A Sears Canada outlet is seen in this file photo.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Sears Canada says it will receive $100-million by selling its distribution centre north of Toronto, though it plans to continue to operate in the building when the deal closes next year.
The retailer also announced Friday that it has vacated another distribution centre at an undisclosed location and sold it for $8.5-million in a deal that is expected to close by the end of the year.
The two agreements are in addition to an $18.1-million sale of a distribution centre and the sale-leaseback of a non-mall property for $10-million, both announced in September and both expected to close by year end.
The locations of those spaces have not been disclosed.
"Sears Canada is taking a proactive approach to its real estate strategy," executive chairman Brandon Stranzl said in a statement.
He said the sale of non-core real estate will improve the company's balance sheet and help ongoing efforts to re-establish Sears Canada as a major retailer.
Sears Canada has undergone years of cutbacks to its staff and some store closures as it has tried to refocus its business.
The retailer said it reached a "turning point" in June when its core retail network sales increased compared with a year earlier, a factor the company says has continued into the third quarter.
Sear Canada will report its third-quarter results on Dec. 3.
Despite selling some of its largest department stores in major cities, Sears Canada continues to have a national network of 166 corporate stores, 177 Hometown stores and more than 1,200 pickup locations for catalogue and online sales.