Remembering the Golden Age of SEARS
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- A Fond Look Back at the Golden Age of SEARS...
Dive into the captivating story of Sears, Roebuck, and Co., an American institution that defined the retail landscape for over a century. From its humble beginnings as a mail-order watch company in 1893 to becoming the largest retailer in the world, Sears was synonymous with the American Dream, shaping consumer culture and revolutionizing the way we shop.
Discover how the Sears catalog, once known as "the Consumer's Bible," brought a world of products to the doorsteps of American families, democratizing shopping and transforming Sears into a household name.
Witness the golden era of Sears in the mid-20th century, when it dominated the retail market with its innovative business strategies, quality products, and a customer-first approach. From the legendary Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances to the iconic Sears Tower, the company's impact on American life was unparalleled.
Join us as we pay tribute to Sears, Roebuck, and Co.-a company that once captured the hearts of American shoppers and left an indelible mark on the retail world. Whether you're a history enthusiast, a retail aficionado, or someone fascinated by the stories of American enterprise, this video is a must-watch exploration of the legacy of Sears and what the future may hold for retail in America.
Thanks for joining me in The History Lounge,
Kevin
#sears #lifeinamerica #nostalgia
The Wish Book. Every Christmas was made magical by that enormous Sears catalog, and all of the toys and gifts inside of it. Every year.
And to think that they were free! Millions of them were on semi's to drop them off at the stores (not to mention their regular catalogs and specialty ones). You could not afford the cost to print stuff like that today
I loved these growing up in the 70s
As a child the Sears Wish Book was highly sought and fought over by my sisters and myself to see who get a hold of it and keep it the longest.
Proof positive that “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” is more than an old cliche’. I often say this today about businesses such as today’s McDonalds, and even Amazon…
The hard cotton corduroy long pants with the one steel button.
The Wish Book had them.
The pants would last through 4-5 older siblings hand-me-downs, those were so well constructed.
I miss Sears so much. Sears was part of my childhood and early adult life. Loved the Craftsman tool line.
Same here!
@@ytujackclough I wish I had a time machine to go back to the 70's and 80's.
I loved walking through the tool dept. No matter how stressed I felt. Walking through those Craftsman tools would calm me down and make me feel good.
@@eazyduzzit6626 Me too👍
You miss what they were selling not the store itself. Make no mistake.
I can't imagine growing up without Sears in the 1960's and 1970's. That's where Santa was every Christmas. Who could forget salivating over the Sears Christmas catalogue with nearly half of the book dedicated to toys! We would rip the pages out and show Santa what we wanted him to bring. So many good memories. They had great soft-serve ice cream too.
I have great memories of going to Sears as a child and smelling the aroma of warm cashews from the candy counter just inside - and often going home with a bag of Swedish fish. Good times.
It was the 70's and we were teenagers butSears had a big Christmas exhibit with all of these battery-operated toys all together in one place so the families could come see all of the new toys and we'd go in there and reposition the toys so it looked like a big toy orgy. We laughed a lot at the monstrosities we'd create. Sears on Lawrence Ave. Chicago, IL.
I don't remember ice cream at our local Sears stores but l sure remember their candy counter and those fresh roasted cashews and chocolate covered raisins.
My husband and I bought our first Christmas ornaments at Sears in 1973! I still have them
Cool
I still have my manger i bought about that time,and the manger that i made.
I love that you bought your xmas ornaments there. It gave me chills to read that. I remember my husband and I buying our sons crib there in the early 2000s. The first of our children. The store closed down soon after.
...and a visit to Santa every year. Sears at 21st Street in Norfolk, VA. ;-)
That's awesome that you still have them
As a kid growing up in the 1960s and 1970s I couldn't wait for their annual Christmas wishbook.
Sears had Craftsman (not today’s cheap craftsman knockoffs) excellent Kenmore appliances, high quality clothing, everything you could ask for. Walmart will never hold a candle up to what Sears was.
China made now day's the USA are t👀 Lazy too make anything here in the "*USA*" any more they are to busy being "*WOKE*" 👈. 🤨
Those Craftsman tool are like gold
Craftsman was guaranteed for life!
@@okd521 Absolutely, it was. If you snapped a wrench doing something stupid, they’d replace it.
@@EmilyTienne I had a Craftsman reversible screwdriver for 15 years that showed no sign of wear other than the Craftsman insignia had worn off the handle. One time a buddy was using it as a chisel to hammer on, I couldn't rip it away from his hands fast enough!
I remember looking through the catalogs when I was a little boy trying to see what toy I wanted for Christmas. No other child will ever have that happy memory nowadays.
Me too
I remember when I was 12, looking at women's underwear in the catalogs 🤣
@@JeffKopis How do you think we learned back then? LOL! 🐖
Yes - the catalog viewing was as much fun as getting anything from it or the store itself. Spent a lot of time looking at things.
Those were the best day as a kid .
My parents always took us to sears before school started .To get our new school cloths .
