Sears Canada Announces Opening of New Fulfillment Centre in Calgary

Orders for 2014 Wish Book launching this weekend will comprise first shipments from new facility

CALGARY, Aug. 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Sears Canada Inc. (TSX: SCC) announced today the opening of a new 240,000-square foot fulfillment centre located in Calgary, Alberta. The site will create approximately 200 new jobs.

The Calgary fulfillment centre will be a modern operation with advanced product and packaging systems that will facilitate faster processing of customer orders. The fulfillment centre will pick, pack and ship small-ticket items such as apparel, home décor, small appliances and toys for customers in Western Canada who use Sears Direct channel, which includes the Company's various catalogues and ecommerce offering at www.sears.ca. The new facility is expected to reduce delivery time to most western Canadian customers by an average of 1-2 days over the Company's previous arrangements.

"The substantial capability enhancements and flexibility offered by this new facility will result in faster delivery for most Western Canada orders, improving the overall customer experience," said Doug Campbell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sears Canada. "The new facility will enable Sears to make significant customer service improvements and meet the requirements of today's Direct customers."

One of the first big tasks for this new advanced facility will be to fulfill orders from the iconic Christmas Wish Book, which launches on August 23, 2014.  The Wish Book is available in its traditional printed form, in digital format on www.sears.ca or in a downloadable format with the Sears Catalogues iPad app. The enhanced delivery time of the new fulfillment centre means that when Wish Book selections are ordered they will arrive with time to spare.

New to the Wish Book this year, families can create their own Pinterest Wishlist Wonderland board using products from www.sears.ca or the Wish Book. They will be entered for a chance to win that Wishlist valued up to $2,500, with one giveaway a month starting in September and ending in December 2014.

Catalogue and www.sears.ca orders, including 2014 Wish Book purchases, of $99 or more, will ship for free starting August 23.

Sears Canada is a multi-channel retailer with a network that includes 176 corporate stores, 222 Hometown stores, over 1,300 catalogue and online merchandise pick-up locations, 96 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide repair and service network. The Company also publishes Canada's most extensive general merchandise catalogue and offers shopping online at www.sears.ca.

SOURCE: Sears Canada Inc.