There are only 12 Sears left, I went to 3

[@jeremiahmiller6431]

What's sad is they had everything to become Amazon, if they had just put it together in time. They already had a catalogue that contained virtually everything under the sun, they had an accurate inventory system that could tell them where every item they offered was in the world, they had a shipping and distribution network that was unmatched, they had every tool to succeed in the modern world. If only they had put the catalogue online and made it searchable, then hooked a credit card processor up to it. That's all it would have taken. But they didn't, and Amazon did, and that was the writing on the wall for Sears.

[@googleislame]

Sears owned Prodigy, an internet service provider back in the 1980s. And they owned Discover, a credit card company. They had everything they needed to evolve into what Amazon is today. They had at least an entire decade head start. They could have put their entire catalog on Prodigy in 1985 and processed Discover card payments on it. Then when the World Wide Web emerged in the 1990s, they could have migrated their catalog onto that. They could have been selling everything from luggage to clothes to jewelry when Amazon was still trying to figure out how to just sell books.

[@tacticlol]

I have been thinking the exact same thing. Amazon was just the sears catalog with a website, at least initially. I’m wondering if Sears ever made any attempt to go online, and why it failed.

[@sacvideo1998]

I think you are right, Sears could have been Amazon. I think the hurdle would be that Amazon lost a lot of money along they way as it focussed on growth. If you're a startup, venture capital is willing to give you funding as long as you can keep growing. But if you're the CEO of a legacy retailer like Sears, it would proably by tougher to get the board to go along with investing huge amounts of money in a new thing, burning up all the profits from your existing business. I think the focus is more on the short term, on generating a return for the shareholders

[@tnbspotter5360]

Those huge shifts in how they do business really needs the original founder or another visionary in control to achieve that. Once that person leaves and control goes to management focused on quarterly bonuses it doesn't happen.

[@vigilantbruiser1119]

complacent bosses and their distaste of new ideas

[@Deined]

Arguably the most ironic part is that none of those stores are located in Illinois, where Sears was launched.

[@BLaw707]

Indeed, and the Sears Tower was sold and the large corporate headquarters that was in Hoffman Estates.

[@jadedheartsz]

yeah I walked around the Sears Grand store in Gurnee Mills after it was abandoned, it was eerie.

[@BeWithTamia]

My mall still has it Sears location, not open but abandoned. It’s interesting that all the Illinois stores are closed when many of the people I knew shopped at Sears more than JC Penny and Macy’s.

[@DM-dn7rf]

No, it originated in Minnesota but moved to Chicago because of its rail connections to the rest of the country.

[@GeometricMason]

Yea, I remember going to their large store in downtown Chicago and that was just 18 years ago.

[@thomasrobinson182]

I worked for Sears many years ago. They stopped listening to their customers, associates and vendors. They devalued people and management didn't invest in the stores or employees. They instead focused on cost-cutting and eventually killed the business. They will eventually fade from view...

[@someone-ji2zb]

I also worked for Sears, and they actually stopped giving pizza parties and started giving soda parties instead. I believe that is what really led to the downfall of the company. It is tough to say what exactly did more damage, but the other thing to consider is that they also were meanies.

[@camgere]

Senior managers start optimizing for business value and not customer value.

[@Cheesesteak70-d1v]

I worked for them as a kid in the stockroom. The manager was so terrified of the general manager during inventory. She always had too much stock told me to throw it all away. I would sell bicycles, scooters, exercise equipment I made more money doing that than working.😂

[@Forever_Laura]

It sounds like you don't know what really happened to sears

[@thomasrobinson182]

I don't need you talking down to me. Maybe you can insult someone else's intelligence.

[@don-cw1yz]

When you think of it Sears used to sell home kits from the 1920's to 1940's. You could order a pre-cut modular home delivered. They invented the Sears catalogue. Many older people remember the time we spent flipping through that catalogue. You just called in your order and it was delivered. Satisfaction or money refunded was their guarantee. Why the heck management could not embrace the computer age and prosper is really strange.

[@mcross320]

In the 50's, I remember how exciting it was ti go to Sears, especially the hardware/tool department. I am willing to bet the old crusty dogs led to the decline, not bringing in young blood and ideas that resonated with new times of internet buying. Walmart stole the business model, does both, but is the coldest place on Earth to go buy stuff.

[@longagoandfaraway7868]

Both sets of my grandparents still had outhouses even in my youth. And both had Sears catalogs on the shelf by the seat. They had to explain to me why they were there. They told even though they actually had TP in there by then, they kept the Sears catalog there for nostalgia.

[@bluoval3481]

Sears also sold automobiles. The first attempt was in the early 1900s and then again in the early 1950s. Wild!

[@longagoandfaraway7868]

@bluoval3481 the Allstate cars I remember seeing were rebadged Henry J's

[@sparkyjerred419]

I live in a 1921 home that was likely a Sears kit.

[@joachimgoethe7864]

I'm 63 years old. I grew up with Sears. I remember going with my parents to Sears Xmas shopping as a child. Sitting on Santa's lap. Enjoying all the lights and decorations. As an adult, the tool dept were I bought all my Craftsman tools and lawnmowers. My family shopped at the same Sears for 50 years. My Aunt worked there for 15 years.. l watched as that building was demolished and replaced with another. Lot's of memories. . . All gone.

[@randywallace6506]

Damn right! I'm 61 and have the same memories. Wouldn't let the kids sit on Santa's lap anymore though 😮

[@keithlewis9106]

As you at 64 , we both grew up with sears, auto center and tools with catalog stores too.

[@leondillon8723]

76.5+ here. I remember the boating items. They sold triangular pennants. A cocktail glass meant a party onboard, come over. A battleaxe for when a Mother- In - Law had boarded.

[@nofbi8582]

@@leondillon8723 18 years, and it's too expensive.

[@iluciferi5320]

@@RAJohnsWho cares

[@HawaiianBro808]

What's funny about the comment on the tools 2:40 is that tools was one of their most successful businesses. SEARS started the exclusive tool brand Craftsman, which is now a widely popular tool brand. Many found it convenient, and Craftman became such a success that they branched away from SEARS. So yes, many did go to SEARS for tools; that was kind of what made them notable, while the women shopped and men could get their tools.

[@jasonscott5791]

One could argue that's one of the things that helped kill Sears. For the the longest time, Sears essentially had a monopoly on premium quality tools sold at the retail level. Once big box stores like Lowes started selling tools that were almost as good for less money, Sears lost one of the few advantages it had left.

[@fredtaylor9792]

There was a guy who invented a tool, it was like a squeeze ratchet wrench but I forgot what it was called. He made them here in the U.S. and sold them at sears stores. It's all he did. Without warning one year, sears stopped renewing his contract. That same year, he saw his product, made in China now, in a sears store. I hated sears from that moment on.

[@hibob841]

The big selling point for Craftsman was that they had a lifetime warranty and any Sears would exchange them...on-the-spot, no receipt, no questions asked. It was great for things that can break from time to time even with normal use (socket adaptors, for instance). You could literally find some ancient, broken, rusty wrench somewhere and so long as the 'Craftsman' name was halfway legible, walk into any Sears and get a new one. I once burned up a Craftsman rotary tool attachment (knock-off Dremel) through sheer abuse and they still replaced it, which impressed me. I have heard that Home Depot/Husky is similar but I haven't broken a Husky tool to find out.

