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Sears, Roebuck and Company
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Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American mid-range chain of international department stores, founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Roebuck in the late 19th century. It operates in Canada under Sears Canada, Mexico under Sears Mexico and Guatemala under Homemart, S.A. From its mail order beginnings, the company grew to become the largest retailer in the United States by the mid-20th century, and its catalogs became famous.
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Encyclopedia
Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American mid-range chain of international department stores, founded by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Roebuck in the late 19th century. It operates in Canada under Sears Canada, Mexico under Sears Mexico and Guatemala under Homemart, S.A. From its mail order beginnings, the company grew to become the largest retailer in the United States by the mid-20th century, and its catalogs became famous. Competition and changes in the demographics of its customer base challenged the company after World War II as its rural and inner city strongholds shrank and the suburban markets grew. Eventually its catalog program was largely discontinued. Sears, a former component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, merged with Kmart in early 2005, creating the Sears Holdings Corporation.
History
In 1886, the United States had thirty-eight states in the Union.
Many people lived in rural areas and relied on agriculture. For many Americans, a single general store was their source of supplies. Merchandise went through many wholesalers on the way to the retail outlet, not an inexpensive method of handling. Many general stores received their shipments of merchandise through the growing network of railroads.
Richard Sears and a shipment of watches
Richard Warren Sears was a railroad station agent in North Redwood, Minnesota when he received an impressive shipment of watches from a Chicago jeweler which were unwanted by a local jeweler. Sears purchased them himself, sold the watches for a tidy profit to other station agents up and down the line, and then ordered more for resale. Soon he started a business selling watches through mail order catalogues. The next year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he met Alvah C. Roebuck, who joined him in the business. In 1893, the corporate business name became Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Competing with general stores through mail order catalogue
Richard Sears knew that farmers often brought their crops to town, where they could be sold and shipped. Before the Sears catalog, farmers typically bought supplies (often at very high prices) from local general stores. Sears took advantage of this by publishing his catalog with clearly stated prices, so that consumers could know what he was selling and at what price, and order and obtain them conveniently. The catalog business grew quickly. By 1894, the Sears catalog had grown to 322 pages, featuring sewing machines, bicycles, sporting goods, automobiles (produced from 1905-1915 by Lincoln Motor Car Works of Chicago) and a host of other new items.
Organizing the company so it could handle orders on an economical and efficient basis, Chicago clothing manufacturer Julius Rosenwald became a part-owner in 1895. Alvah Roebuck had to resign soon after due to ill-health, but the company still retained his name. By the following year, dolls, refrigerators, stoves and groceries had been added to the catalog.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. soon developed a reputation for both quality products and customer satisfaction. By 1895, the company was producing a 532-page catalog with the largest variety of items that anybody back then could have thought of. “In 1893, the sales topped 400,000 dollars. Two years later they exceeded 750,000 dollars.”
In 1906 Sears opened its catalog plant which included the original Sears Tower pictured on this page.
In the early 20th century, Sears dealt the graphophones and records produced by Columbia Records under the trademark "Oxford".
Retail stores
The first Sears retail store opened in Chicago on February 2 1925 in the Merchandise building (in a portion of the company's headquarters at Homan Avenue and Arthington Street). This store included an optical shop and a soda fountain. The first freestanding retail store opened October 5 1925 in Evansville, Indiana. During the summer of 1928 three more Chicago department stores opened, one on the north side at Lawrence and Winchester, a second on the south side at 79th and Kenwood, and the third at 62nd and Western. In 1929 Sears took over the department store business of Becker-Ryan Company. In 1933 Sears tore down the old Becker-Ryan Company store in Englewood, and built the first windowless department store, inspired by the 1932 Chicago World's Fair.
The Sears, Roebuck catalog was sometimes referred to as "the Consumers' Bible". The Christmas Catalog was known as the "Wish Book", perhaps because of the toys in it. The catalog also entered the language, particularly of rural dwellers, as a euphemism for toilet paper. In the days of outhouses and no readily available toilet paper, the pages of the mass-mailed catalog were used as toilet paper.
