TORONTO - Sears Canada announced today that it plans to relocate its head office, located at 222 Jarvis Street, Toronto, to the Toronto Eaton Centre at the corner of Yonge and Dundas Streets (290 Yonge Street) in Toronto. The company's headquarters functions will take up the top four of the eight floors currently occupied by Sears at that location, and the remaining four floors will continue to be operated as a full-line department store.

"This decision makes great sense for Sears Canada and its associates," said Dene Rogers, Sears Canada president and chief executive officer, "as we have a unique opportunity to create a very pleasant and modern work environment. We have surplus space at the Toronto Eaton Centre which has been underutilized for some time. Occupying the top four floors as office space will help improve the productivity of the remaining four floors used for the store."

No staffing cuts, affecting headquarters or store associates, are planned as a result of the change in location of the company's head office. There is enough space to comfortably relocate all Jarvis Street associates to the new location. Preliminary plans have been designed and the company will, during the next several months, more specifically determine the steps necessary to complete the move.

"Having its headquarters so close to one of its stores is a key advantage for a retailer," Rogers continued. "Our merchandising teams can see what our customers experience on a more frequent basis and react faster using immediate input from store associates when required. The proximity to the Dundas subway station will also make the daily commute more convenient for many associates and GO Train users will have underground walking access from Union Station."

The company has sold its Jarvis Street building and adjacent lands to the Government of Ontario, and is currently leasing back the property while it plans an orderly transition to the new premises.

"The sale of our Jarvis Street building is a single event based on the availability of space in a location we already occupy," Rogers added. "There are no plans to sell other Sears Canada properties other than those which have already been disclosed. In fact, we continuously seek opportunities to add new store locations to our current roster."

The multi-channel retailer currently operates a network of 196 corporate stores, 179 dealer stores, 61 home improvement showrooms, over 1,800 catalogue merchandise pick-up locations, 106 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and installation network. It also publishes Canada's most extensive general merchandise catalogue and offers shopping online at http://www.sears.ca/.