DirectBuy creating memberships for Sears Canada customers

TORONTO – Club retailer DirectBuy has introduced a new warranty membership for Sears Canada extended warranty customers who have been left without coverage for their major appliances. In addition to acquiring certain assets of Sears Canada, including replacement parts and warranties, DirectBuy will be increasing its efforts to hire former Sears Canada employees for its warranty department.

“These customers paid for additional protection on their major purchases and now that protection is worthless, as Sears did not maintain a reserve account to protect their warranty customers,” Dylan Astle, DirectBuy’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. “With this acquisition, we now have an opportunity to help those customers that purchased those extended warranties that are now void, and we welcome the opportunity to serve customers that have been adversely affected by this disappointing turn of events.”

As part of the acquisition, DirectBuy will honour Sears Canada extended warranties for all new DirectBuy members on similar terms at no additional cost. Any existing DirectBuy members affected by the Sears Canada's closure will also be covered by DirectBuy at no additional cost. Fees may be waived for customers facing financial difficulties.

Purchased by the Merrillville, Indiana-based CSC Generation in February 2017, DirectBuy is an omni-channel, direct-to-consumer buying club akin to Costco that guarantees its members the lowest prices on hundreds of thousands of products and top brands in categories ranging from home improvement (including cabinetry and flooring) to major appliances, as well as furniture and decor for every room. Brands include Whirlpool, Maytag, Frigidaire, GE, Bosch, KitchenAid, Kohler, Samsung, Sealy, Hunter Douglas and KitchenCraft to name just a few.

Sears Canada customers can call (844) 387-4191 to learn more about how their extended warranties can be covered by DirectBuy or visit www.directbuy.com/sears-canada  for more information. Sears staff members who are interested in joining DirectBuy can contact www.directbuy.com/contact.

The company was started in 1996 and in addition to its member-only online shopping site, DirectBuy operates six brick and mortar locations in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa with two in the Greater Toronto Area.