Sears closure 'not a surprise' says Thunder Bay, Ont., mall management

The management of Intercity Shopping Centre in Thunder Bay, Ont., says it is already preparedfor a post-Sears world.

Intercityis home to Thunder Bay's only Sears store, which is located at the north end of the mall, near the intersection of Fort William Road and the Harbour Expressway.

Tuesday's announcement that the struggling retailer plans to closeand liquidateits remaining stores including Thunder Bay's didn't come as a surprise.

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"We've known that Sears has been slowly declining in terms of its performance and the amount of traffic it generates for the mall," saidTony Maduri, director of asset management for Morguard, the company that manages Intercity for the mall's owner, the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.

"We've started planning and thinking about it," he said. "There's a lot more planning to do."

Space to be reworked

Maduri said that if Sears follows through with its plan, the space it occupies will revert back to Intercity, as it's owned by the mall.

"Anchor spots within malls ... are usually spaces that are locked into long-term leases, and you rarely get an opportunity to take that space back and rework it," he said. "So this provides an opportunity, frankly, to take that space back and re-merchandise the space with retailers that will drive more traffic."

It's unlikely, Maduri said, that the Sears space would again be occupied by a single tenant; rather, it will likely be divided up into multiple smaller spaces.

Sears has said that if it gets court approval to begin the liquidation process,sales at its storeswould likely start no earlier than Oct.19 and continue for 10 to 14 weeks.

About 12,000 employees will be out of work.