Timeline: The rise and decline of Sears Canada

CTV Montreal: Sears employees worry Trevor Gibbons, who has been with Sears Canada for 41 years, is worried about his severance and pension.

Here's a look at the history of Sears Canada.

1952 -- Simpsons-Sears is founded as a national mail-order business, as part of a partnership between the Robert Simpson Company of Toronto and Sears Roebuck Co. of Chicago.

Sept. 1953 -- Simpsons-Sears opens its first store in Stratford, Ont.

A Simpsons-Sears store in Place Fleur de Lys mall in Vanier, Que. in 1963. Source: Flickr / Vintage Canadian Supermarkets and Discount Stores (CC BY 2.0)

A Simpsons-Sears store in Ontario. Source: Andrew Filer / Flickr / (CC BY-SA 2.0)

1973 -- The company opens its first store under the "Sears" banner.

1978 -- Hudson's Bay Company acquires the Simpson Company. The Simpsons-Sears partnership gets dissolved.

1984 -- The company formally changes its name to Sears Canada.

1995 -- Sears opens its first Sears Whole Home furniture store; later renames the store Sears Home.

1998 -- The company launches its e-commerce website, becoming one of the first retailers to do so in Canada.

1999 -- Sears buys the bankrupt chain, The T. Eaton Company Ltd., including all of the flagship department stores in coveted locations like the Toronto Eaton Centre.

Feb. 2009 -- Sears cuts 300 jobs, less than one per cent of its workforce at the time, to prepare for a "tough" year in retail.

June 2011 -- Calvin McDonald named president and CEO of Sears Canada and embarks on a three-year turnaround plan as sales decline and thousands of jobs are cut.

Sears Canada CEO Calvin McDonald attends the company's AGM in Toronto on Thursday April 25, 2013. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Chris Young)

2012 -- Sears begins selling off leases to its stores in prime locations.

Sept. 2013 -- McDonald abruptly steps down as president and CEO in the midst of the plan.

Sept. 2013 -- Former U.S. naval aviator and retail consultant Douglas C. Campbell takes over as CEO.

May 2014 -- U.S. parent company Sears Holdings Corp. hints that it's looking to sell the ailing retailer.

Sept. 2014 -- Campbell steps down as CEO, citing family matters.

Oct. 2014 -- Ronald Boire steps in as interim CEO.

Shoppers make their way through the Sears store at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto on Monday January 13, 2014, when it was having its final closing sale. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Frank Gunn

Aug. 2015 -- Ronald Boire steps down as CEO.

July 2015 -- Brandon Stranzl is named executive chairman of Sears Canada. Stranzl has ties to the U.S. hedge fund run by Edward Lampert, which then controlled about 45 per cent of the Canadian company's shares.

July 2016 -- Sears Canada president Carrie Kirkman leaves less than a year after being in the position.

Aug. 2016 -- Sears Canada rebrands logo for the first time in 32 years by adding a maple leaf.

Jan. 2017 -- New Brunswick government gives Sears Canada $3.5 million to open a business centre in the province. The move is expected to create 180 new jobs in Edmundston, N.B.

Apr. 2017 -- Sears Canada announces plans to give some space to a partner grocer at three to five of its locations for groceries.

June 13, 2017 -- Faced with a cash crunch that's getting worse, the company announces it is exploring strategic alternatives including a sale.

June 22, 2017 -- Sears Canada is granted court protection from creditors. It announces plans to close 59 locations across the country and cut approximately 2,900 jobs under a court-supervised restructuring.

June 30, 2017 -- Sears Canada says it has received notice that its common shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange at the close of market on July 28.

July 13, 2017 - An Ontario judge gives Sears Canada the green light to immediately proceed with reaching out to potential buyers while it's under creditor protection.

July 14, 2017 – Employees are outraged after Sears Canada offers $9.2 million in retention bonuses to top managers despite not paying severance to laid off workers.

July 21, 2017 -- Liquidation sales at 54 locations begin, with prices discounted by 20 to 50 per cent.

Aug. 15, 2017 -- Lawyers representing workers reach a deal with the company to create a $500,000 hardship fund for former employees who were denied severance payments.

Oct. 4, 2017 -- A court grants Sears Canada one week to assess a revised bid from a buyer group led by former executive chairman Brandon Stranzl, as lenders press for liquidation.

Oct. 10, 2017 -- Sears Canada seeks court approval to liquidate its roughly 130 remaining stores, leaving approximately 12,000 employees without a job.

With files from CTVNews.ca Staff