So many memories !!
Mama ordered ours from Sears. I can still remember the order envelope with the words "Please Rush" in capital letters.
Cool !! 👍@@andrewlisenby9693
My wife and I both worked at Sears. I got my first rifle from Sears. I have never understood how the first "catalog mail order giant" could have missed out on today's online business model. My cousin's wife also worked in the candy counter. Sears should be the monster retail giant of today!!
The idiots could not think that far ahead. They had everything in place with their catalog empire. Boggles the mind every time I think about it.
Because OLD businessmen don't understand NEW technology. Blockbuster Video COULD have bought Netflix in 2007 for 50 million. Oops.
Don’t forget, Sears survived the Great Depression. But they couldn’t survive the recession? It was finances. Vulture capitalism! They couldn’t afford investing in an Amazon style website because they were too busy paying back the creditors that borrowed money from themselves to buy companies like Sears.
yep. Good old 20/20 hindsight.
Agree, they could have become what Amazon is today. It was really a lack of foresight by the company leaders. It took decades for them to build up the business and a fraction of time to lose it.
My dad gave me a Craftsman hacksaw that he got in the 40's. I used it for a long time until a pin broke that held the blade on. In the catalog, they often had several to choose from which they categorized as "Good", "Better" and "Best." This hacksaw would have been a "Good." Anyway, in 1985 I took it to the local Sears and with no hassle at all they replaced it with a Craftsman "Best" one which I still have, still use, and is still guaranteed for life. I never hesitated to buy Sears Craftsman tools.
I still have some of my Dad’s Craftsman tools. They must be over 70 years old by now. I remember them being in his toolbox when I was a kid. I’m 68 now.
Sears had a long time "no questions asked" exchange warranty on their craftsman hand tools. That was why customers were willing to pay much more because they were known as high quality /durable hand tools with a no-hassle exchange policy with no receipt required. However, during their decline Sears reps started refusing some hand tool exchanges if based on their examination the rep determined the tool looked like it was abused such as marring on the surface or see any speck of rust on it or anything else they could come up with. I had a tool exchange refused on a ratchet because the Sears rep. simply claimed their ratchets do not break under normal usage, so I must have abused it somehow and it was handed back to me with the rep turning his back and walking away. After that I started going elsewhere for tools.
My parents (still with us) are 91 and 97. Except for food... they bought everything at Sears for about 40 years or so. Over all those years, they had a couple products that broke within the warranty period and Sears immediately replaced them without any hassles. Sometime around 2002, Sears refused to honor a product warranty claiming "user error". That prompted my parents to go to the newer stores (Walmart, Target, and Home Depot mostly) and they never had any reason to set foot inside a Sears store again. Sears was HISTORY, as they say. :)
They had the same ratings for carpets too! I was told to choose one of the "good" ones when my bedroom needed a replacement, and it held out for 25 years until the whole room was remodeled.
My Father told be to buy "Better" on tools you didn't use often, but to buy "Best" on tools you use all the time. Great Advise!
I still remember being 10 and getting a new pair of Sears Winner II tennis shoes! They were made by Converse and very closely resembled today's Chuck Taylors. The whole process was nothing like that of today. You went in the Sears shoe department, and the clerk had you stand on a metal contraption that measured your foot (remember those?). Then he went in the back and came out with your size and actually laced it on your foot! Then he asked if you wanted to wear your new shoes or your old ones and your parents paid for them. It was like being on another planet.
They put your old shoes in the box and you wore your new one's. Customer service and the customer was important and treated well. I mean this sincerely... I wish we could go back. We were blessed to grow up in such a progressive and quality growth and more respectful time.
You can do that now at many shoe stores (except someone helping you) but I catch your drift...
I remember all of it! Missing Sears :(
We stopped at grandparent's on the way home from getting my new sneakers at Sears. When we came out a thief had grabbed the new shoe box out of our car. What a surprise! We found the box and my old stinky worn out sneakers about half a block away. Still makes me laugh 62 years later.😅
Did you see that beautiful cursive spelling. 😊 How nice the word Sears written out in cursive. Children of today have no idea how to write like that 🤔🤦♂️ how I remember. Sears and Roebuck ❤
Sadly it’s not only children. I used to have gorgeous penmanship (remember that word?) but lack of practice has led to a steep decline 😕
@@pjesf yes I do. 🙋♂️
Yes, it was so mid-century modern and nostalgic too. So sad when they switched to the generic, boring, block lettering 😢
@@Claudialupper For years, I would have to read the birthday card from my mom to her granddaughter, because she couldn't read cursive.
I don't understand how you could not have a signature these days 🤨
This brought tears, worked for Sears...miss those days dearly.
Same here. I worked there for eighteen years. I put a comment on here about my life with Sears.
I worked in one of their regional service centers from 1998 - 2002. They were terribly managed.
I never worked there but the memories came flooding back - along with a knot in my throat.