[@fredtaylor9792]

@hibob841 On the TV show American Chopper, they literally bought a large craftsman wrench, brand new, torched it to bend it at an angle they needed for one job, took it right back and they replaced it.

[@ronhoover5516]

Sears sold the Craftsman brand as part of its sell off strategy years back, but point taken.

[@davidterrell1242]

FYI, there are over 90 Sears in Mexico. I was in Mexico City from September to November of this year and seen a few.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

Interesting. Canada has no Sears stores left. They were gone for years.

[@johntudek]

Sears sold them off in 1947. not a part of sears anymore

[@originalusername6224]

Hay un chingo de Sears acá jajaja, en puebla hay 2 o 3

[@MickeyMouse-lw9hg]

​@@johntudek Actually, 1998 with Grupo Carson adquiring 85 percent of the division's stock, now they are the sole owners of that division

[@falseertolo33]

​@@originalusername6224aquí en el Estado hay mínimo 4

[@Typical.Anomaly]

In Moline, IL, my Dad worked for Sears from 1962-1997, but not in the retail sector. He fixed TVs and VCRs back when they were worth fixing at the SEARS Service Center. It kept us living well, and we had about 8 refurbished TVs in the house at any given point after 1982 (I was born in '78) Great store, too. We used to drive there in our Cutlass Cruiser station wagon.

[@hellopeople1019]

A fellow moline resident nice to meet you

[@lmnop29]

Hello rare fellow QC-idian!

[@Yomama1029]

Cool thanks for sharing 😊

[@theglowcloud2215]

Living in Moline, driving a Ford Windstar, eating at Bennigan's, repairing VCRs...the American dream

[@AaronGerschler]

The internal guts of those old registers is an IBM 386. I saw because I was asked to help the technician during my shift back in 2015. The inventory handhelds we used were so old that there was only one business that still sold the paper tape for the printers. For the whole store there were only two printers for the handhelds to be plugged into, which was a nightmare during the annual inventory audit. The batteries for the handheld were all refurbished because that supplier had gone out of business years before I started working at Sears.

[@dycedargselderbrother5353]

I'm trying to think about the kind of devices that have processing weaker than a 386 and it's hard to. For example, about once per month I'll see a video pop up about running Doom on something like a refrigerator or HVAC panel and it's running faster than it would on a 386, which would be in the teens of FPS or lower and at 50% size.

[@janetyurkin822]

I’m 81 and I remember when Sears was Sears, Roebuck. When that big thick catalog came they had everything you’d ever need. We counted the days until the Christmas toy catalog came in the mail and what a joy that was. We read it from cover to cover. Their craftsman tools with the lifetime free replacement. Their Kenmore appliances were top of the line. Sears die hard car batteries. They didn’t keep up with the times, they failed due to poor management. Paying executive’s outrageous wages, and they didn’t know what they were doing. The worst thing they did was buying K-mart, that didn’t work for either company.

[@srozaardnet5630]

My dad travelled around the country opening new Sears stores. I remember .that at one time in the 1950's, the company was allowing employees to submit photos of their children. If they had the "cute" factor, they could be used as models in the catalog. My father submitted photos of my sister & me, but we were rejected as being too thin. lol

[@davisholman8149]

@@srozaardnet5630. I am surprised Sears didn’t at least keep some stores open to sell tools & appliances. The Kenmore brand was a good selling brand.🤷🏽

[@RangerHouston]

This is incredibly depressing for me. My parents both absolutely loved sears and I’ve got so many memories of shenanigans in their stores. Rest in Peace Sears.

[@MatthewTheWanderer]

I only have bad memories about Sears, especially from when I worked there in 2007 and 2008.

[@cheerio2901]

I miss it

[@jamiecrawford8133]

Best thing in the world as a kid was their Christmas catalog

[@MikhailFederov]

god the amount of misbehavior I engaged in at sears stores as a child

[@ksavage681]

The only reason Sears closed was because the CEO wanted to liquidate every piece of real estate after selling off all their brands, Kenmore, Craftsman, etc.

[@ReneRivers]

Yep. He became the CEO to sell the company assets and debt to a company he owned.

[@Cakebattered]

Now, his company is the lead creditor in Sears bankruptcy.

[@Justin_Beaver564]

That's just cynicism. The Sears brand has no value with anyone under 50 years old. That's the real problem. It's a dinosaur.

[@SalisburySnake]

@@Justin_Beaver564 It was already a dinosaur when those 50yo's were born. Brands can occasionally cross generations and completely change sales models (like how they went from catalogs to stores), but it would be rare to do it twice.

[@briangasser973]

He bought the brand when it was already in distress. Like ToysRUs, Saxs, BedBath, and countless other retailers, it could not compete in a modern retail environment or innovate.

[@GlobalWarmingSkeptic]

I'm 40 years old. I remember Sears, Kmart, and RadioShack, how bustling those places were, how modern their equipment was and it was so awesome to look at displays of everything and thinking how cool it looked, new VCR models every year that looked more flashy than the year before, and definitely better than what we had at home. I remember the shopping malls even up to 2000 so stocked with stores. Yes the rise of online shopping is convenient but you do lose something with these old walk-in stores going under.

[@cdevidal]

It wasn’t just online shopping that did in Radio Shack, they also ran their stores horribly. That one-two punch was the death of many legacy businesses.

[@jimroscovius]

​@cdevidal Radio Shack started sinking when they decided to concentrate on phones and forgot about their bread and butter. I worked for them from 1978-1982. Those were great days!!

[@enturnetrol7869]

I like shopping in the store better because you know what you are going to get. Half of the stuff you buy online is complete junk.

[@Smile200-z4y]

Yeah but you still pay for gas. I still like in person stores too.

[@landonbenford8369]

@@Smile200-z4y I'd rather commute to a store and actually See and Touch what I'm about to buy beFORE I buy it because how much time am I gonna spend returning it if I don't like it??!?

[@usedbigs]

I worked (for many years) at Sears in Port Charlotte Fl. Thank you so much for taking the time and effort in putting this all together!!

[@caws5a]

And I worked with you, how about that? Sad stuff... We saw some of the best and then the worst huh? Pretty much sums it up though, they just didn't react fast enough, then the takeover by the hedge fund guy that was clueless was the beginning of the end... What surprised me the most was video of a "Mall" that was still actually running..... SHOCKED!!!

[@mr.lavander7145]

Major backroom vibes. Especially the first one with the broken elevator and escalator. I was half expecting it to turn into analog horror. Great work. Glad these got documented while they're still around.

[@Aiophgy]

the Covid sign already feels like a relic

[@1marcelfilms]

Good old days

[@Smile200-z4y]

People are nostalgic for fucking covid

[@smupking9592]

​@@Smile200-z4yikr, nothing nostalgic about à curfew

[@landonbenford8369]

@@Smile200-z4y I think people were better behaved then they are now. Effing Pathetic, isn't it??!?

[@tongobong1]

@@Smile200-z4y it is crazy that many miss bad times more than good times. This is why many tyrannic dictators are popular among people even decades after they are gone.

[@craigsavarese8631]

I remember as a kid (1970’s) how my brother and I looked forward to the annual Sears Wishbook and fought over who got to look at it first. For the younger generation, there was no Amazon/internet.

