Sears was both the Walmart and Amazon of its time. Founded 136 years ago, the company initially made its mark through its catalog business, providing mass-produced goods to consumers nationwide.
Historical Significance
By the mid-20th century, Sears had become the largest private-sector employer in the United States, with its stores serving as anchor locations in shopping malls across the country.
Challenges and Decline
However, like many department store chains, Sears has faced significant challenges over the years. The company began to experience financial losses in 2011, culminating in a bankruptcy filing in 2018.
In February 2019, a judge sanctioned the sale of the majority of Sears’ assets to a hedge fund overseen by Eddie Lampert, the company’s chairman, for $5.2 billion. This decision allowed for the continued operation of 425 stores and preserved approximately 45,000 jobs.
Despite these efforts, the retail giant has continued to struggle, resulting in only 15 full-line Sears stores still operating today.
Legacy of Sears
Sears’ impact on American retail is undeniable. The catalog system revolutionized shopping, making a wide range of products accessible to millions. Its stores drew consumers away from traditional downtown shops, significantly shaping the landscape of American commerce.
Conclusion
In summary, the story of Sears is one of innovation, prominence, and tragedy in retail history. As the company continues to navigate its future, reflecting on its past reveals the complexities of the retail industry and consumer behavior.
Businessman Richard W. Sears was a railroad station agent who started selling watches as a side business in North Redwood, Minnesota, in 1886. The following year, he moved to the company’s first Chicago location and hired watchmaker Alvah Roebuck. The two started a catalog business selling watches and jewelry in 1888, incorporating under the Sears Roebuck name in 1893. Chicago History Museum/Getty ImagesThe cover of a Sears Roebuck and Co. catalog in the fall of 1900. The Sears catalog was the way many Americans first started to buy mass-produced goods.A Sears, Roebuck and Co. store in El Paso, Texas, circa 1940. Sears’ stores helped reshape America, drawing shoppers away from traditional Main Street merchants.Sales clerks go on strike in Chicago circa 1946. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis/Getty ImagesA Sears store in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1949. Bettmann/Getty ImagesPeople vote inside a Sears store in Tucson, Arizona, in 1953. PhotoQuest/Getty ImagesA woman receives a cosmetics consultation at a Sears store in Caracas, Venezuela, circa 1953.A worker goes over files in Sears’ catalog office. Frank Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCars fill a parking lot outside a Sears store, circa 1958. A. Y. Owen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSales clerk Lucille Jagusch shows drapery samples to shopper Arlene Hardt at a Sears store in Niles, Illinois, in 1961.People shop inside a Sears store in Morton Grove, Illinois, in 1961. APSoldiers guard a Sears store in Baltimore after riots broke out following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.People watch the Apollo 11 rocket launch at a Sears store in White Plains, New York, in 1969.An iron worker helps construct the Sears Tower in Chicago. Sears’ new headquarters, built in 1973, was the world’s tallest building until 1998. Sears sold the building in 1994.A customer shops in Woodfield, Illinois, in 1991. Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis/Getty ImagesA woman works at a Sears in Hicksville, New York, in 1994. Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty ImagesSeth Meyers, left, and Hugh Jackman play Sears photographers during a “Saturday Night Live” skit in 2001.Kaylin Wilson sets up children’s clothes in a Kmart in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 2005. This marked a significant merger in the retail industry.Black Friday shoppers duck under the opening door of a Sears store in Mentor, Ohio, in 2011.A woman in Mississauga, Ontario, examines used store furniture for sale in 2018 during storied closures.Shoppers wait in line by an empty rack of jeans during a 2019 Black Friday sale at a Sears store in Hialeah, Florida.Residents cast their vote in the 2020 presidential election at a shuttered Sears store in Janesville, Wisconsin.Cesar Villasenor, right, cleans the area in front of a vacant Sears store that was repurposed into a mixed-use complex.A police sergeant receives a Covid-19 vaccination in a former Sears store at the Townsquare Mall in Rockaway, New Jersey, in 2021.People arrive to receive Covid-19 vaccinations in 2021 at a former Sears store at the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg, Florida.Patti Naleck carts a mannequin as she prepares for the closure of a Sears store in Schaumburg, Illinois, in 2021.