After World War II, the company built many department stores in suburban shopping malls. The company was the largest retailer in the United States until the early 1980s but had dropped significantly in rankings by the time it merged with Kmart.
The highest grossing Sears store in the world is located in Puerto Rico.
Store brands, diversified services, Allstate, and Discover
Sears diversified and became a conglomerate during the mid-20th century. It established several major brands of products such as Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard, Silvertone (electronics, Gramophones, phonograph records, and musical instruments) and Toughskins. The company started the Allstate Insurance Company back in 1931, and had representatives operating in its stores as early as 1934. It purchased Dean Witter and Coldwell Banker real estate in 1981, and started what became Prodigy as a joint venture with IBM in 1984. It also introduced the Discover credit card in 1985. As late as 1993, the Discover card was the only accepted credit card at many Sears retail locations.
Alvah Roebuck returned to the organization during the Great Depression, and worked as a spokesperson until his death in 1948. Part of the reason Roebuck left Sears in 1895 was due to the stress the business placed upon him, and he later took some delight in pointing out his longevity versus the much shorter life of Richard Sears. In the 1970s, the name "Roebuck" was dropped from the trade name of the stores, though not from the official corporate name.
Store brands
- Allstate - (1926-1995) Automobile parts and insurance
- Celestial Star - Diamond Jewelry
- Cheryl Tiegs - (1981-1989) Clothing
- Coldspot - (1928-1976) Appliances
- Companion - Tools
- Craftsman - (1927-Present) Tools
- Craftsman Professional (1995-Present) - Top of the line Sears tools
- Dashmate (1975-2001?) Automobile Radios & Tape players
- David Bradley - (1910-1966) Farm Machinery
- DieHard - (1967-Present) Batteries
- Dunlap - (19?-19?) Economy line of tools
- Economy - (1902-1947) iceboxes, fountain pens, sewing machine cabinets, gasoline engines, portable saw rigs, variety of farm equipment, cream separator
- Gold Bond - (1928-Present) Mens & Boys footwear
- Harmony House - (1940-1968) Interior Decorating Products
- Hearthside - (1947-19??) Rug looms & quilting frames
- Hercules - (1908-1965) work clothing, appliances, insurance (Hercules Life Insurance Company, owned by Sears), sewage systems, letterman's jackets, fire extinguishers, heavy-duty coveralls, and home heating systems.
- Homart (1945-1992) - Heating and Cooling systems, plumbing supplies, electrical supplies, kitchen cabinets, building supplies
- J.C. Higgins - (1908-1964) Sporting Goods
- Kenmore - (1927-Present) Appliances
- Kromedge - (1955-1991) Sawblades, Dadoes, Moldering Heads, Router Bits
- PENSKE - Automotive testing tools
- Permanex - (1967-Present) Blow-molded Polyethylene Tool Storage Cases, gas cans
- Pilgrim - (1905-1964) Clothing
- Roebucks (1949-Present) Clothing
- Sears Brand - (1959-2003) Various items from all departments
- Silvertone - (1915-1972) Stereos, Televisions, Musical Instruments
- Silvertone Records
- Supertone Records
- Ted Williams Brand - (1961-?) Sporting Goods
- Toughskins - (1971-Present) Clothing
- Tower (1948-19??) - Cameras, photo supplies, office equipment
Reaching new heights
Sears made history in 1974 when it completed the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago. The tower became the world's tallest building upon its completion, a title it held until the completion of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in 1996. By 1993, however, Sears left and subsequently sold the tower, moving to Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Sears still owns the naming rights to the building.
Logo
The Sears logo currently used on most store signage was created in 1984. Previously, the Sears logo consisted of the name "Sears" in a rectangle, and prior to that was a script-style logo. Now it consists of the blue text, Sears, with a white line separating each letter down along the length of its strokes. In late 2004, the logo was switched from all upper case to mixed case.