Worked there through high school and college. The absolute nicest people to work with who taught me quite a few of life’s lessons along the way. They were always flexible with the schedule so i could work around my classes and exams. I saw in the obituary a few months ago that my old boss had died.
@@ScottGrammer I also worked in the service center from February 1976 through May of 2002. We had a great service manager and after he retired we got an A hole and he came in around 1999 and things went to hell. He knew nothing about the service end he was a genuine pos pencil pusher and didn’t get along with anybody. After he finally drove it in the ground they closed the service center and subed out the service to A&E. I agree the whole company was being mismanaged every where.
As a child, we would go to Sears once a month on Saturday night. My mom would get me a hot dog and a Hires root beer. She would do her shopping and I'd go downstairs to the toy department. We'd get home in time to watch Gilligan's Island.
Good memories 😆
Awesome. We would watch the Saturday night sports car races in the enormous empty Sears parking lot, after picking up an order on Saturday evening (suburban DC).
Their Kenmore brand was outstanding.
I still have a kenmore washing machine. My kenmore fridge finally gave up a few years back.
@@21millionreasons Unless the compressor or sealed system went, it would have been worth fixing. Not much to go wrong with a fridge, and what does go wrong is usually easily repaired. I've repaired several in my lifetime for myself, other family and friends.
I still have a Kenmore dryer. I miss Sears
@@Debbie-y8h My grandparents had a Kenmore (made by Whirlpool) washer and dryer they bought in 1975. I went with them to buy it as a kid and my uncle's neighbor was the manager of the local Sears store. Those machines only needed one repair each, and I did both myself for less than $70 in parts. I was well into my 30s when I repaired those machines.
When it came time to sell the house after their passing, I sold the dryer for what they paid for it in 1975. It still worked like new. The washer was done because the tenants we had in the house for a time ruined it, so we threw them out, three kids and all. I then parted the machine out and sold the good parts it had left.
Even the "end of cycle" buzzer on the dryer still worked. The buyer heard it run for 10 seconds and said, "I'll take it for your asking price". They were great machines and a breeze to fix.
@@Debbie-y8h I still have a Kenmore dehumidifier from 1991, still working, I did have to replace the humidistat though. And a 1985 microwave oven that lasted until 2014
Worked for Sears, absolutely loved it. The real downfall started when they sold the credit card division, which was making money. Then came "Fast Eddie ". Proud to be from Sears Hardware #5181!
I completely agree. I started working there a couple years before Eddie Lambert bought them in 2005 and it was like the difference between night and day after he bought Sears. He completely sabotaged them buy selling off Lands End and selling the licensing of all of their major brands (Craftsman and Kenmore)
Oh wow I worked for Sears when I was about 17 in the big catalog dept in Philadelphia on Roosevelt Blvd and I got laid off Then May years later 2011 I got hired again at Sears in Texas Pasadena . Lawn and garden I loved it both times . I miss Sears I stayed there for almost 10years this time , and I truly miss the place Sears was an American Icon
Sears originally shuned "credit", "store credit", "revolving finance", and store issued "credit cards" - but when they reversed this to offering credit and finance", they went big time! Not just with"Sears financial", they put out, boosted tremendously, then spun off *_Discover_* card...
Sears could have survived if they had kept many of those 50 000 workers laid off when they closed down catalog sales and fulfillment... Then Lampert came, stock swindled, sold off the remaining "brands" and assets, dumped his huge stock holdings, watched Sears / Kmart go bankrupt, and pocketed the sizeable real estate holdings around the stand alone stores...
Lampert still has tons of money, Sears and K Mart are gone.
My dad was a Sears store manager, 35 year employee. He retired in the early 80’s. I was fully glad he missed the big decline. He had a great career there and we did too as a family. When Sears centralized he thought they became blah in every market and lost the personal merchandising. Good video, fair and honest.
Sears had a great tool department.
The best! Craftsman Tools have fed my family for the last 30 years. Now I buy them (USA made only) on eBay. I wish I could take my son through the tool department the way that my Dad took me. Dad and I spent hours and thousands of dollars there together. Great times.
Agree!
My dad was a carpenter and only bought Craftsman tools. He told me if a screwdriver handle breaks in five years, he could still return it no questions for a new one. Loved Sears.
I always enjoyed walking around the tool department and dreaming.
Back when Craftsman tools were well made, in America. I still have all my dad's from the 60's, 70s, and 80s.
I remember my sisters and I would get so happy when our school clothes would finally arrive from Sears via the mail. Always C.O.D... Ahh, the 70's. I miss you....
"Where America Shops".........I miss it.
Now "Where America doesn't shop. Where America can't even find one."
Sears xmas catolog loved it as a kid
Sears sucked always did
@@scottr3484 So did you.
Where are Canada's shops ?
Yes, Sear's & Roebuck sold EVERYthing, and their paint was THE BEST!
In 1947 my dad was killed in a mid-air collision and Mama bought a white Carrara marble headstone from Sear's.
