Dive Brief:

• Sears Canada’s board of directors has officially appointed Ronald D. Boire, who has been acting president and CEO since Oct. 15, 2014, as its president and CEO.

• Previously Boire was president and CEO of Brookstone from 2009, and before that held top positions at Toys R Us, Best Buy, and Sony Electronics.

• Sears Canada CEO Doug Campbell stepped down last September after a year on the job.

Dive Insight:

Sears Canada has been faltering, closing stores and laying off employees for months now, while the retailer’s parent company was unable to unload its struggling Canadian operations at auction in September last year. 

Needless to say, Boire will face many challenges. Perhaps he can take some pointers from Wal-Mart's operations in Canada: The retail giant has found success with a slow approach to the new market, when compared to Target's failed attempt to quickly expand its own Canadian business.