Sears, Roebuck and Co. was one of the first retail companies in the United States. Sears once operated a large number of department stores, specialty stores, and service centers in the United States and other countries. The company experienced its greatest success during the middle to late 1900’s. It later struggled to compete with other retail companies.
In 1886, Richard W. Sears, a railroad station agent in his early 20’s, began to sell watches by mail from North Redwood, Minnesota. Sears moved to Chicago, Illinois, the next year and hired Alvah C. Roebuck to repair customers’ watches. The two men became partners and in 1893 founded Sears, Roebuck and Co. The company sold clothing, household goods, farm implements, and many other kinds of products, all by mail-order catalog. The first catalog was published in 1888. In the early 1900’s, Sears became the world’s largest mail-order company.
In 1925, Sears opened its first retail store, in Chicago. That store was quickly followed by many others. In 1931, sales from the firm’s retail stores topped its mail-order sales for the first time. That same year, the firm founded the Allstate Insurance Company. In 1981, Sears acquired affiliates (branch organizations) in the fields of real estate and financial services.
In the early 1970’s, Sears built the Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) in Chicago. The building housed the company’s corporate headquarters until 1995. It was the world’s tallest building until 1998.
During the 1990’s, financial troubles prompted Sears to eliminate or cut back many activities. The firm sold its financial services and real estate affiliates in 1993. It also closed many of its retail stores and eliminated its famous mail-order catalog. In 1995, Sears sold Allstate.
In 2005, Sears, Roebuck and Co. merged with Kmart Holding Corporation to form Sears Holdings Corporation. Sears Holdings Corporation filed for bankruptcy in 2018. In 2019, most of its assets were acquired by another company—Transform Holdco LLC, or Transformco. The new parent company continued to operate some Sears stores and a Sears consumer website.
See also Mail-order business ; Retailing ; Rosenwald, Julius ; Wood, Robert Elkington .