As a child, one of my favorite entertainments was leafing thru the Sear's & Roebuck catalog.
For Birthday and Christmas, Mama gave me a dollar figure I could 'spend' picking out what I wanted.
Our first radial tires were Sear's branded Michelon tires in 1967, which were on every one of our cars into the 1990's.
SO sad Sear's is gone.
There was a time when sears sold even cars and houses. There are many sears houses standing to this day.
Sorry to hear about your dad. Midairs still occur to this day, and for mostly the same reasons.
@@PRH123 "..the same reasons."?
Put on your Sunday best kids, we're going to Sears!
😂😂😂
Where's your shoes? We is going to Sears 😊
🎶”Sunshine daaayyy!”🎶
Is that what your parents told you?
@@patriciahayes2664 A quote from The Brady Bunch movie. My father worked for Allstate a Sears company. Ten percent off. It was his favorite store.
As I like to say, Sears was the Amazon of the 20th century. My German immigrant father worked for Sears from 1958-87 servicing televisions, stereos and other electronics, all under the Sears or Silvertone store brands. He was paid enough to sustain the whole family without my mother having to have a full-time job. With my dad's employee discount we had everything Sears in our house, down to the Toughskins and Adidas "Winner" knockoff sneakers I wore. And we'd get the Christmas catalogs early, in September.
Toughskins with the reenforced knee areas 🙂 Wore them proudly.
Awesome. Sears and Wards were the amazon of the day already in the 19th century.
We had a Sears about 5 blocks from my house. It was not far from my high school. When school lunch sucked, I would eat at Sears.
In the 1920's my husband's Grandfather bought a kit from Sears to build a house everything he needed came packaged the nails, screws, wood, roofing, shingles everything was sent & he built a lovely two-story home that stands today he was an Engineer so inside the house he customized it himself but certain he bought the supplies at local hardware stores he also got a two-car garage kit from Sears!
Amazing
The late Lowell George of Little Feat used an 11/16 Craftsman spark plug socket for his guitar slide because if he lost it "every town had a Sears but not every town had a music store."
13/16"
Great fact!! Thanks!
My first bass was a silver tone from Sears. It wasn’t great, but it was through that cheap instrument that I discovered I was a prodigy and brought many years of music to people.
I loved shopping at Sears when I was a kid in the 1970's. Always heading to the candy counter. I was happy when the Xmas catalog came in the mail,checking the toys I wanted. Kids today missed out on a great time.
Yes, as a kid, I couldn't go to Sears without getting malted milk balls from the candy counter!
Lived in a Sears house in Wiggletown, NY USA.
Craftsman tools were arguably the best made in the USA.
When I was in the Air Force (late 70s), all of our hand tools were Craftsman. We were working on multimillion dollar aircraft, so our tools had to be the best.
The Wish Book: I don’t think kids have any idea how awesome it was in the week or two leading up to Christmas, sitting on the couch at night, looking at the tree all lit up, dreaming my way thru the wishbook, thinking of how cool I’d be to be the only 3rd grader with a motorized go-cart. That is such a good memory, my older sisters and I being nice to one another.
I can confirm that the wish Book is a big part of my Christmas memories.
Christmas and the Sears catalog. Talk about fond childhood memories. Also, during this whole video, I could smell the candy and popcorn. 😋
I miss Sears for their appliances, tools and garden equipment. I walked in to JC Penney the other day and I’m glad its still here. Great shopping experience.
I was a lifelong customer of Sears appliances, tools, and yard equipment and still own many of them. I worked in the catalog dept for several years in high school during the 70s and absolutely loved Sears. It's such a shame they ran the store into the ground. If Sears had moved into strip centers focused on the 3 core products above, I think they'd still be going strong.
Aw man, that's like working for Santa!
Yeah they had quality tools, it's surprising they didn't ditch the other retail goods and focus on that stuff, probably could have stayed a name in the power tool game.
The catalog department and fulfillment areas would have been a gold mine now, *if they had not closed them in 1993* . Just baffling. Then "Fast Eddie" Lampert came along strip mine the brands and other assets, give fake "loans" to sustain Sears / K Mart for most of the stock *and real estate assets* in exchange, dump the stock before bankruptcy comes, keep the real estate = Profit! Almost criminal what Lampert pulled off - he is tremendously rich, while Sears and K Mart are 🎶 "..gone, gone, gone, baby gone...". 🎶
Growing up in the 60s, as my mother shopped in the fabrics department, I remember sitting by the counter perusing the pattern catalogs that were available. I remember my sister and I circling all the stuff we'd like to have from the Sears catalog when we were kids. My parents had Kenmore appliances at home because its service contract was amazing and very reliable, and I remember buying my first Kenmore washing machine from Sears as a newlywed in 1973. I have wonderful memories of Sears and was very sad when, as an adult, I witnessed its demise. That CEO who ruined Sears is probably somewhere sitting pretty with millions of dollars while a beloved store died due to his mismanagement.