[@bunberrier]

yep. The toy section was at the back of the Sears Catalog

[@TVTIME-be8ze]

Back before humanity became so toxic when it came to the Internet

[@tarpanc34]

same story with a twist every turkey day my aunt would bring a 1972 sears catalog that had a mans penis showing in the mens clothing section .. my whole family of women..lol would pass it around , all the way till 1999 when the family all fell apart.. people died other people did get monies and anger brew.. true story though..

[@bunberrier]

@@tarpanc34 When I was 10 or so a friend from across the street came to the door very excited. There was a secret club and we were going to be in it, the first members. There were even secret documents! I could not wait to see where this was going and was fully prepared to join my new life of intrigue and mystery. Our first mission of course was to view the secret documents. We went to where he had carefully hidden them, in a manilla envelope behind the air handler in his family's basement. He had cut out the section of the Sears catalog that showed women models wearing the bras for sale.

[@southernoregoncatmom6519]

Yes!

[@crusinscamp]

My Sears story: Way back in the late 1970s, when I was a young foolish man, I'd brave the cold of winter in the thinnest of jackets. That year was particularly bitterly cold and my dear mother got me the nicest, hooded winter coat from Sears - The Men's Store. That coat served me well over the years and it's always been the best at keeping me warm. Fast forward to almost 50 years later. The coat hangs on our coat rack ready to serve. It's zipper is missing a few teeth, so you have to start the zipper carefully. Most of the flap closing buttons are gone and it's somewhat soiled, but still it serves. It's my winter work coat and I wouldn't be without it. It's still the best, working on the car out in the cold or shoveling or blowing snow. The coat continues to keep me warm. Mom chose well, it's a nice, functional memento form the past, she'd be pleased. Sears always had good products.

[@prion42]

I just realized. My coat came from Sears, something like 20 years ago.

[@gregrowe1168]

I’ve got a coat I still wear from JC Penny from 2007 I think. It’s still in good condition, zipper still works fine and on all the pockets too. I think it cost $30 back then, was an after Christmas sale. The day after Christmas used to be just as big for shopping as Black Friday. That coat would probably cost $100 now or more.

[@leechalove]

This makes me so sad.

[@crusinscamp]

@@leechaloveDon't let it make you sad, life goes on.

[@deanwinchester3356]

Honestly that has nothing to do with Sears. Nothing is made with quality anymore. An item from the dollar store back in the 70’s holds up better than anything modern these days. You gave Sears too much credit. 😂 My parents have many NON-Sears items from back in the day that are holding up. Has nothing to do with Sears.

[@PocketsandOutlaw]

Whenever I hear "this company will never die" I point at Sears. Reminds us that no matter what, no matter how big and significant, NO company lives forever.

[@michaelsix9684]

Sears store near me in Houston was opened in 1947, closed in July few years ago, it was always busy and full of people, bought many items there for the home which I still have, some of the clerks there had been with Sears for decades and were proud of it

[@nspread8953]

I was a salesman for sears. Losing craftsman is what did them in. Another issue with sears is it tried creating its own online marketplace to compete with companies like Amazon. Sears would sell merchandise online, cheaper than in their own stores. That’s why the stores started dying.

[@MamaCarola1]

They wouldn't price match if you showed them the online price?

[@nspread8953]

@@MamaCarola1 They did. In fact we as salesman lost 30% of our commission whenever we had to use the code to price match in our POS system. A lot of employees quit because they were losing money on sales price matching Sears website.

[@mikeytappe]

@@MamaCarola1I remember my local sears wouldn’t. Of course that’s one store out of many so I can’t speak for the other locations.

[@billkissick6268]

Their "leadership" is what killed them. On purpose to make one guy richer.

[@amasterofbation]

They still have an online marketplace and everything is mainly sold by third party sellers

[@opraiderman904]

The downfall of Sears is one of the most perplexing. The failure to embrace e-commerce when it's naturally an evolution of the mail order model they grew and thrived off of for so many years. Even with the decline in foot traffic, having a large location in nearly every city enables them to carry lots of inventory to fulfill site to store or last mile delivery orders.

[@dvferyance]

I knew years ago they were in trouble but I thought like today they would still have like 200-300 stores left. I wonder if they could ever take the Toys R Us route at a comeback.

[@FallicIdol]

They canceled their catalog just as ecommerce was becoming a thing

[@johniii8147]

They were actually among the first to introduce ecommerce .

[@memnarch129]

@@FallicIdol Yep. All they had to do was include the web address and put reference numbers next to all the products and they would of been set to transition into the 21st century. But instead they cancel their catalog, which was iconic, and go to in store only purchases when everyone else was moving away from stores.

[@Chicago48]

@@dvferyance The major stockholder, Edwin something, ran it in the ground and used it as a bank.

[@LilannB]

It is shocking to me that there are only 12 Sears stores left in the US. Growing up there were probably 4 Sears stores within driving distance of our house. Most were at various malls and one was a free standing store in the inner city. The one in the inner city had a lunch counter where you could buy a fresh hamburger. I attended a charm school for teenage girls at Sears when I was 13. My parents purchased all their appliances at Sears. The brand name for Sears appliances was Kenmore.

[@bandittwothree3765]

charm school at Sears 😂

[@muffs55mercury61]

My washer and dryer are both 1980s era Kenmores that I bought about 8 years ago. Parts are no problem as there must have been a lot of leftover new old stock. In 8 years the only problem was the timer went out on the washer I refuse to buy new stuff which are overpriced and totally unreliable (learned the hard way on that about 20 years ago)

[@curtisadams6048]

Just 15-20 years ago Sears was me any my husband's go-to department store, and there were several nearby. Tools, clothes, mattress, dishwasher, washer/dryer, bedding sets, car service - we got a lot there. Some we even still have. It was a precipitous collapse.

[@williewonka6694]

As a guy, I thought charm school was a joke, didn't know they actually existed for common people.

[@LilannB]

@@williewonka6694 That was in the 1970s so it was a different era. Charm school was also probably a middle class thing it was about teaching a young girl to be a "lady". I am African American as were my parents the charm school was at the Sears in the inner city so all the girls taking the class were also African American. There were about 12 girls in the class. Our graduation from the class was held in an auditorium on an upper floor at Sears. We walked a runway for our families wearing clothes from the "juniors" dept at Sears.

[@charredolive]

Sears closing down was the beginning of the end for our local mall. They had everything Sears related, including a detached auto shop on the other side of the parking lot. Now the mall is 80% empty stores.

[@martyyoung598]

Still have (and use every day) my Kenmore Microwave purchased in 1984. It was repaired once in the Sears service center in the 90’s. I’ve had to repair it twice since then as the famous Sears service is long gone. I’m holding on to it as it still works well and can still get parts on eBay. It’s a very Nostalgic thing for me

[@FallicIdol]

Thank you for sharing this. Going to dying malls and stores like this kind of depresses me. I was a kid in the 90s and I never would have guessed then that malls and Sears would eventually fade.

[@puppetmaster7479]

I miss it bro

[@dvferyance]

I wouldn't have either. Sears was a big retail giant it's like thinking about Ford going out of business it's jsut something you think is unimaginable.

[@FallicIdol]

@@dvferyance they were the Walmart or Amazon of their day

[@puppetmaster7479]

@@dvferyance I just bought a Ford bronco 100 k what did u get for christmas

[@brianmeen2158]

Toys r us to.. oh and arcades

[@ralphcantrell3214]

I miss 'em. The best tools with the best warranty around. RIP, Sears.

