Calvin McDonald replaces Rogers at Sears

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Sears Canada has replaced its president and CEO, Dene Rogers (right) with a wunderkind executive from Loblaws, 39-year-old Calvin McDonald (left). The move is said to be an effort to improve Sears position before Target Corp. arrives in Canada. McDonald will replace Rogers effective immediately, Sears said in a statement. Rogers is planning to return to the U.S., the company said. The decision to hire McDonald, a highly-regarded executive away from Loblaws suggests that Sears’ U.S.-based owner is serious about reviving the brand. Sears’ losses have been widening as its sales under perform the broader market. The retailer lost nearly $50 million in the first quarter as sales shrank 7.1 per cent to just under $1 billion.

Knockdown at 204 Manor Road

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Lot’s of excitement on Manor Rd. east of Mount Pleasant today as contractors knocked down most of the residence at 204 Manor Rd. This knockdown followed a practice common in such work. Large parts of the walls are left in place on the original foundation. This ensures that the bylaws by which this home was originally built remain grandfathered in the new structure. There will be no question about where the walls can go. At upper left, the backhoe at work. Upper right, 204 as seen by Google in recent months. Below left, a peek at the work from the west, and on the right, from the east.

Lincoln to follow Mercury into extinction?

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It seems amazing, but there is a lot of serious talk about the end of the Lincoln marque at Ford Motor Company. Lincoln has been in a sales spiral and last year sold fewer cars that BMW. The totals were 85,828 Lincolns to more than 100,000 Bimmers. In an effort to try and stimulate falling sales of it’s North American luxury brand, Ford has announced it will be spending $1 billion in a last-chance revitalization effort. Ford has said that for the time being, it remains committed to revitalizing it’s premier marque, though today, $1 billion doesn’t go a long way in the automobile business, especially for an entire brand.

Opening of the Dominion at Bayview and Eglinton in 1957

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Here is a fun-filled look back to the opening of the Dominion (now Metro) store at the corner of Bayview and Eglinton in 1957. It’s a large ad which was placed in The Telegram newspaper (also known as the Pink Tely because of the colour of its pages). It is said that this Dominion location was for many years the busiest store in the entire chain, and it may still be the busiest Metro.

Bloomberg speculates on BlackBerry

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Bloomberg News is speculating that it must seem tempting for Microsoft, and others perhaps, to launch a takeover bid for RIM. That Canadian firm has lost so much value that “an acquirer could pay a 50 percent premium and still buy the BlackBerry maker for a lower multiple than any company in the industry.” What an ignominious end it would be the the fabled BlackBerry maker from K-W. Here.