Both long past their glory days, Sears Canada and Wayne Gretzky have teamed up on a new exclusive menswear line.
The hockey star’s casual collection includes knit tops, pants and sports jackets. According to a press release, the Wayne Gretzky brand “will give men a complete look that can be worn from the office to dinner, from the arena to the café.”
Gretzky himself said his clothing line will be accessible to “Canadian men who want to dress smart and do so affordably.”
But, at a time when retailers are investing heavily on in-store marketing and merchandising — Hudson’s Bay has significantly upped its fashion quotient and has just revamped the entire men’s department at its flagship Toronto store — it’s a bit confounding why Sears is trying to lure hockey dads with knit sweaters from a retired NHL star.
And, coming off a week of media stories about the frenzy at Target U.S.’s Lilly Pulitzer launch, it’s possible the Sears announcement time-travelled from 1988, when Gretzky was actually a hot commodity. Sure he’s the Great One, but a smarter play would’ve been to partner with a younger, more fashion-savvy professional athlete. Preferably one who is actually still in the game.
In any case, when Gretzky’s threads hit store shelves in time for fall, it’s safe to say there won’t be any long lines and website crashes.
However, Sears might just lure some former Target shoppers: it also picked up the Cherokee clothing line and Liz Lange Maternity wear, both of which were exclusive to Target Canada before it made a hasty retreat out of the country.
Sears Canada continues to report big losses. In fiscal 2014, the company recorded a net loss of $338.8 million, while same-store sales fell 8.3%.
Despite presumably staring the fate of Target in the face, Sears Canada remains optimistic. In its annual report, president and CEO Ron Boire said while last year “was one of disappointing results,” the company has “everything we need to fund and execute our transformation and build one of Canada’s best retailers.”