Growing up in the 1950s, I was very familiar with how great it used to be to shop there. I remember the Sear's Catalog and how I couldn't wait to go through it when it came. The "Christmas" edition was something the whole family loved. My parents bought their Appliances, my school clothes, and my dad bought his first power mower there and would even get tires in the years later. It was so much fun to shop there. The candy department was always a must stop by. The internet has taken away that way of life. K-Mart was the beginning of the end of Sears. K-Mart's low-end products were almost an embarrassment.
Agree about KMart. For some reason I always thought when Sears began to introduce carts in their stores they lost something. The Lands End clothing was a mistake also.
Kmart management was an even bigger embarrassment. When Kmart bought Sears they started to manage it. It started sinking. Sears could have survived without Kmart. Kmart sold crap. We called it Krap Mart, and Kame Apart. Everything that came from Kmart came apart. After merging the quality of merchandise at Sears declined, and it became more of the same stuff you could buy at Kmart. Sears did have some good clothing lines before merging with Kmart. After the merger Sears clothing was cheap poor quality, and the good brands disappeared.
@fob1xxl I was a kid in the 50s and 60s also. Rest assured there was no other appliance and tool choices on the planet for my parents than Kenmore and Craftsman. It is sad to see what was once an icon of American retail sales, disappear into memories.
The candy counter!
we used to always hit the candy counter. My favorite was Malted Milk Balls. My brother and I would eat so many of them we would start to get sick of them... but not for long.... we'd throw them at each... then later, we would be back eating them again.
I still love them from time to time to this day. And I'm 71 years old. Smilin😊
Sears was our Amazon growing up, we lived for the Christmas Sears catalog every Christmas in the 70s, 80;s and some 90's. We would spend hours going through the pages and hoping we would get it all for Christmas.
Sears was the go to store for tools, appliances, and car battery's! For kids the toy section was pure joy and the Wishbook was a mail day sensation!!! Went to the last days our Sears when it was still open, as I had been going to that store ever since I was a kid in the 1960's.
OUTSTANDING PRODUCTION. THANK YOU FOR SHARING. BRINGS BACK SO MANY FOND MEMORIES.
Some of my fondest memories are walking though the doors of Sears as a kid and being hit in the face with the smell of fresh popcorn and roasted peanuts then seeing all the bins of loose candy they'd scoop, weigh then put it in the paper bags. That was the good ole days. They tore down our local Sears store several years ago, very sad day. They ruined themselves though doing stupid stuff. The last time I went to Sears was to buy a washing machine with cash money and they wouldn't sell me one because I told them I didn't have a cell phone number so I bought it at Lowes.
The candy and popcorn was right next to the auto and tire center. It was one of the older stores ...not in the malls. It hid the smell of the oil, gas, and wet rubber when you first walked in
Next time just make up a number.
The next generation won’t even know the word Sears, just like land lines!
I live in Stockton, CA, where our store is still in business. It opened Dec 64 to anchor Weberstoen Mall. As a copyboy for another icon, the Stockton Record, now almost extinct, I delivered many tearsheets and ad copy to them. I bought furniture and appliances for my home. Most of my home shop is outfitted with Craftsman hand and power tools. My sabresaw just died after 40 years. I hope to find another there, but it is likely made in China.
To see the once flush aisles of products, I see things spread out to take up floor space.
The story is correct to blame Sears management for failing to convert the catalog to internet sales, and worse yet, the shady merging with K-Mart. K-Mart leveraged the employee pension plan to buy Sears. Soon, K-Mart went bankrupt, employees lost pensions, and the stores lost financial reserves and began a rapid decline.
K-Mart, IMO, was a sleazy, cheapskate run chain of stores. I feel no loss for their demise. For Sears and Montgomery Wards, another story that parallels Sears, we have all lost some of America.
Sears' first store in Stockton was next to the railroad tracks just outside of the downtown area. Great for stocking the store. I got my clothes and first bike from that store. My mother made custom draperies on contract with Sears. She could get an employee discount, which was great for us kids.
The huge merger craze of the 90's led many a CEO to join the frenzy of bank consolidations and other mergers thinking they were a smart businessman. No, they screwed the employees mainly, made huge dividends and bonuses for themselves, and they anonymously faded into history. Only the facades on the malls remind us of their evil and greedy interests.
Who is next, we can only speculate.
I still have the washer I bought from Sears shortly before it closed.
Sears….we shopped there in the 1960s forward as kids and I shopped there with my son in the 1990s. Such an iconic store and brand. A shame poor management was it demise when they pioneered mail order.
This was the BEST historical presentation from the many Sears videos I haved viewed. Great narration, great job.🏆
Yes. The narration was very good. Professional. 👍
My mom used to take us shopping at Sears in the 60s. She would by patterns and fabric to make her own clothes. Our bonus was that our store had a soda fountain, so we always got ice cream. I still have my first set of Craftsman sockets that my folks gave me for my 14th birthday (60 years ago). Great memories.
