Sears Closure Department Stores Beware

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Over a century of being in business, Sears, Roebuck and Co., has announced the closure of over 70 stores and eventually the permanent closure of all their stores.  Sears has been around since the days of the industrialization periods. It is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and was reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald.

U.S. states like Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and many more states are facing the closure of Sears stores in multiple cities within each state listed. This magnitude of closure is alarming as it means that the company as an entirety has been compromised as opposed to a single store and a few hometown stores facing closure.

Sears has a variety of departments containing electronics, clothing, tools, furniture, and home appliances. Americans have adored and appreciated a store so family-friendly and full of departments to choose from. From backyard pools and video game sets, it offers fun and entertaining options for young children and families. Sears holding also owns Kmart, a company not very different from sears but surely not as established.

Unfortunately, the long-running tenure of the department store’s culture will come to an end this year after filing for bankruptcy protection in 2018. It avoided liquidation due to Transformco acquiring both Sears and Kmart. This comes a few years after the widely reported closure of the ‘Toysrus’ across the U.S. This was bad news for a lot of kids, shoppers, and toy collectors but an inevitable decision nonetheless.

The remaining stores are usually 6,000 to 8,000 square feet while the department stores are all more than 100,000 square feet. There have been slow disappearances for Kmart and sears countrywide in the US. With 20 full-line stores in the mainland U.S. remaining, Two in Puerto Rico. There are six K-mart stores remaining in the mainland U.S. with an additional six more in Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands.

There are 30 U.S. states closing their hometown store locations in the coming weeks, though it was not the ideal situation for the stores, it was a decision that had to be made. Sears closure is not the end of cool and dense retail stores.

The company’s holdings in 2006 made 53.02 billion dollars which is the largest amount of revenue ever for the company in recorded history. Since then it has gradually declined to a shocking $31.2 billion in 2014, a massive $14.9 billion in 2017, and a devastating $3.26 billion in 2020. Though the revenue from 2020 can be attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic halting sales and business for the department store along with all places of business, it might have been the dagger to finish what had already been a declining company.

Written by Mikal Eggleston

Sources:

Western Slope Now: 71 Sears stores to close permanently nationwide; by Addy Bink, Alix Martichoux, Nexstar Media Wire

CNN: About 100 Sears Hometown stores are closing; by Jordan Valinsky

CBS: Live Television

Featured Image Courtesy of Mike Kalasnik’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

Inline Image Courtesy of Mike Kalasnik’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License