Sears Canada creditor process biased toward sale, says former exec
TORONTO — Sears Canada’s former executive chairman defended his plan to turn around the embattled retailer, and said his bid to buy the company and save it from liquidation was hampered by a creditor protection process biased towards liquidation.
Brandon Stranzl, speaking publicly for the first time since the retailer began a full liquidation of its remaining stores earlier this month, told reporters the creditor protection process which Sears Canada entered in June was structured as a sale rather than a rehabilitation from the beginning.
“Everybody wanted there to be a going-concern solution that saved the jobs, but there were many obstacles and many rules that seemed to be in place to get in the way,” Stranzl said during a press conference on Monday.
Stranzl stepped away from his role in August and had been in weeks-long discussions with the embattled retailer to buy it and continue to operate it. However, no deal was reached.