When I was a chlld (1950s-60s), our parents would leave us (and other children) in the TV section while they shopped elsewhere in the store. There was no danger then of child-snatching - we were perfectly safe! I remember Christmas time, when a whole section of the store, next to the Catalog department, was turned into a Santa extravaganza - electric trains, cowboy/cowgirl paraphernalia, games, dolls, puzzles, toy trucks - you name it! When I grew up, I worked in the Credit Department, where the SRC and EP credit accounts (and another I can't remember) were available for people with every kind of budget. Salesmen and women peopled each department, and each knew his or her inventory thoroughly. Full-time employees could participate in owning part of the company, a plan in which I participated. It was a grand place to visit, to shop, and ultimately to work in, before family issues led me elsewhere Those were the days!
It’s so nice that we still have great memories and they didn’t take that away. I also worked there and joined in their profit sharing. Those were the best years of my career.
Yes. I’d wander around the toy department or the record department while my mother shopped.
Best years of my life were the years at Sears.
Christmas or no, there was always a tinge of excitement about going to Sears Roebuck ❤
I'll always have fond memories of Sears. As a child of the 1960s, I remember mom loading my brothers and me into the station wagon to go shopping at Sears for school clothes for the new fall year. We always made a B-line for the popcorn. As mom shopped, I'd snuck over to the toy section and dreamed of the upcoming Christmas Season. It was truly an adventure for us.
Just like me. I grew up in the 70's.
62 today. Miss Sears.
For many years, Sears advertising slogan was "Sears, Where America Shops." Sadly no more. 😢😢
Shutting down their catalog department in 1993 was a huge mistake. Sears already had the infrastructure to become Amazon before Amazon was even thought of.
I agree
Sears was "Amazon" in the 19th and early 20th century. Another giant slain by bad management.
At our Sears, the second you walked in the door, the aroma of roasted, salted cashews met you. No matter what else we purchased, we ALWAYS bought a bag of cashews.
Sears died from the same thing that killed Borders - astonishingly inept management. It is a real shame that nobody bought Kenmore. My mother bought a Kenmore dryer in 1980, and it was still going strong when she sold her house in 2021. Good that Craftsman and Die Hard were rescued, because both offered superior products. By the way, Sears, we Chicagoans will stubbornly continue to call the skyscraper Sears Tower no matter the reality.
Sears tried to "lock" certain things they thought had value. A lot of times they were right; however nothing lasts forever. They "locked" Whirlpool and made it their Kenmore brand. I have a series 70 doing clothes today. The "diehard" Battery was produced by Gould and it was new technology requiring no water to be added to the cells in the battery. I imagine they did the same thing with "Craftsman tools", But I don't know who that was.
Sears literally had everything!
same as montgromy wards every wrong they did
Yes, they ended up with inept and incompetent management 100%.
@@jayl8034 For a long time, Diehard batteries were produced by Globe Union (subsidiary of Johnson Controls).
Disagree about "Borders". Nothing management could have done to keep bookstores open. Jeff Bezos knew something I (and most others) didn't know: the top 25 books in a bookstore generated 80%+ of the profits. Bookstores went down really fast when their profits evaporated and their costs continued to go up. The coffee bar kept it going a little bit longer. Sort of agree on Sears. It was infinitely more complex and liabilities from legacy employment obligations (pensions, etc) probably made it untenable.
I never thought I would see Sears fail in my lifetime. It was an excellent store with quality products at good prices and everyone shopped there.
Sears was the Holy Grail of department stores
😊
Best was up there too.
The number one best
Hudson's had superior products back in the day. Sears was always viewed as a "step-up" from K-Mart. Still, as a kid we would spend all day in Sears and at the mall.
Sears Toughskins - a staple in my childhood wardrobe. My parents would buy only those jeans. Respect for the fact that, although we were not rich, we always had everything we needed. RIP Dad and Mom ❤
When I was a kid I would thumb through the Sears Christmas wish book for hours on end, looking at all the wonderful toys I couldn't afford - but oh man did I love Sears
Had my very first charge account, what was called a revolving charge account, at Sears. Loved that store
It was always my favorite store and the family’s favorite store growing up. We bought just about everything we owned from Sears. Then I went to work for Sears and worked there for eighteen years before they started letting full time employees go. Those were the best days of my career I enjoyed every minute working there. It was like an extended family. I will always remember the smell of candy, popcorn,and peanuts in the store and buying some to keep my energy up. Those were the days. It was a great place to be at Christmas time too.
I worked for 27 years at Sears and I’m grateful for every day
Growing up in the 60's it was always a treat to visit the Sears store in downtown Trenton NJ with my parents. Years later the same building became the regional center for the DMV for the State of NJ.
I miss all those stores. Sears, Kmart, Woolworths.
The trip to Sears in The Brady Bunch Movie was brilliant. Sears was everything back then.
I loved shopping at Sears...😊
No you didn't.
