over again'

This is thecasein PortHawkesbury, where Kim and Philip Ryan have owned the Sears Hometown store for 20 years. Philip Ryan said he and his wifehad no idea full liquidation might becoming, and found out through a conference call on Tuesday afternoon.

"We're not classed as a Sears employee, and there is no severance for us. When we're done, we don't even get unemployment because owners can't draw unemployment. So when you're done, you're done," Ryan said.

"I have 25 years with Sears, and this is like starting all over again."

Waiting on liquidation plans

Ryan said the store employed around six people, including him and his wife, and sometimes more during the holiday season.

"Small businessis the backbone of every community.There's a lot of people who worked at Sears here in the area," he said. "Our business has actually shown growth the last, I believe, at least three or four years. Every single month we've actually shown growth."

Ryan said while they're considering opening as another business, all of their currentinventory is Sears-owned. He said now they're waiting to find out whether a liquidation centre will be involved and what that process will look like.

"The cost of doing business today is so high, we're kind of on the fence," he said, adding that if that didn't work out, both he and his wife would be looking for work elsewhere.