A new custom publication for Sears will talk directly to its customers, said a spokesperson.

The national retail chain has launched the Look! report, which is "colourful, bright" and includes commentary from Sears' trend director Cynthia Florek, said Vincent Power, who handles corporate communications at the retail giant.



But be careful what you call it. "It's not a magazine per se... for us, it's a consumer-facing publication, that is a report on fashion for the spring season, and what's new," he said. "What you see in the Look! report is reflected in the store's merchandise."

While he didn't refer specifically to Look!, he said comparable publications from Sears have a circulation of five million copies or so coast-to-coast. The new report will be published seasonally by Pi Media (St. Joseph Content) and will be distributed to households by a number of partners including Metroland in the GTA, said Power, who noted copies will also be available in stores.

"This is our chance to talk directly to the consumer," he said. "This is information that customers want, it's material the stores have told us is important to relay to customers, and our marketing department has really done an integrated program to be able to present this to customers."

Apparently, customers are already taking to the magaz... err, publication. "In fact, I was in stores this morning and customers were coming in with the Look! report in their hands looking for the merchandise," said Power.

The magazine is part of a larger strategy from the newest Sears chief executive officer Calvin McDonald that includes being more "customer-driven", said Power.