[@michaelsix9684]

my late dad bought a sander from then in late 50s, we still have it, best one we ever had, all metal construction, they sold great metal tool boxes too

[@Stephanie-mv9iy]

There a ton in... Mexico.

[@bobbobby1846]

Lowe sells craftsman

[@ralphcantrell3214]

@@bobbobby1846 Yes, and I have bought some from there and had good luck with them, but I'm still not 100% convinced the quality is as good as Craftsman stuff from the Sears days.

[@SergeantExtreme]

@@bobbobby1846 *Crapsman

[@Daggoth65]

This was a hit to the nostalgia, growing up in the 90's my mother loved SEARS and took us there all the time and every year we had out pictures taken there at the portrait center.

[@George-ni5ic]

We took our 1 year old to Sears for a fancy portrait in 1986. While she was an exceptionally beautiful child, it was a fantastic shot. There was no hipster irony to getting a photo portrait done at Sears. It was just good value for the money.

[@lohdown8871]

The Sears catalog was a dream come true for me as a kid growing up in the 70s. I remember looking through the toy section every Christmas, circling what I wanted, and giving it to my mom. I remember we purchased the Atari VCS (now known as the Atari 2600) through the Sears catalog. I was so excited to get it. I can still remember waiting in line at the catalog desk with my mom to pick it up.

[@caws5a]

60's AND 70's !!! Did the same thing!!! Didn't get much of what was circled but, damn that was just part of Christmas..... Miss those days, GEEZ I'M OLD .....

[@zakash613]

Most realistic backrooms creepy pasta reading I've ever listened to! I loved that the visuals were so accurate too!

[@metalgrinch]

Being a kid of the 80s I grew up going to Sears. Was a hot spot for my parents in terms of clothing, shoes and appliances. What my opinion is on its decline was simply it not bothering to update its approach to customer service, product availability and presentation since the early 90s. It updated until that point and just stopped. Outlier products like tools, appliances, tv's and video games were far too overpriced considering you can get better prices next door or down the street. Around the early 2010s employees just seemed to stop caring bc the store gave them no incentive to do so. It feels like they all just gave up, period. It Was basically a thrift store by the end. Unfortunately they did this to themselves out of sheer apathy.

[@charlesharmon4926]

They made every wrong turn in retail each time there was a disruption in commerce.

[@kevinc8955]

People don’t want to buy their shirts at the same place they get their oil filter.

[@Boswd]

@@kevinc8955 I'm not sure how old you are, but that was one the great selling points of Sears back during 70's 80's and into the 90's. It was the ultimate one stop shopping. You could buy a suit, get your brakes changed, buy a TV , a washer and dryer, toys for the kids, a kitchen aid mixer all under one roof. Sears was great to go to . and as a kid in Septmeber every kid waited for the Sears Christmas cataloge to come. It was Amazon in physical form. it's a shame Sears was the best back in the day

[@mattweeks2272]

@@kevinc8955Walmart lol

[@SalisburySnake]

@@kevinc8955 I'm not aware of Sears ever selling oil filters, aside from the ones they installed in the auto center. But yeah, Walmart does that very successfully. Not everyone wants the shirts walmart sells, but most people get something there. I used to buy a lot of tools and clothes at Sears, but both went to crap long before they closed.

[@itinerantpatriot1196]

Good old Sears. It always blew my mind that the company that created shopping from home wasn't the first one to plant their flag in the online marketplace. How they failed to see what the Internet would become is a mindbender. Then again, a friend of mine went to work there after retiring from the military and she only lasted a couple months. She told me the place was jacked, especially her fellow managers and there was zero accountability to go with zero motivation among the employees. We were a Sears home. My family moved here in the early 60s and one of my earliest memories from that time was going to Sears and stocking our home. Everything was Kenmore in our house and the washer, dryer, and refrigerator my Dad bought that night were all still trucking along when I moved out in the mid-80s. We even had a Kenmore stereo, which was really a Pioneer system in a fancy cabinet. Man, did that thing rock. I blew out the left channel playing the Black Sabbath Paranoid album so loud they heard it at the schoolyard a couple blocks away. Dad was not impressed though, and I had to work off the cost for the guy to come out and restore it to its normal operation. We bought our school clothes there and I still have my Craftsman tools I bought in the mid-80s. To quote Time Allen: "Darn right Sears." Time marches on I guess. RIP Sears, I miss combing through the catalog, looking at that five-speed bike I never got.

[@ericfleetwood6744]

Sears fought to stay as they were, rather than seeing the future and seizing it. Yes, it would have meant divesting themselves of retail space, or repurposing it. Nobody wants to see their job disappearing, or being redefined to require someone with different talents. And Sears was stodgy. As I recall, at one time they required their executives to wear white dress shirts, no colors. People anchored to the past deny themselves the opportunity to sail into the future.

[@JasonBender-mo6qv]

1920s tea and biscuits for the rich my nickel den lights to day or two an Archie Bunker was on the range good old days government takeovers Christmas disappearing because of 2010 recession man but Sears lasted a lifetime couldn't wait to get the Sears catalog look at the radios the young children's section what's the pajamas in the appliances made in America God bless the iconic store computers that take over because they are young people want to do everything with the internet from buying to selling God bless stamp of approval USA on durable goods in the 80s still we remember America took pride in their appliances Sears was open from 8:00 until 6:00 at night and if they didn't have it you had to order in the catalog thanks for the memories the Midwest remembers😊

[@mikejohn0088]

Purchased a Moped there in the late 50s and drove it up and down our long driveway a hundred times everyday (I was about 11 or 12). It took me a few weeks to figure out it had two speeds at which time the driveway no longer imposed its limits.

[@WhatWillYouFind]

Sears had the power and network to make Walmart, Target, and Amazon redundant years before their time. Inaction and complacency, along with malicious investor rug pulling did them in.

[@jfwfreo]

What ultimately killed Sears (and K-Mart) is Eddie Lampert and his financial shenanigans.

[@MickeyMouse-zu2yk]

It was not “financial shenanigans- it was an intentional and well executed plan to sell off various brands and the real estate holdings

[@petenavajas5959]

You said it friend. POS pirate!

[@vinsanity40k]

they don't call them vulture capitalists for nothing.

[@mikemancini313]

Somehow, a 13th Sears opened in the Valley Mall in the state of Washington.

[@mikeske9777]

You have to go back much further then when Fast Eddie took over. Probably go all the way back to the early to mid 1980's. Sears just lost focus in Chicago and started the tend of cutting and tossing things out for short term profit for the shareholders and the corporate offices. I remember my father as a manager for Sears saying things that all the corporate want is profit for the quarter and not reinvest in the company. Back then they spun Allstate Insurance off. Then start in the partnership of Prodigy.

[@mrcuda73]

I’m in my mid 60s and when I was a kid Sears was the place to go for families when they needed anything and everything. When we moved from Southern California to Illinois in the late 60s, we spent every weekend at Sears buying furniture for the new house clothes appliances Everything.😢

[@sammyspaniel6054]

My wife's grandmother passed away recently and I found a 1940 Sears catalog in great condition. You could buy a wood stove, tractor and new dress. They were truly the Amazon of their day.

[@edl653]

I bought my Microwave (Kenmore) at Sears about 24 years ago. It is still running and used multiple times a day. At my elderly parents' home, I think we have gone through (as I always buy them a new one when it breaks) 5 microwaves during that same time. - A bit more innovative management and they could have been Walmart or Amazon.

[@zythr9999]

They did sell some quality products.

