Business

Here are 18 ads from when Sears Canada was booming in the 1970s

Drawn from the Maclean’s archives, these ads ran from 1975 to 1979 when the chain was booming. So much brown.

This week Sears Canada announced it had failed to find a buyer for the troubled retail chain and will seek court approval to liquidate its remaining assets. It’s an ignoble end to the company’s 65-year run.

As Sears Canada prepares to wind down, we went through the Maclean’s archives and found ads from the late 1970s when the chain’s fortunes were bright. Building on its successful catalogue business, the company opened its first Canadian store under the Sears banner in 1973, and had close to 60 stores across the country within three years.

RELATED: Sears Canada: The timeline of its slow-motion collapse

Where ads include prices, we’ve noted below what that amount would be in today’s dollars after adjusting for inflation.

 

October 1975
SEARS_19751006-2-compressor

(2017 dollars: $664 to $774)

October 1975
SEARS_19751006-compressor (1)

November 1975
SEARS_19751117-compressor-compressor

(2017 dollars: $221)

March 1976
SEARS_19760322-compressor

(2017 dollars: $243)

April 1976
SEARS_19760419-compressor

(2017 dollars: $354)

May 1976
SEARS_19760503-compressor

March 1977
SEARS_19770307-compressor

 

March 1977
SEARS_19770321-compressor

(2017 dollars: $458)

August 1977
SEARS_19770808-compressor

 

February 1978
SEARS_19780220-compressor

(2017 dollars:$386)

March 1978
SEARS_19780320-compressor (1)

 

May 1978

SEARS_19780529-compressor

(2017 dollars: $175 to $245)

April 1978
SEARS_19780403-compressor (1)

 

April 1978
SEARS_19780417-compressor

 

April 1978

SEARS_19780403-2-compressor (1)

 

May 1978
SEARS_19780501-compressor

 

August 1979
SEARS_19790806-compressor (1)

 

September 1979
SEARS_19790910-compressor

WATCH MORE: 5 reasons why Toys “R” Us is filing for bankruptcy protection

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