Sears (legal name: Sears, Roebuck and Co. -- not Sears, Roebuck and Company as is often mistakenly written) formerly traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker of "S", which is now used by the Sprint Nextel Corporation. Sears, Roebuck and Co. is also a former Dow Jones Industrial Average component, listed from January 22, 1924 to October 29, 1999.
1981-2005
In the 1980s and 1990s, the company divested itself of many non-retail entities, which were creating a burden on the company's bottom line.
In 1993, Sears stopped production of its general merchandise catalog because of sinking sales and profits. However, Sears Holdings does continue to produce speciality catalogs and reintroduced a smaller version of the Holiday Wish Book in 2007.
In 2003, Sears sold its retail credit card operation to Citibank. The remaining card operations were sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in August, 2005.
In the early 1980s, Sears ceased selling shotguns, which had previously been sold primarily under their internal J. C. Higgins sporting brand from 1908 until 1961, and this alienated them from some of their historical core of rural, working-class consumers.
In 2005, Sears began adopting certain tactics used by competitors. In October 2005, they imposed a restocking fee of 15% on many of the stores items over $150 and on home-delivered merchandise.
Sears Grand prototype
In 2003, Sears opened a new concept store branded Sears Grand. Sears Grand stores carry everything that a regular Sears carries, plus health and beauty, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, home decor, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines, electronics, music, movies, and an edited assortment of groceries. Sears Grand stores are about 175,000 to 225,000 square feet (16,300 to 19,500 m˛). The first Sears Grand store (and still the largest at 225,000 square ft) opened at Jordan Landing in West Jordan, Utah in 2003. In 2005, the company began renovating some Kmart stores and converting them to the Sears Essentials format, only to change them later to Sears Grand format. Sears Essentials signs still have not been changed on many stores that were changed prior to this decision, though some Sears Essentials stores are still in operation.
Merger with Kmart
On November 17 2004, Kmart announced its intentions to purchase Sears. As a part of the merger, the Kmart Holdings Corporation would change its name to Sears Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands.
Possible future acquisitions
It has been speculated that Sears management is interested in more purchases beyond the Kmart takeover of Sears, and the idea that investor Edward Lampert is interested in becoming an investment company more than a retailer. Some of many possible targets are other companies that have low stock prices relative to company value. Some mentioned are Safeway, Home Depot, and Anheuser-Busch. The source linked here speculates that Sears Grand could be expanded in combination with Safeway's grocery stores. Another potential purchase is Radio Shack since a former Kmart CEO took over as CEO and chairman. The Washington Post, in an article dated March 11, 2007, described the current Sears as a hedge fund with money being diverted from the maintenance and improvement of stores to non-retail financial investments. A former executive is quoted as saying the company faces an "uncertain future". Surprisingly, a third of pre-tax income in the third quarter of 2006, according to The Washington Post, was due to financial trades, not the retail business. However, these investments performed poorly in the fourth quarter.
Advertising slogans
- Where America Shops For Value (1970s)
- You Can Count On Sears (19?? -1983)
- There's More For Your Life..at Sears (1983–1987)
- Your Money's Worth and a Whole Lot More (1987–1990)
- Your Money's Worth..and More (1990–1991)
- Sears: You Can Count on Me! (1991–1995)
- Come See the Softer Side of Sears (1995–1999)
- The Good Life at a Great Price. Guaranteed. (1999-2001)
- Sears: Where Else (2001–2003)
- Good Life. Great Price. (2003-2007)
- Sears: Where It Begins (2007–Present)
- Don't just give a gift, grant a wish (2007-Present - Used only during the Christmas season in conglomeration with the Sears Wishbook and Grant a Wish advertising campaign.)
