A new Sears store will take the place of the Bay at Eastgate Square in the fall.

After Eastgate confirmed the Bay will close at the end of this month, Sears Canada Inc. announced it is relocating its department store from Centre Mall to Eastgate.

Sears opened its store in Centre Mall in 1954 (then known as the Greater Hamilton Shopping Centre) during the company's second year of operations. It was the company's first major store and its largest east of the Rocky Mountains.

"Sears is proud to have served the Hamilton community for over half a century and is pleased to continue operating with our new store at Eastgate, which will provide Hamilton-area shoppers with a brand new look," said Catherine Weadick, store manager, Eastgate Square.

Sears at Eastgate will contain many features which will be firsts for the area:

• an improved aisle pattern that makes it easier for customers to navigate the store

• new back-wall merchandise presentation features to highlight the latest looks in apparel

• an open-concept family footwear shop for easier customer access to merchandise

• centralized check-out centres designed to eliminate waiting times

"All Sears associates currently working in our Centre Mall retail store operation will be transferred to Eastgate," said Ms. Weadick.