I have always loved Sears, my first credit purchase was at a Sears store in Sacramento, CA in 1961. I have never forgotten how much I appreciated having credit at Sears. Credit was very helpful in purchasing school clothes for my kids on credit through the years. I never missed a payment on my Sears account and I have always been proud of that.
I sooooo miss Sears Roebuck. I grew up in Sears in the 60s, going to work with my Mom. Great times.
Even if you hadn’t mentioned a time period I would have recognized it instantly because of the “Roebuck”. That’s also how I remember it 👍🏻
Those were good times so much better than today!!! with no cell phones no internet just simple fun shopping and families!! and kids playing!!!
Imagine that. Shutting down your catalog department just as you were capable of being in a position that Amazon is today.
Good point!
@shanesmith6941 I thought the exact, same thing, Shane. What a shame.
@@RollinCoco-Nut I worked at the Western Auto HQ for 21 years. Sears bought WA and it was a really bumpy ride all the way u til 1998, when Sears sold WA to Advance Auto and that was the end of my time with, WA.. The management of Sears, could not run a hot dog stand.
It wasn't just Sears. Many longtime business owners outright refused to have anything to do with the internet. I had been out a college a few years when the internet became available to the public. I was interested in getting involved in online retailing, but didn't want to start from scratch. I knew a woman who ran a success outdoor/camping retail store. I offered to set up her business with a online site for very little money and was surprised by her reaction. She didn't want anything to do with the internet and treated me like I was a grifter. After I made the offer she badmouthed me to people behind my back. A few years later she began complaining that people walked into her store, checked out the merchandise, left without buying and ordered the same items online. Eventually she began confronting people who left her store without making a purchase. Her business declined to the point where she could not even sell it and she ended up 'retiring'. The building where she ran her business was vacant for a number of years until it was taken over by an online retailer.
@@MrSloikawhile your case involved someone who seemed to be afraid of the scary internet, because yes, what person would give over their banking info to some stranger online? (Seriously something my mom said, though is all about Amazon and online banking now) Some companies simply could NOT invest in an online store. Due to vulture capitalism, companies like Sears, K-Mart, Service Merchandise, and even Toys R Us did not have the funds to invest in an online store at the time. And by the time they had a decent site, it was too late, and more of a “this is what we carry” type of site.
I remember once getting in trouble at a Toys R Us back in 2003 because I was taking pictures of various merchandise. They considered it to be a security threat, like I was casing the joint. I politely explained what century this was, and how this is what the future will be like. People taking photos of products, so that they could show others what they want for their birthday or Christmas. But if it’s an unwritten store policy, then there was nothing else I could do. I walked out, and didn’t set foot in it for 7 years. That store closed 13 years later with the ability to purchase products online for pick up only, subleasing sections of the store to Lego, Claire’s, and FAO Swartz.
I remember my brother and I fighting over the Sears and Montgomery Ward's Christmas catalogs. Great memories.
Just 20 years ago, a world without Sears, Kmart, or JC Penney was unimaginable to me. Try to imagine a world without Walmart, or McDonalds.
Keep voting for democrats and you won't see anything left of this country!
Don’t tempt me
The world would be better without Walmart and McDonalds...
The world is worse off without Sears.
oh yeah, we spent all day in Kmart. chile Gram had to go get something from Kmart for me. She was there all day. She hit every dept. rip Gram..
Sears was a American Icon!
The Sears store in the Southridge shopping center in Milwaukee had a small candy counter with the most awesome double dipped chocolate covered peanuts. They really were doubled dipped with a chocolate coating so thick they looked like large marbles. Every year on my birthday I used to stop and buy a pound or two.
Remember the Sears restaurant on the West side? It had those white concrete canopies when you entered and before the mall entrance...long before food courts (The area later became the lawn and garden area/tools). And the majority of Die Hard batteries were built in Glendale at the old Globe Union (now Johnson Controls), They were shipped nationwide on the rail lines that were behind it ,,,and are now gone...turned into a bike trail behind them).
Sears was one of my family's favorite stores. I remember having "tough-skin" jeans with reinforced knees as a kid. The last thing I bought at Sears was my washer/dryer Kenmore brand. The demise of Sears was just another sign, that the "Golden Age" of the America that I and my father knew was over...😢
Oh those catalogs, they were popular in the outhouses of America 🇺🇸
😆😂🤣yes they were
...so said my dad! ;-)
😂
My fondest childhood memory of our local Sears and Robuck was the large Candy counter which was located towards the center of the store. All surrounded by glass cases filled of every type of chocolate candies sold by the pound.. I'm very thankful for living in those days!!