Subsidiaries
Current
- Sears Department Store is a chain of mid-range department stores that are located in shopping malls; they carry clothing, jewelry, appliances, hardware, lawn and garden supplies, lawn mowers, paint, sporting goods, automobile repair, office supplies, electronics and school supplies. Sears stores are usually multi-level. There are 926 full-size Sears stores in the United States. The largest Sears Department Store is located at the Toronto Eaton Centre.
- Sears Grand is a chain of department stores typically located away from shopping malls. They carry everything a Sears Full-Line store carries, plus health and beauty products, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, home décor, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines, music, movies, and a selection of groceries which is limited mostly to dry goods. Sears Grand stores range from 165,000 to 210,000 square feet (15,300 to 19,500 m˛) . The first Sears Grand opened at Jordan Landing in West Jordan, Utah in 2003. At , the Jordan Landing store is currently the largest in the chain.
- Sears Essentials is a chain of department stores that are common retrofit remodels of existing Kmart stores. Their product lines are similar to that of Sears Grand stores. Current locations include: East Ridge, TN.
- Sears Appliance & Hardware, formerly Sears Hardware is a chain of hardware stores that carry the whole line of Sears hardware and are usually free-standing. More than 110 Sears Appliance & Hardware stores averaging 40,000 square feet serve customers nationwide. Stores were expanded to include Sears' full line of appliances in 2005.
- Sears Optical is a chain of off-mall optical shops which carries all the same products and services as the optical department at regular Sears stores.
- Sears Authorized Retail Dealer Store is a chain of small Sears retail stores that are operated as "authorized retailers" of Sears merchandise, owners of the dealer stores do not own the merchandise, merely sell it to the public for a commission, which has been cut in recent years. The owners and employees in these stores are not considered Sears' employees, and receive no benefits from Sears. There has been an attempt to unionize the dealers in recent years, by the Dealer Store council, an entity consisting of dealer store owners, but which has no official power. The attempts at unionization have not proven successful. These stores are usually located in smaller markets that do not currently support full-sized retail stores. They are signed as Sears and are usually free-standing or located in strip malls. They primarily concentrate on hardware, appliances, lawn and garden supplies, and some major electronics (televisions, home theater systems, etc...).
- Sears Appliance Outlet is a store format where customers can take advantage of discounted, damaged, defective and returned home appliances, big screen TVs and mattresses offering the merchandise at a 15 to 50 percent discount off the regular retail price. Currently, there are 49 Sears Appliance Outlet stores – 21 in industrial parks, 21 in strip malls and 7 in outlet malls. The business also includes six redistribution centers.
- Sears Parts & Repair Center is a chain of service centers that typically sell parts for lawn & garden equipment and appliances and also feature a carry-in point for customers to bring-in merchandise which needs to be repaired, either in or out of warranty. Typically labeled Sears Service Center or Sears Home Central, two names that also refer to the Parts and Repair Centers. Sears has started closing many of these down as more and more of its service and repair business is home-based.
- The Great Indoors is a chain of free-standing home decor stores that carry high end appliances, bedding, and kitchen and bath fixtures. The Great Indoors stores are 130,000 square feet (12,000 m˛) on average.
- Lands' End aside from carrying the Lands' End clothing line at Sears stores, Sears Holdings also operates 16 Lands' End stores that carry only Lands' End clothing. These stores are located in outlet malls and regular malls.
- Orchard Supply Hardware is a chain of free-standing hardware stores that carry home repair, hardware products and lawn and garden supplies. Orchard Supply Hardware stores are 40,000 square feet (4,000 m˛). There are currently 84 stores, all of them in California. Sears now owns 80.1% of the chain, and revealed intentions in May 2005 to spin it off. Richard Karn of Home Improvement fame was a spokesman for the chain.
- A&E Factory Service is the newest name for Sears' longstanding on-site repair service, servicing larger items such as home appliances, electronics, and garden equipment. The A&E brand name was purchased from Montgomery Ward, which used it for their home service unit, and is a joint venture held by Whirlpool and Sears Holdings. A & E Factory Service is a network of mobile service vans with a long history of performing appliance repairs.
