Its the end of an era for our neighbors to the north, as Sears Canada announced that they would be closing all of their stores and laying off all 12,000 employees in the coming months. Speaking of change, Coach Inc announced the other day that they would be changing their corporate name. While this move is meant to create a broader umbrella for the company many loyal brand users were upset with the move.

The end of Sears Canada

Sears Canada, which is owned by Sears Holdings, finally made the move to shut down all of its stores according to InvestorPlace.

While Sears has been struggling in America in recent years, Sears Canda has had an even more difficult time with declining sales. This is mainly due to a decrease in people coming into the store as consumers have been buying apparel from various e-commerce outlets.

Sears Canada was founded back in 1952 as part of a joint venture by Sears and Canadian department store chain Simpson's. Next week will see the first store closures take place at the company's head office in Dundas.

This will be followed by liquidation sales which will start on October 19 and last about 10 to 14 weeks. Sears Canada issued a press release saying that “following exhaustive efforts, no viable transaction for the company to continue as a going concern was received.”

Coach gets a new name, fans upset

Coach's new corporate name is now Tapestry Inc., according to Reuters.

The move was made as a way for the company to create a broader cover for its various high-end brands, without weakening the name of the iconic luxury handbags they are known to sell. Tapestry Inc. will now be the holding company for the Coach, Kate Spade, and Stuart Weitzman brands.

However, the company's shares fell by two percent in early trading on Wednesday.

This was in part due to the negative reaction in regards to the announcement from many loyal fans on social media to the name change.

Over 76 years the company has grown into a multi-billion dollar enterprise that is known worldwide due to the massive success of their Coach handbags among upscale female shoppers. However, the company has declined in recent years due to a combination of the recession and the rise of online shopping.

The name change will go into effect on October 31. CEO Victor Luis said of the change that, “We are now in a defining moment in our corporate reinvention, having evolved from a mono-brand specialty retailer to a true house of emotional, desirable brands.”
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED