What Happened to Sears (Sears History)

Sears was more than just a store it was where you got your first bike where your dad bought his tools where your family shopped for back to school clothes today we're reopening the doors of Sears to relive those memories and understand why they're now just that memories picture this it's 1960 and you're stepping into a SE store the smell of freshh popcorn wafts through the air mixing with the scent of new leather from the shoe department kids are tugging at their parents' sleeves pointing excitedly at the latest toys the ding of cash registers and the

hum of friendly chatter fill your ears now let's hop into our retail time machine and journey through Sear's history we'll explore how a small watch company grew into America's favorite store and then well you might be surprised by what happened next from catalog to catastrophe Sears has quite a story to tell so grab your shopping cart and let's take a stroll down the aisles of retail history the beginnings of Sears our retail time machine takes us back to 1886 where we find a young Richard Warren Sears working as a Station Agent in North Redwood Minnesota

one day a shipment of unwanted gold watches arrives at his station Sears sensing an opportunity buys the lot for $12 each he then sells them to other agents for $14 pocketing a tidy $2 profit per watch this small Venture ignites a spark in Sears he quits his job and starts a mail order watch business in Minneapolis by 1887 he's joined forces with watchmaker Alva robuk and Sears robuk and Company is born now you might be thinking big deal so they sold some watches but here's where it gets interesting in 1896 something happens that changes everything

for Sears and for Rural America the government introduces rural free delivery suddenly Sears can reach customers in the remotest corners of the country and boy do they take advantage of it the Sears catalog explodes from a simple watch and jewelry pamphlet into a mammoth book offering everything under the sun imagine you're a farmer's wife in 1900 your nearest General Store is a day's wagon ride away then one day this Hefty book lands in your mailbox you open it up and there's a whole world at your fingertip tips sewing machines bicycles musical instruments even entire houses

all available with just a letter and a money order the Sears catalog wasn't just a book it was a window to the world a wishbook that brought dreams to life kids would spend hours pouring over the toy section circling their favorites adults would debate the merits of different tools or hom Goods it was Amazon before the internet Netflix before TV but Sears didn't stop there they kept innovating kept expanding by 1908 you could order an entire house from Sears yes a house they'd ship you all the materials and instructions and you'd build it yourself over

70,000 of these kit homes were sold between 1908 and 1940 now let's fast forward to 1925 Sears has been ruling the mail order Roost for decades but times are changing more people are moving to cities and suburbs cars are becoming common and Sears decides to make a bold move on February 2nd 1925 Sears opens its first retail store on Chicago's West Side it's a gamble but it pays off big time the store is a hit combining the vast selection of the catalog with the immediate gratification of in-person shopping this first store marks a turning point

for Sears over the next few decades they'll open hundreds more becoming a fixture in communities Across America from male order Pioneer to Brick and Mortar Behemoth Sears had transformed itself once again the Golden Age of Sears welcome to the 1950s where Sears Reigns Supreme as America's favorite store picture Main Street USA bustling with Shoppers all converging on that familiar sear sign it's not just a store it's a One-Stop shop for the American dream step inside and you're greeted by a cornucopia of products from the latest washing machines to stylish clothing from power tools to perfumes

Sears has it all the air is filled with the scent of popcorn from the candy counter mingling with the smell of new leather from the shoe department kids are tugging at their parents sleeves eyes wide at the toy displays it's more than shopping it's an experience but what really set Sears apart wasn't just its vast selection it was the customer service that made you feel like family need a new refrigerator the salesman wasn't just there to make a sale he was there to help you find the perfect fit for your kitchen and if something went

wrong no worries Sear's satisfaction guarantee had you covered now let's talk about the brands that became household names first up Craftsmen these weren't just tools they were a ride of Passage fathers passed down their Craftsman tool boxes to their sons knowing the lifetime guarantee meant these tools would last for Generations a broken Craftsman wrench just bring it back and they'd replace it no questions asked then there was Kenmore these appliances weren't just reliable they were the backbone of the American household from washers that could handle a little league team's uniforms to refrigerators that could feed

a growing family Kenmore was there making life a little easier for millions of Americans and who could forget Die Hard back batteries these power cells lived up to their name starting cars in the deepest cold of winter and the sweltering Heat Of Summer they became so trusted that it's got to Die Hard was all you needed to say to vouch for a vehicle's reliability but the real magic happened every fall when the Sears Christmas wish book arrived this wasn't just a catalog it was a portal to Childhood wonders kids would spend hours pouring over its

Pages circling their dream toys with hope in their hearts parents would secretly note those circles planning surprises for Christmas morning the wishbook wasn't just selling products it was selling the magic of the holiday season as Sear's success grew so did its Ambitions in 1974 they unveiled a towering symbol of their dominance the Sears Tower in Chicago for 22 years it stood as the world's tallest building a 110 story exclamation point on Sear's rule over American retail from its observation deck you could see four states A fitting metaphor for Sear's vast reach Across America but even

as Sears reached New Heights storm clouds were gathering on the horizon new competitors were emerging with names like Walmart and Kmart these upstarts were leaner hungrier and ready to challenge the retail giant the world was changing and the question was could Sears change with it the beginning of the end as the 1970s rolled around Sears stood tall as America's retail giant but change was in the air and new Challengers were emerging from the discount out store landscape names like Walmart and Kmart began to appear on storefronts across the country offering lower prices and a No

Frills shopping experience that appealed to budget conscious consumers at first Sears didn't seem too concerned after all they were the kings of retail with Decades of success behind them but these new competitors were hungry Innovative and willing to shake things up up while Sears rested on its Laurels Walmart and Kmart were busy building efficient Supply chains and mastering the art of lowcost retail remember those Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances we talked about earlier they were still great products but suddenly they weren't the only game in town discount stores were offering similar items at lower prices

and customers started to take notice Sear's response well it wasn't exactly Swift or decisive instead of adapting to the changing Retail Landscape they doubled down on what had worked in the past they continued to focus on their department store model and catalog business even as shopping habits were shifting fast forward to 2005 and Sears made a move that many considered a last ditch effort to stay relevant they merged with Kmart their longtime rival in a deal worth $1 billion on paper it looked like a smart move combining two retail Giants to create a Powerhouse that

could take on Walmart but in reality it was more like tying two sinking ships together and hoping they'd somehow float enter Edward Lampert the new CEO of the combined Sears Holdings Lampert was a Wall Street whiz kid known for his financial accur but running a retail Empire that was a different story altogether instead of investing in stores and improving the shopping experience Lampert focused on cost cutting and asset liquidation imagine you're running a marathon and instead of training and eating right you decide to sell your running shoes and cut back on water that's essentially what

Lampert did with Sears he sold off valuable real estate cut back on inventory and reduced staff the stores began to look shabby and understocked customer service once a Sears Hallmark became a thing of the past but perhaps the biggest blunder in Sears downward spiral came in 1993 when they decided to discontinue their iconic catalog now you might be thinking well catalogs were outdated anyway right wrong the the Sears catalog wasn't just a book of products it was a distribution Network a customer database and a powerful brand all rolled into one here's the kicker Sears killed

its catalog just as a little thing called Ecommerce was starting to take off Amazon founded in 1994 essentially took the Sears catalog model and brought it into the digital age Sears had the infrastructure the customer base and the brand recognition to become an e-commerce Powerhouse instead they handed that opportunity to Jeff Bezos on a silver platter as the New Millennium dawned Sears found itself in an increasingly precarious position the merger with Kmart hadn't produced the turnaround they'd hoped for their stores were aging and uninviting their once beloved Brands were losing their luster and a new

generation of Shoppers was growing up with no emotional connection to the Sear's Name by 2010 the writing was on the wall Sears Holdings reported its first annual loss in decades the company that had once been synonymous with American retail was now hemorrhaging money and customers the decline that had started as a trickle in the 1970s had turned into a flood the fall of an American icon remember those bustling Sears stores we talked about earlier well by 2017 they were becoming a rare sight the retail giant that once boasted over 3,500 locations across America had dwindled

to a mere 685 stores it was like watching a Mighty Oak wither Branch by Branch but it wasn't just the store closures that were breaking Arts Sears began selling off its crown jewels those beloved brands that had been part of American households for Generations Craftsman tools the backbone of many a home Workshop was sold to Stanley Black and Decker in 2017 imagine the shock of loyal customers who had grown up believing that Craftsmen and Sears were inseparable and it didn't stop there the Kenmore appliance brand un synonymous with reliability and value was put up for

sale even di hard batteries the brand that had started countless cars on cold winter mornings was on the chopping block it was like Sears was selling off pieces of its very identity leaving longtime customers wondering what would be left at the helm of this sinking ship was CEO Edward Lampert a figure who became increasingly controversial as sear Fortune declined Lampert wore two hats he was both the CEO of Sears and the head of a hedge fund that owned a significant stake in the company this dual role raised eyebrows and led to some questionable decisions instead

