SEARS’ COHEN TO CANADA
NEW YORK — Mark A. Cohen, president of softlines and chief marketing officer at Sears, Roebuck & Co., has shifted to Sears Canada as chairman and chief executive officer, succeeding Paul Walters who decided to pursue other opportunities.
Walters reportedly was at one time a candidate to be chairman and chief executive of Sears’ domestic operations but Alan Lacy, an insider, got the job.
On Monday, Lacy thanked Walters for “his outstanding contribution to Sears Canada, including the successful relaunch of Eatons. Through his leadership, Sears Canada has achieved tremendous growth and success during the four years he led the company.”
Sears is searching for a successor to Cohen, who was leading efforts to revive the chain’s lagging soft goods business. He joined Sears in January 1998 and previously served as chairman and ceo of Bradlees, which is being liquidated.
In Canada, Sears operates the only general merchandise catalog. In late 1999, Sears Canada acquired 19 Eaton’s sites and its Web site and last November reopened seven of the locations that retain the Eaton’s name.