Sears Canada Enters into Strategic Alliance with The ALDO Group to Develop Private Brand Footwear

ALDO to Design, Create and Supply Men's and Women's Nevada, Attitude and Jessica Brands

TORONTO, Jan. 17, 2013 /CNW/ - Sears Canada Inc. (TSX: SCC) announced today that it has entered into a strategic alliance with the ALDO Group through its ALDO Product Services division (APS) to design and manufacture Sears entire line of Nevada and Attitude footwear  for men and women, as well as the Jessica brand for women.  The revitalized brands will be available in Sears stores across Canada and through its Direct formats beginning with the Fall 2013 season.

"We are continuing to implement our strategy of working with successful designers and organizations that can provide immediate credibility and continuity to our brands and services," said Calvin McDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sears Canada Inc.  "The ALDO Group is considered an industry leader for fashion design and manufacturing capability; those strengths coupled with our distribution capacity and multi-format customer touch points, will bring Canadians outstanding value in the most fashionable footwear at prices Sears customers expect."

David Bensadoun, President of Aldo Global Retail & Aldo Product Services adds "We are excited to begin working with Sears on their private label brands. The combination of our footwear expertise and Sears impressive retail network will create value for the consumer. We look forward to seeing a very positive reaction this Fall season."

The ALDO Group has unparalleled expertise in fashion footwear design and manufacturing, and its ALDO Product Services division continues to grow rapidly. With a quality and fashionability that has gained the company success around the world, this alliance will allow the ALDO Group to expand its reach by outfitting the millions of customers who have made Sears Canada their retailer of choice.

About Sears Canada
Sears Canada is a multi-channel retailer with a network that includes 195 corporate stores, 269 hometown dealer stores, 8 home services showrooms, over 1,500 catalogue and online merchandise pick-up locations, 102 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and installation network. The Company also publishes Canada's most extensive general merchandise catalogue and offers shopping online at www.sears.ca.

About The ALDO Group / ALDO Product Services
The ALDO Group, founded in 1972, is one of the world's leading fashion retailers. It covers all corners of the footwear market with four signature brands: ALDO, CALL IT SPRING, LITTLE BURGUNDY and GLOBO. The ALDO Group operates over 1,600 retail stores in 80 countries around the world.

ALDO Product Services (APS) is a division of the ALDO Group dedicated to providing branded wholesale and private label fashion footwear and accessories. Through its work with select retail clients, APS creates and develop brands, by offering all the tools and resources to help companies succeed, from research, product design and development to branding, marketing and distribution.

SOURCE: Sears Canada Inc.