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

And that’s why they’re bankrupt. While you bought 1 microwave every 24 years someone else is buying one every 5 years because that manufacturer is shittier

[@robertmarkle591]

I retired from Kmart after it acquired Sears. You did an excellent job making this video, and I got depressed seeing how the business has gone to Hell. I couldn’t bear to watch the entire video, but thanks for your great work.

[@Forever_Laura]

You missed the smokin hot babe running a register at the end of the video

[@thomaslong8448]

Did they dip into your pension after Kmart declared bankruptcy?

[@Chris-dz3rs]

Up here in Canada ,our Sears stores were a time machine to 1979. Nothing had been updated in decades. Some ceiling tiles had waterstains and remained there ,never to be replaced. I saw where one infant spilled something in the bedding department carpet in 1981. The stain was still there as the store closed in 2018. Bathroom taps were likely from the 60's and and you had to push them down when turning . Over the years various departments disappeared,. The candy counter ,video rental ,key cutting ,the restaurant, the gas bar and the automotive departments all gradually vanished until there was nothing really left to cut.

[@ISUCKATMAKINGMUSIC]

That's was kinda sad in a way, it's just slowly died. (Tho they kinda had it coming due to not replacing stuff)

[@Chris-dz3rs]

@@ISUCKATMAKINGMUSIC pretty much. Some became obsolete,like the video rental, but the Sears ones closed years before most video rental outlets closed.The restaurants became luggage departments in some ,but mostly became fixtures storage .But gradually all those cuts caught up .The hair stylist area was just roped off. It got walled up when someone was found sleeping/living in there in the darkness. Those stains WERE noticed . Ceiling tiles that get stained but never replaced are another way to tell if the owners give a Damm. Stains like that remain for years are easy to spot. Most managers become oblivious.to them .

[@Cairannx]

@@Chris-dz3rs this is eerily similar to what is happening around Walmarts in my neck of the woods in Eastern Canada, the auto mechanics have been replaced with storage for the store, same for the photography studio and the photo section, even the McDonalds have been converted into storage space. Last time I went for electronics, they didn't even have wired USB mice nor keyboards (both bluetooth and wired) on hand. My bet is Walmart is the next Sears or Zellers.

[@Chris-dz3rs]

@@Cairannx same things have happened to the Walmart in Fairview Park Mall in Kitchener. Hair stylist ,McDonald's, tire dept all gone. Our Cambridge dept lost tire ,hair and photo to covid.

[@thomasrobinson182]

Some of those departments, candy (Blums), keys, music (Star Music), were leased spaces. The music and candy went away in the mid-90s. I remember because I got severely discounted music and later, huge bags of nuts and chocolate.

[@bluoval3481]

Thanks for the video. Both my uncle and grandfather managed Sears stores here in Illinois. My uncle worked his way up and managed entire regions for the company, in fact (prior to his untimely passing), he likely would have been the next COO. I'm glad they are both passed now because they would be crushed to see what's left of Sears now.

[@Bosco-gets-it-right]

I'm 60 now and muse that when I'm 80, and another generation comes along, i'll be sitting in my rocking chair telling the kids about how we used to pile in the 'ol V8 station wagon, no seat belts, drive to ( Sears ) and buy everything INSIDE a building (!) Yes, clothes, tools, appliances, jewelry, kitchen stuff, washing machines...then go downstairs and pick it up and take it home with you !!!! " Sure, Grandpa, and I bet they showed movies outdoors while you sat in your car !".....

[@jakeyxjakey1]

it's so weird how you guys brag about being children not wearing seatbelts

[@JDoors]

I feel even worse about losing Sears knowing the company was eviscerated by the greed of (I think) one man. Maybe the company was destined to fail by that point anyway and he just accelerated the decline by cashing out when there was still something left, or maybe he caused the decline, but it's sad either way.

[@FallicIdol]

Its one thing to have a company go down fighting but the owner intentionally gutted the company. The same thing happened to Toys R Us. Its like the scene in Goodfellas when Paulie becomes a partner to that restaurant

[@Cakebattered]

What happened to Sears was much worse than what happened to Toys R Us. Sears was way too asset rich for that. Lampert bled Sears out over decades.

[@ovzimsedoc5739]

Don't forget: he killed K-Mart at the same time!

[@gusloader123]

The greedy "man" was slimey Bezos. He also ruined local Book stores.

[@atomic66]

And the major shareholders

[@cashxx_x]

they still have the support of chicago who without fail 100% of the time always calls our tallest building the sears tower even though it was renamed to be the willis tower

[@adrianjames6736]

when i lived in chi. would take out of town visitors to the tower , look down to find my favorite chinese restaurant!

[@landonbenford8369]

I grew up on the SouthSide and as a wannabee architect could see the Tower well from my bedroom window! It will Never be anything BUT The Sears Tower!! NO ONE born and raised in Chicago calls it the Willis Tower except the newspeople!

[@Renville80]

Nowhere near being able to be called a Chicagoan, but I’m sure I’m not alone in still thinking of that building as the Sears Tower!

[@landonbenford8369]

@@Renville80 And Wrigley Field. And Soldier Field. And MARSHALL Field's!!!!!

[@tomm7505]

So sad. I worked for Sears from 1978 to 1986 first in a free-standing store in St. Davids, PA and then at the King of Prussia Mall. It was my first real job and I enjoyed it. It helped pay my way through college and then as a second job.

[@michaelleever8745]

I remember that store in saint daviids. I met richard nixon in the store in the early seventies. He was a nice man, and the store was nice to and spacious and well stock. It had plenty of people in there.

[@vlcheish]

KOP goat mall

[@19bishop56]

About 1959, as a child, I was allowed to pick out my own Christmas gift from the Sears catalog. What a thrill it was, as we only had 2 catalog stores in our small town (the other was Montgomery Wards). To this day I remember exactly what I got. I loved the big Sears store when we moved and was very sad to see it close. My mom, grandma and I enjoyed shopping there. We used to say “you could build your own house, and furnish it when ordering from Sears”! It is very missed!

[@ernestinedillard1020]

I miss you Sears please come back. More Sears❤

[@larrylambert1220]

This makes me very said. Sears was my 80 year old father's favorite store. I could never go wrong buying him a gift card from the store year birthday and christmas.

[@AndrewPriester]

It was My Opa (Grandpa) favorite store too Good thing he passed away way before Sears started going downhill

[@DirtyBird28]

Yeah.....My grampa was pretty much a self-taught engineer, and his tools, lawn mower, and home appliances all came from Sears. I literally live 10 minutes from a farmhouse ordered from a Sears/Roebuck catalog.

[@aruglaempire2518]

I remember going to Sears with my mother to buy Christmas Lights. It was so exciting. All the trees were up and the entire department was so pretty. I still remember that day 50 years later. My mother wanted to be sure we replaced the old big style lights with the cooler "Italian" lights. Sears was THE place to go for appliances and tools. THE PLACE.

[@Equestrianmommy]

I remember going to Sears with my mom when I was little. They had a candy stand in the downstairs area. And of course we couldn’t wait for the Sears Wish Book to come every Christmas!

[@TanManFixes]

Still got my OG Craftsman tool set. When the tools were absolute quality like Snap On etc. The set will outlive me, and I'll give it to my kids, who I will also teach. Sears may die, but the memories won't !

