Chairman of Sears Canada steps down in hopes of bidding to buy the retailer

August 16th, 2017  |  Canadian Business

According to an employee memo that was obtained by CBC News, executive chairman, Brandon Stranzl, has stepped down from his role at Sears Canada in order to focus on placing a bid to buy the company. The deadline for any interested parties to step forward and bid for the company’s assets is August 31^st.

"In light of the approaching bid deadline and the focus required to assemble all necessary components of a bid, the board thought it was best for Brandon to focus exclusively on putting the bid together and step away from the day-to-day operations," said the memo, signed by Graham Savage, chair of the board of director's special committee while it restructures.

The goal in Brandon Stranzl bidding for Sears Canada is to keep the company going after it has completed it restricting process. Back in June, Sears Canada announced that they would be undergoing a restructuring process under the guidance of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. Part of the restructure includes the closure of close to 60 stores, and the lay-offs of almost 3000 employees.

Sears faced major backlash when it was announced that they were giving bonuses to executives instead of providing severance for those employees that were laid off. This week however, the company has decided to set up a “hardship fund” for those employees who were laid off without severance. The $500,000 fund is intended to "assist people in situations of precarious hardship", and will be subject to a court hearing on Friday.