of investing in store Renovations or improving the shopping experience Lampert seemed more focused on financial Maneuvers he orchestrated complex deals that appeared to benefit his hedge funds while doing little to revive Sear's retail operations it was as if the captain of the Titanic was more interested in rearranging the deck chairs than steering away from the iceberg for a long time Sear's employees and customers watching this decline was like losing a member of the family generations of Americans had grown up with Sears as a constant presence in their lives it was where you got your first

bicycle where your parents bought their first home appliances where families did their back to-school shopping imagine being a Sears employee who had worked there for decades watching as your workplace slowly faded away or picture yourself as a retiree walking into your local seers only to find empty shelves and store closing signs the emotional impact was profound it wasn't just a store closing it was the end of an era as news of store closures and layoffs spread social media filled with nostalgic posts and sad farewells people shared memories of childhood visits to Sears of flipping through

the wishbook catalog of their first job at the local Sears store it was a collective morning for a piece of Americana that was slipping away the final blow came in October 2018 when sears's Holdings filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the company that had survived two World Wars The Great Depression and countless economic ups and downs had finally succumbed it was a sad day for American retail marking the end of a 132-year old institution the true impact of Sear's downfall the fall of Sears wasn't just a business failure it was a seismic shift that shook

the foundations of American life for Generations Sears had been more than a store it was a trusted friend a symbol of quality and a Cornerstone of communities Across the Nation when the retail giant began to crumble it left a void that many Americans are still struggling to fill think about the families who relied on Sears for everything from baby clothes to lawnmowers for them the stores decline meant more than just finding new places to shop it meant saying goodbye to a part of their family history how many of us can remember our parents or grandparents

pulling out that thick Sears catalog planning purchases for the coming year those catalog browsing sessions weren't just about shopping they were family traditions moments of dreaming and planning together and what a about the loyal Sears employees these weren't just jobs they were careers often spanning decades imagine dedicating 30 years of your life to a company only to watch it slowly fade away the pride these workers felt in their roles in being part of the sear family was replaced by uncertainty and heartbreak many found themselves suddenly jobless in their 50s or 60s facing a job market

that had changed dramatically since they first dawned their Sears name tags for customers the loss was deeply personal Sears wasn't just where you bought things it was where life happened it's where you got your first bike where your mom bought her first washing machine where your dad showed you how to pick out the right tools each store closure felt like losing a piece of your own history the shock of Sears down fall was Amplified by the seemingly callous decisions made by those at the top while longtime employees were losing their livelihoods and customers were losing

their go-to store Executives appeared more concerned with financial maneuvering than preserving the legacy of this American Icon it was as if they had forgotten that Sears wasn't just a business it was a part of the American fabric the impact rippled through communities too in many towns Sears was an anchor store in the local mall when it closed it left a gaping hole both literally in the mall and figuratively in the community other businesses that relied on the foot traffic sear generated often followed suit leading to a domino effect of closures towns that once buzzed with

Shoppers on weekends now had empty parking lots and quiet streets for many Americans watching Sear's decline was like watching a slow motion car crash they could see it coming but felt powerless to stop it each announcement of store closures or brand sales was met with a mix of nostalgia and resignation social media filled with posts of people sharing their Sears memories almost like they were eulogizing a dear friend the loss of Sears also marked the end of a certain kind of American optimism Sears had been a symbol of the American dream the idea that with

hard work and the right tools often bought from sear you could build a better life for yourself and your family its fall seemed to Echo a broader shift in American society a move away from the reliable steady progress that Sears had represented for so long but perhaps the most profound impact was on our colle itive sense of trust Sears had been a constant for so long that its disappearance left many wondering what other institutions might be more fragile than they appeared if Sears could fall what else might we lose the fall of Sears wasn't just

the end of an era in retail it was a stark reminder of the fragility of the things we consider permanent in its decline many saw the loss of something bigger a piece of American identity a confidence in steady progress and a Nostalgia for a time when things felt more stable more secure but like all change it also pushes us to reflect on what we value what we're willing to fight for and how to rebuild a future that honors Our Roots despite the losses if you found this video meaningful please consider subscribing and giving it a

thumbs thumbs up it really helps us out thanks for watching and I hope you have a wonderful day [Music]