[@Akursedtime]

My friends mom used to work as a manager in Sears. She was lucky that she was near retirement and did retire when they closed the branches in British Columbia. I actually liked going there as a kid. They had a small video game section and I would go through the aisles. Also at the time they had the Jessica Simpson brand and at the time, it was a fairly new brand.

[@mountainexploration2435]

Put on your Sunday best kids, we're going to Sears

[@Jawwzzz808]

😢 Father

[@smileprettymusic]

Great movie!

[@OkieOrganix]

I took advantage of my local sears closing. By the time it actually closed, I had ended up setting up an entire wood shop in my garage for 30% of the price. Sad to see but glad they still live on in my garage.

[@Ja-uu9ep]

Yeah we have a dying department store called house of Fraser in the UK. They sell furniture with massive discounts so im thinking of just getting stuff for my new place there

[@kiamthekiam6966]

lol Okie. We're all bonding here, with warm, cheerful memories of the past........and you pop in with that comment. LOL!!!!

[@blackbiz]

My first job after college was with Sears, in the IT department. They had a resurgence with their "softer side of Sears" campaign. It's astonishing to see what the once mighty company has become.

[@TheDAT573]

My mother and I bought our washing machines, air conditioners from Sears. Beds from Sears. It was a wonderful store.

[@MrSmith-ok7tl]

Nostalgia... This video made me sad. I remember when going to Sears as a kid (uh 4 to 5 decades ago) was a treat to get something! Now, seeing this makes me feel not so young as I once was. But that is life. Thanks for sharing.

[@ashleighelizabeth5916]

It's all terribly sad for somebody who grew up in the 70s and 80s. I'd spend months looking through the Christmas catalog as a kid. I remember they even got Tony Dorsett to pose for their section carrying NFL licensed gear. And I can't begin to tell you how much of that gear I saw in elementary school on other kids especially coats, hats and gloves. My grandfather had power tools he bought in the 50s and 60s from Craftsman that he was still using in the 80s. My grandmother had a Kenmoore washer and dryer set and so did my mom. To think that all of that disappeared it must be like watching the end of reliable transcontinental passenger rail service for my parent's and grandparent's generation.

[@jimroscovius]

We bought all new Kenmore appliances in 2010. Finally had to replace the fridge last year. We had a Kenmore washer and dryer for 25 years before we replaced them with new Kenmores a number of years ago.

[@nobodynoone2500]

Went to one a few years ago, exchanged a few broken tools, and bought some more tools. The selection was starting to suffer but was still decent and you could tell it was still keeping useful to the public. Sad they missed the internet changeover from mailorder>mall>online progression.

[@kewlztertc5386]

That old cash register brought me fond memories. The little curved part under and behind the receipt printer is where all my dodgy checks would go. Good times.

[@Movie_Games]

I'd go to Sears with my parents and look at the PC games while they shopped. Then we would go to Sizzler or Nathan's.

[@carly8056]

If I was in charge of Sears, I’d bet EVERYTHING on going right back to the beginning, and I’d get a team together to make modular house kits again. With the lack of affordable housing, this could be an absolute BOOM for them, especially with social media, people interested in “van life”, tiny houses, DIY-ing, and homesteading. And their Craftsmen tools were always a solid, excellent brand. Buy a modular house, get a discount on tools and appliances… it’s a no-brainer. People would be into it!

[@deliveryguyrx]

Id be totally be on board with that! Sounds like a million....I mean billion dollar idea! Buy a modular home,and for a modest upcharge get all the tools needed to put it together!Maybe do 'packages', like Standard,Deluxe and Ultimate,depending on how much $$ the customer had to spend. Let's take this to another level: Remember the Sears 'Allstate' motorcycles and cars they used to sell? Well, with the advent of e-bikes,rekindle the Allstate brand with e-bikes and small cc motorcycles/mopeds,keeping with the theme of low cost/high MPG.Priced right, they would sell like hotcakes!

[@Hillers62]

I grew up in the 70's/80's ...the mall was always the epicenter of social activity...We met friends there, shopped for the latest trends, found very unique stores, spend a long time in the book stores to find the perfect one, and made it a complete Friday evening by later going to a movie that was in the Mall...Today is sad...malls are closed, kids only talk to each other by text, and everything is bought online while you wear your underwear...There is no community...no excitement...no interaction...just sadness

[@andallthatcouldhavebeen...9175]

To monitor everything you do easier….

[@googoofeesmithersmits4536]

Malls are definitely still big in some parts of the world

[@Cyrus992]

Malls were worse than traditional downtowns. They are making a comeback

[@BobbyJonesIII-pz1lq]

And everyone is more hostile. Everyone needs to be on a side whether it be racial, political, sexual to divide us thanks to media and corporate America. Human life has been devalued and soft on crime policies are incentivizing violence further destroying people's quality of life.

[@etcfedora7841]

You need to go outside. People still go to malls and interact all the time. Just because you didn’t have texting back then in the 1920s doesn’t make it the end of the world.

[@sirqe6791]

Take a bow, Sears and Roebuck! 🎉 Loved the Wishbook in my youth and it’s something that I will always cherish. This young generation has no idea!

[@adrianjames6736]

loved the candy dept. anyone remember maple nut goodies?

[@HudsonDoodle]

I was at Southcenter mall south of Seattle recently and walked by the Sears and thought “Didn’t they go out of business?” This video makes me want to go in and see what’s going on in there. Southcenter is hopping. I grew up with Sears, but the last time I bought anything there was in the 1990s. It’s sad to see these staples of my childhood go the way of the dodo, but survival of the fittest applies to businesses as well.

[@larrywade9041]

I'm amazed that they still have a handful of stores left! I thought that brick & mortar store's were completely gone. I personally like the old style check-out computer to match the Sears nostalgia. Thanks for the memories, as soon that's all they will be. Have a great day!! Illinois, USA

[@matteng2332]

I miss you Sears, you were the place to go to get a new TV, washer and dryer, tools and school clothes. I grew up with you and when you closed it was like losing a relative.

[@markkotishion2379]

I worked at the Sears catalog in the Sears at Columbia Mall in Maryland. The place was badly run on a skeleton staff and this was about 1982! The year that the wish book featured the cabbage patch kids on the cover. Then Coleco shorted Sears Roebuck on the dolls that Christmas. I had to tell parents on Xmas eve that there were no dolls to be had. I am sad to see this happen but truly, I expected this back in the 80's.

[@francissobotka8725]

I was supposed to get a cabbage patch kid from that sears in 82 .I ended up with a handmade version and a real coleco version sometime in 83 by then all I cared about was gijoe.

[@regis_c]

I was today years old when I found out Coleco made more than video games

[@deliveryguyrx]

I used to shop at the Columbia Sears when the Security Square location went ghetto in the late 80s/early 90s. I'm sure you're glad you got out of there when you did,lol.

[@markkotishion2379]

@@deliveryguyrx The Columbia store is gone now just like Security Square. I left in 1983 or so. Columbia mall is hanging in there but Security Square can't be demolished due to the fact ths Sears and Penneys own the buildings still.

[@ctg6734]

Man, this makes me feel sad. I loved going to Sears. It was such a great store back in the day. Sadly we lost ours a few years back. The building remains, but the mall it was attached to was demolished some time around 2010. It's unreal seeing the interiors of those other stores and how similar they were to the one I frequented. Bet those white floor tiles are still in place. Hard to believe a retail giant like Sears was unable to adapt with the times and maintain its status at the top.