Former
- Sears Brand Central was an electronics store. The electronics departments in Sears are now known and referred to internally as Brand Central, although they are not marketed to consumers as such.
- Sears Catalog Sales Stores were located in small towns. These stores were very small, even smaller than Sears' current Hometown Dealer stores. At catalog stores, some items could be ordered from the floor, such as appliances; other items could be ordered from catalogs at the store. These stores were often placed in rural markets which were far from full-line Sears stores, allowing for customers to purchase Sears products more easily. These stores were closed in 1993 when Sears closed its catalog business.
- Sears Authorized Catalog Sales Merchant was an independent business person who provided many of the same services as the Sears Catalog Sales Store.
- Sears Appliance Stores were small stores that displayed and sold (at Retail Store prices) appliances, carpeting, etc. and, in addition, provided a catalog sales department through which catalog items could be ordered.
- Sears Rent-a-Car was a car rental chain formed in a joint venture with Budget. It was sold to Avis in 2002.
- Sears HomeLife was a chain of furniture stores owned by Sears. The concept was introduced at a mall in Fresno, California in 1989, followed by a stand-alone store in Madison, Wisconsin. Sears sold the stores to Citicorp Venture in 1999, who changed the chain's name to just "HomeLife". They opened many locations inside large Sears stores or near the store depending on space available. HomeLife closed its last stores in 2001.
- Sears Neighborhood was a chain similar to Sears Hometown stores, except that Neighborhood stores were located in urban markets. An average Sears Neighborhood store was . These stores were also independently owned and operated. The concept was introduced in Atlanta in 1998, and another similar store was located in Cincinnati. The Neighborhood stores closed in the early 2000s.
Sears Tower and Sears Merchandise Building Tower
The original Sears Tower was built in Lawndale at the west side of Chicago during the years of 1905-1906.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. built the famed Sears Tower, which was completed in 1974. This building, located in Chicago, is the tallest building in the United States. The company no longer owns the building, but continues to retain the naming rights to it. It is now a multi-tenant office building with more than 100 different companies in residence, including major law firms, insurance companies and financial services firms.
Employee relations
Sears has struggled with employee relations. One notable example being the shift in 1992 from an hourly wage based on longevity, to a base wage (usually anywhere from $3.50 to $6 per hour) and commissions ranging from 1% to 11%. This new base wage, often constituting a substantial cut in pay, up to 40%, was done in the interest of "to be successful in this highly competitive environment."
Sears is one of few retailers to still pay commission, in the belief that this will create more knowledgeable employees and provide better customer service. However, in early October 2007 Sears cut commission rates for employees in select departments to anywhere from 1% to 4% but equalized the base wage across all Home Improvement and Electronics departments. Appliances, vacuums, and mattresses are the only departments left where wages are based solely on commission sales. The jewelry department associates receive a low base salary with 1% commission on their sales. In early 2008 Sears also converted Lands' End from commission to a straight hourly wage, although all departments remaining on commission still receive the 1% commission on Lands' End-branded clothing.
Associates receive an associate discount. 20% off on clothing, shoes, and jewelry. They also receive 10% off on everything else in the store, except for Great Price items.
The domain sears.com attracted at least annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.
Prairie Stone Business Park
Sears saw a modern suburban office campus as a more efficient location than the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago, so they began the move to the new Prairie Stone Business Park in Hoffman Estates, Illinois between 1993 and 1995. The office park has a focus on technology and sustainability, featuring an extensive landscaping plan that uses native prairie plants wherever possible, and a system of several express bus routes coordinated with Pace to encourage public transportation use with a future stop on the Metra STAR Line.
Recently opened is the 25% Sears owned Sears Centre Arena continuing the common practice of naming a sports arena/expo center for an extended period of time. Ryan Companies owns the remaining 75%, and other offices and hotels are being developed on the Prairie Stone campus.
See also
External links
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