By Chad Klassen

Venture Kamloops keeping close eye on retail sector pending Sears closure

Jun 27, 2017 | 1:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — A week after Sears Canada filed for bankrupcy and announced the closure of 59 stores, including the one at Aberdeen Mall, Venture Kamloops is keeping a close eye now on the retail sector in the city. 

With 83 employees set to lose their jobs at Sears in Kamloops, Venture Kamloops executive director Jim Anderson is curious to know the state of retail here. He wonders if it’s a trend with the closure of Target last year, or if they are simply isolated incidents. 

“The conventional wisdom says if you grow your local economy, retail will follow,” said Anderson. “So the economy in Kamloops, while not booming, is growing steadily. That’s where the question mark arises. If we have a growing economy, what exactly is going on with the retail sector. Is it growing? We need that data to show that. If it’s not growing, are these headline closures making a difference.”

Anderson suspects the retail sector is growing and strong in Kamloops. But he wants to see the data first before coming to those conclusions. 

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“My suspicion is the retail sector is growing in Kamloops,” he said. “These closures, while they make headlines, aren’t really adversely affecting the sector. That would be a great thing. It’s small comfort to the people who are losing their jobs, but we’re looking at the economy overall and we want to make sure we know what’s happening with our economy.”