[@tomodonovan5931]

That is odd because I worked at a mall where my store is the only building standing, and the Sears and JC Pennys were all demolished, including the whole mall sub- buildings. My store had a TV, and electronics department that outsold both JC Penny and Sears combined. I mean, I was making a lot of overtime loading big TV sets into little Hondas, Toyotas, and small four door cars that you would see at the Circus, and the Clowns would all come running out of. Those TV salesmen made all the money, and I got nothing but the headaches telling customers their twenty seven inch TV would not fit through the door frame, or trunk for that matter. Nobody ever wanted to have their items delivered for $20 back in the 80s. You really learned a lot about people who refused to accept something so logical. You can't put a square peg in a round hole. That is what is was really about. An IQ test that most would fail, and the result was an angry customer who could not be reasoned with, and go off huffing and puffing, and sometimes going to the HR office to complain about how badly you behaved, and all you did was tell them a big square box could not go through the door frame, or fit into the trunk. It was a total nightmare job at times.

[@ctg6734]

Ugh, that is maddening to hear people react with such cluelessness. I don't envy your experience. I once worked for a garden supply warehouse, and we'd get customers who wanted an entire pallet of potting soil in the back of their mini truck. The suspension was totally squashed, yet they didn't seem to think it a problem. Yikes. But yeah, apparently our Sears was built before the mall, and was still in operation even after the mall was taken down. It struggled on for another few years until finally shuttering for good. @@tomodonovan5931

[@DripCoffee]

I remember my parents taking me to one in seattle in the early 90s, and playing a NES version of Tiny Toon Adventures on a demo Kiosk. It was awesome, and I even got to use some naughty words to impress some of the older kids hanging around. THANK YOU SEARS

[@davidponseigo8811]

The old computers you showed are exactly what we used at Sears in the mid 1990's when I started at the Shreveport, Louisiana location in Loss Prevention.

[@ViaticalTree]

I actually feel kinda sad about this. Sears brings out some serious nostalgia. Going to Sears with the family was kind of a big deal when I was a kid and we always made our Christmas wish lists out of the Sears catalog.

[@Pantechnicon]

7:15 Back in 2004 I was working for IBM and personally performed the POS refreshes for two of the local Sears stores (now long since gone). The terminals have been cosmetically the same on the outside since the 1990s. The only thing that's ever changed out is the middle computer unit itself, keeping everything above and below it unless there's a component that fails (which is usually the receipt printer). But even then, the motherboards and hard drives are themselves usually refurbished and probably not much better than a Pentium III. Two factors are at work here keeping this old stuff in place: 1. The counters themselves dictate the shape and placement of the terminals. Sears wouldn't be able to maintain its rigid aesthetic without incurring additional costs (which they could never afford when they were going down the tubes); 2. The backend controller in each store is even more of a legacy beast, dating back to the 1970's. So all that's really needed up front at the registers is a terminal program with a minimal GUI to direct the clerk to different modes. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the POS's running in these last few stores have been refreshed any time in the last decade.

[@spentron1]

Probably have a warehouse of spares.

[@Pantechnicon]

@@spentron1 Coming soon to a liquidation near you.

[@thelonelyghosts9004]

I remember being a kid in the late 80s and being so excited when that big Sears catalogue would come in the mail and circling everything I wanted.

[@Galidorquest]

I didn't even know they had catalogs until just recently... 😅

[@Dariothehungry]

There is a feeling of melencholy with the knowledge that only 12 exists

[@dvferyance]

I think the count is actually 14 as 2 just reopened.

[@FallicIdol]

@@dvferyance they are reopening? Really?

[@dvferyance]

@@FallicIdol Only 2 did one Burbank CA and one in Yamika WA. I would love to see more open again but only those 2 have at least as of now.

[@FallicIdol]

@@dvferyancethat’s shocking. I hope they rebuild to stability

[@Dariothehungry]

Yeah rebuilding to stability would be sweet

[@njseashorechas2698]

It was magical times in the 1960s and 70s when Sears was flourishing. The tool and mower, tractor selection with the dozens of implements was second to none! SAD! The local Macy's I went to in Mays Landing, NJ was looking the exactly the same.

[@telengardforever7783]

I learned MS-DOS at a Sears (when they sold early 386/486 computers) and played one of the first Super Nintendo's at a Sears. It's sad to think it all fell apart in such a short period of time.

[@Leatherbelt665]

From 0:47-1:01 you visited our dead Sears!!! It's amazing to see our Sears on here. God, that closed almost a decade ago... Sebring, Florida in Lakeshore mall (The mall itself is dying too.) Thanks for visiting us at our small town!!!

[@アジャンプする男]

This is why Jason Graves is one of the best retro gaming channel, Because he’ll go the extra mile to even take you all the way down to Miami to one of the other last Sears left in America! MAN THE NOSTALGIA! Remembering shopping there all the TVs in the west side of the store with all the display cases of the gaming section with random games scattered abroad in there of everything from SNES to PS2 and huge power tool selection of Craftmens Tools to the crappie Hobi Lawnmovers that sound like dying cats

[@JDRMC]

lol you're way deep in his booty 😂

[@jonathancaballeros3408]

Sears is actually up to 13 locations, now that Burbank, CA has now reopened.

[@wcsxwcsx]

When I remember Sears from the days of my youth, it almost makes me want to cry. Not just for Sears, but for how the country has changed.

[@ian.swift.31614]

they did it deliberately. UN Agenda 21

[@jimthomas1989]

Went to return a Guaranteed craftmans Tool because it was broken 35 years ago and SQUIRRELS , i mean SEARS would NOT replace it , so i decided NEVER to shop at Squirrels and 35 years later i haven't spent a dime there , i still have The broken craftsman Tool and its nice to see them getting their REWARD of bankruptcy , Hope you are all gone soon !

[@thomasffrench3639]

I could spend time with my family on Christmas Eve, but I’m watching a video on SEARS.

[@juangomez1784]

Merry Christmas guys!

[@KasumiRINA]

The old computer thing: it usually is easier to keep what is working instead of migrating all databases on new software. Years of databases! There were government computers running DOS until very recently for this very reason.

[@sponk2112]

Government can be really slow to upgrade. Working for a real estate listing company in the early 2000s we would still receive data on massive reel-to-reel tapes from some counties. Had to maintain this ancient machine just to read the data. I left in 2002 and it was still that way; for all I know it STILL is.

[@KasumiRINA]

@@NUTZJ98 Oh I am talking about this specific brick and mortar store's databases: Just because a Sears you know converted their data with years of invoices, receipts and accounting, doesn't mean this specific one did... They might even run a mix when having part of data, say, HR, on new systems, while keeping old invoices in some ancient format. Imagine any big organization with a huge archive, for example BBC: just because one of their offices already digitized decades, maybe centuries of archives, doesn't mean all of them did, at least not at the same time. It's usually both the cost and the hassle to have everyone drop what they're doing and spending weeks moving old stuff without getting any real immediate benefit from that.

[@Club12-Nightclub_Music_Remixes]

I worked at Sears for two years in Automotive, Sporting Goods, and Toys. Most of the stuff I sold was absolute garbage. On top of that, we were expected to sell extended warranties. I always felt uncomfortable selling lies but still needed the job. I'm not at all surprised to read about the downfall of Sears.

