Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Where It Begins,
Company at a Glance
Type : Subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation
Founded : 1886 (Chicago, Illinois, USA)
Headquarters : Hoffman Estates, Illinois, USA
Industry : Retail
Products : Clothing, footwear, bedding, furniture, jewelry, beauty products, appliances, housewares, tools, and electronics.
Revenue : $23.6 Billion
Slogan : Where It Begins,
Website : http://www. sears.com /
About The Company
Sears, Roebuck and Co. is an American mid-range chain of international department stores, founded by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck in the late 19th century. It operates in Canada under Sears Canada and Mexico under Sears Mexico. 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 merged with Kmart in early 2005, creating the Sears Holdings Corporation.
The largest Sears store in the world, operated by Sears Canada, is 817,850 square feet (75,981 m²), in the Toronto Eaton Centre. The largest American store is located near the Sears headquarters at Wood field Mall in Schaumburg, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It has 416,000 square feet (38,600 m²) of retail space.
History
Sears logo, 1970s
In 1886, the United States contained only thirty-eight states. 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
Sears logo, 1984–2004
Richard Sears was a railroad station agent in North Redwood, Minnesota when he received a shipment of watches from a Chicago jeweler which were unwanted by a local jeweler. Sears purchased them himself, sold the watches at a nice 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 catalogs. 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 catalog
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 The exterior of a typical Sears department store.
grown to 322 pages, featuring sewing machines, bicycles, sporting goods, 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 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 specialty catalogs and the Holiday Wish Book.
In 2003, Sears sold its retail credit card operation to Citibank. The remaining card operations were sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. in August, 2005. This launched the new Sears Gold MasterCard.
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)<href=”#_note-4″ title=””>[5]
Special Event
In the late 1990s, the company’s market share in many areas deteriorated as Wal-Mart drew away working-class consumers, and Federated Department Stores attracted wealthier 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.