Sears Canada Confirms Ronald Boire As President And CEO

(RTTNews) - Multi-channel retailer Sears Canada, Inc. (SRSC, SCC.TO) confirmed on Monday interim President and Chief Executive Officer Ronald Boire to the positions. Boire succeeds Douglas Campbell, who announced in late September his intention to resign by the end of 2014 to return to the U.S. to attend to personal family issues.

"The Board of Directors believes Ron has the capabilities, experience and leadership that Sears Canada needs at this time. He is assembling a team, developing an approach, and instilling a culture that is necessary to improve the business," Chairman William Crowley said in a statement.

The Toronto, Ontario-based retailer named Boire as interim president and CEO in mid-October and he was the a leading candidate in the search for a permanent replacement for Campbell. The company named Boire early to the positions in order to enable a smooth transition.

Boire was most recently serving as the executive vice president, chief merchandising officer and president of Sears and Kmart Formats at Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD).

Boire joined Sears Holdings in January 2012 after serving as president and CEO at Brookstone, Inc. since October 2009. He joined Toys R Us in 2006 and was most recently its president of North America.

Previously, Boire served as executive vice president and global merchandise manager at Best Buy Co., Inc. (BBY) from 2003 to 2006, after spending 17 years at Sony Electronics, Inc. in a variety of increasingly senior roles.

"I appreciate the confidence that the Board of Directors has shown in me and in the team that is working with me to drive the transformation of the company. I am aware of the challenges facing the evolving Canadian retail marketplace, and Sears Canada in particular. I understand what needs to be done and I am confident that our associates are engaged and focused on the drivers of our future success," Boire stated.

Sears Canada operates currently through a network of 174 corporate stores, 207 hometown stores, over 1,300 catalog and online merchandise pick-up locations, as well as 96 Sears Travel offices. It also has a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and installation network.

SRSC closed Friday's regular trading session at $9.58, up $0.49 on a volume of 25,500 shares, and SCC.TO closed on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$11.83, up C$0.58 on a volume of 3,700 shares.