[@Mustang5458]

I did also worked for Sears for 3 yrs.I found one of our stores was writing up sales and placing them on peoples credit cards when they did not buy the item just for the commission.I handled those so called sales for the Stores., I also sold those extended warranties, that's how I found out. In my opinion, Sears was as crooked as a dogs hind leg. All our stores has been closed for years, even KMart.

[@Mustang5458]

I knew that back in the 80's..I worked in the Parts and Service Dept.They were using the bottom of the line appliances and selling them as the top of the line at high prices.

[@RogueJedi501]

I miss Sears. But I think Sears is just a glimpse of what’s to come for other businesses like Target and Walmart.

[@maninredhelm]

"It would make sense if they were all in New Jersey or something." Ironically the New Jersey store would announce its closure only 2 weeks after this video. There are now only 9 Sears left. The "saddest" store in this video (Palm Beach Gardens) also closed, and the one in Stockton, CA intends to close next month. I'm kind of cheering for Puerto Rico to be the final one left standing and inherit all the assets. They might have the best chance to keep the brand alive in some form.

[@jagtaggart936]

Our SEARS closed about 3 years ago. During that final year I'd occasionally walk around it while listening to vaporwave and mallsoft tunes. It was an experience, I miss it.

[@jschap712]

I assume every generation gets to mourn that passing of aspects of their childhood. Usually, the next generation gets its own thing, and you have to accept the fact that you cannot live vicariously through your kids. But I see my own kids as being a bit deprived not really having a replacement to malls, record stores, arcades, etc, as places to hang out with friends in person. I always imagined I'd take my kids to places like that, as my parents did for me. But everything is online or takeaway. And of course that's what's killing Sears, etc. I can't even take my kids out to a nice pizza parlour as a treat. And it does leave me feeling a bit mournful.

[@Banzai51]

I was a kid/teenager in the 80s and you could see the corporate crackdown on being a place to hangout start to form. We spent our money there, but that wasn't good enough.

[@clairet5636]

The local pizza parlor in my hometown closed sometime in the past few years. Fun memories of going there with my brother's baseball team and playing in the little arcade. It's sad that there is almost nothing that lasts long enough for traditions to span generations. Things just come and go.

[@Anamnesis]

Customer: "but how do I get back down to the first floor if I go up the escalator?" Employee: "there's a disturbing circus clown holding a bunch of balloons who will show you where the creepy back stairwell is, you can't miss him because he'll be chasing you the whole time" 🤣

[@Lucky_9705]

My Mom was one of the the head store layout designers of the entire Sears company during the store’s peak in popularity. She left her job around 2002 to have and raise my older sister and I. And it was around this point that Eddie Lampert took over as CEO to ringlead the disastrous Kmart merger. The amount of debt that Sears incurred in acquiring Kmart in 2004 led to a rapid decline in the stores’ layout and design because of budget cuts and more and more layout designers like my Mom that worked in those golden years leaving the company.

[@richardtheconquerer]

To be fair, both companies were in rough shape and technically Kmart bought Sears. They just called the joint company Sears Holdings

[@milehighkit4725]

So sad! Although when I walk into my garage, it looks like a mini Sears..... Craftsman/ Kenmore, everywhere🙂

[@adrianjames6736]

my dad always bought the insurance for his sears tv's. i offered to buy my parents new tv's but dad would call out the serviceman to repair his . over the years he must have spent thousands of dollars on a 400$ sears tv!

[@regal_type]

Wow, I actually remember going to that Sears at the Garden's Mall as a kid. I can't believe it's still open. I remember when Covid started I was in Florida visiting family and I somehow ended up at the mall. The Sears was largely empty and looked like they were liquidating their stock, this whole time I thought they had closed for good.

[@KathrynLewis-q2p]

The Palm Beach Gardens Sears has an insanely long lease on that spot. They’ve been locked in a war with the mall itself for years. The Gardens Mall has accumulated a lot of high-end stores (Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffany) and would LOVE for Sears to pack its bags and go. Sears, in turn, wanted to sublease one of its floors to Dick’s Sporting Goods. The mall did everything in its power to put a stop to that. After years of litigation, which is still ongoing, Dick’s finally pulled out, and Sears is still trucking along. The case is set for trial in August 2024.

[@KathrynLewis-q2p]

….aaaaand how the mighty have fallen: this Sears location closed about two weeks ago.

[@cjm8160]

“When the store just doesn’t care anymore” - Sears

[@David-hm9ic]

There was a time when a complete kit to build a house was available from Sears. I had the pleasure of touring one a few years ago. Seems like I read that the more recent management when Sears was still strong was pitched to go online with sales but management had no vision for the future. We are all a little worse off for it. Their inventory wasn't particularly high end but it was solid quality that most everyone could afford whether clothes, furniture, appliances, (very good) tools or kitchen goods.

[@monarch1957]

I worked at Sears from 76-96 and they slowly went downhill over the years. They all closed down in Canada in 2018

[@10191927]

For the last few years the biggest Sears near me was in the Florida Mall, and that was on clearance for a long time, it finally closed which I was surprised since the Mall location was always pretty busy. But it seems the sun is setting for good on Sears, I’m shocked it’s not completely gone yet. Thanks Eddie Lambert, you destroyed two retail giants at once.

[@austinlovestower]

The Florida mall location is still open

[@ThePhanpyMeister]

The Florida Mall location is the Orlando location that's open though

[@Justin_Beaver564]

Age destroyed them. Eddie just kept them on life-support.

[@vaderladyl]

I am in Orlando and went to FM about a month ago and it was still open. How long ago did you go?

[@toddgelineau6536]

There isn’t a lot of inventory to begin with but it does make you wonder how they supply a dozen stores scattered all over the country.

[@apotheases]

My first job in high school was working at a Sears. From '98-00. I actually used that beige POS terminal during my time there. A lot of interesting memories of those days.

[@Firevine]

Sears was my second job, but, it was at that same time. Crazy to see that same POS still there.

[@brando8086]

I worked in Sears parts and service for a few years.. the place that serviced all the appliances and the parts warehouse.

[@apotheases]

@@brando8086 It wasn't a bad after school part time job. Hence why I stayed so long. Also I really liked the people I worked with and it made the shifts go by fast. I only quit because one day after the holidays the men's department was left a mess and I was the only one working. I didn't have time to clean up and said I would come in a bit early the next day to pick up. I got in and the manager was mad about the mess and threatened to write me up. So I said screw it as I wasn't being appreciated for the hard work I had done the day before. I quit on the spot after that.

[@brando8086]

@@apotheases I spent the summers putting together barbecues and cleaning lawnmowers. I didn't mind that job.

[@stoneyboyd]

I remember going to Sears every time I went to the Mall with my Mom. Hell, it amazes me that my Local Mall has managed to survive at all. I remember my older sister working Black Friday at Aeropostale and her telling me that she had to get up really early to get there when it opened at 7 (Back when Black Friday ACTUALLY F**KING took place on Friday) and I remember that was where I first heard the term Black Friday. I was like 4 or 5 years old at the time. I remember my family always going to Sears to get our family photos taken. My parents still have one portrait of me and my Siblings for when we were kids hanging on the wall. I’m 26 years old now and I am really going through the nostalgia phase of life. I long for the 2000’s, the simpler times. If I had a time machine one of the things I’d do was go back to the 2000’s and relive the decade as an adult.

[@uncletoby-]

My Mother was a Sears Outlet employee for 25 years. She was hired as Christmas help and was kept until she retired at the stores closing.