I grew up with Sears, and various bands they sold! I was always interested because My Grandfather gave Me a reproduction of the 1900 Sears and Roebuck Catalog, the same year He was born, as He palso grew up with Sears! There were so many items You could order in 1900, and the prices!!! I gradually saw Sears fade away like Kmart, JC Penneys and others with the changing retail landscape.i remember Sears Catalogs in the 80s, as We kept a couple in the Outhouse to pass the time and a few pages would occasionally come in handy when the Toilet Paper was running short (I was living in the Country then)
I could almost smell the fresh popped popcorn and roasted peanuts as I watched this video. I was surprised that the documentary opened with a grand shot of the south main entrance of the Pasadena, CA (in an area known as Hastings Ranch) store. This is the store of my youth and we took many trips over there. I hold many fond memories of it. I would shop there as an adult throughout the '90's. To this day, I still most of Craftsman tools I bought there over 30 years ago.
It’s unfortunate that Kenmore appliances are no longer being made. We purchased a refrigerator, washer and dryer when we bought our first new home. They survived a move from California to Texas and then back to California a few years later and lasted years longer than any appliance on the market today would last. Sears was a great go to store that carried everything you might possibly need, sort of like the old general stores but on a huge scale. I remember going to Sears as a child with my Mom and smelling the freshly made popcorn they sold. It’s sad to see the way retail in the US has gone, customer service, quality and reasonable pricing have all gone out the window. Would love to see some of the valued customer mentality on display in the retail establishments today.
Kenmore still makes appliances. Transformco owned the Kenmore brand; this is the same company that owns Sears and KMart.
@@peacefuldaizy5717 Kenmore products are ALL made in China, NOW!
Many companies have made Kenmore, it's always been a label.
Still have my made in USA Craftsman tools. Most of them are older than some of the kids in my shop. Always got the latest tool catalog because there's always something new I needed to have just to have it.
Albert, I have Craftsman tools that are 70 years old or older and they’re still going strong! They were my Dad’s. He worked for Sears in Philadelphia. I’m certain of the age of those tools because I’m 68 and I can’t remember them not being in Dad’s toolbox.
Thanks for the memories. It was my favorite store.
I remember Sears where I grew up in St. Louis, MO. Would go there to buy clothes. As a young guy. So sad where they ended up. 😔
I’ve got a 1936 Sears Supertone guitar still in the box it came in. It has 5 of the 6 original black Diamond strings on it. Sears glued decorative ads from the catalog to the box.
I still have my Kenmore washer and dryer that I bought at Sears and Robuck over 30 years ago!! They both are still working!
Sears used to be really great store. It started going downhill in the 1990's - a classic case of management running a company into the ground.
The products were high quality and you could buy repair parts for anything they sold in their dedicated parts department.
Those Sears parts centers were awesome! It was so convenient to go there and instantly get any part you needed in stock without having to order and wait for it to come in. They almost always had the parts you needed in stock at one of these parts centers.
When i bought my first home in Fla, when picked out our appliances in the model home i wanted all the upgraded ones, they all were Kenmore and were great appliances!! All kitchen and washer/dryer.❤❤
Sears in the local mall was a one - stop shop for everything from A to Z...then grab a bite in the mall food court...I miss the Craftsman brand quality and guarantee...😢
Every time I pass the closed Sears store near me, I wish that it was open.
For years I thought that I would like to work there part time when I retired.
So many memories. 🙂
Happy to report Sears is still open in Merida Mexico
Going strong and considered a quality store
Spent a lot of time in Sears, down town Peoria Illinois, bought several items there, they later moved to Northwoods Mall in Peoria ., sears is now gone, was a great store in it's day!
For the longest time there was a Sears in the Ala Moana Shopping Center and I used to go there for all my clothes and automotive needs.
The best store and good merchandise. The catalog and Christmas wish book
I was in a resale shop a few hours ago to buy a pair of walking shoes. I took once last look at the footwear displays when I noticed some house slippers. It was then I remembered I had purchased and stored away several pairs of black suede moccasins suitable for street wear, sensing it would the last time I'd be able to find them at a reasonable price. They were from Sears.
I remember walking into the store and the scent of fresh popcorn and a counter with all kinds of delicious candy...we loved going to that store...they had so many things to buy!
Great time machine! Great memories 1968.
Sub.👍
No they weren't.
Sears was my favorite store from the late 60s, until my local store closed in 2014. We used to have such great quality and value in the USA, used to.
Working for Sears was a source of pride for the employees.
No it wasn't.
I remember a #SearsAndRoebuck catalog we had at home. I remember a complete set of #CraftsmanTools, I have that set of tools today, including the #CraftsmanToolChest. Old Tools still good today.
They were literally all set up to become what Amazon is today. They had nationwide catalog distribution centers, delivery vehicles and a huge customer base plus decades of experience in the mail order biz. All they needed was a CEO who knew to focus on the internet and they would have been even bigger than they were in the 50’s and 60’s. Eddie zigged when he should’ve zagged!
In my family going to Sears was special. It’s when you wanted or needed something special. That would last and was made “good”. I miss Sears!
When I was a kid, 1950's, my brother and I would gop thru the Sears catalogue and pick our what we wanted Santa to deliver our Cheistmas presents Ofcourse, the list was ignored. WE miss Sears!
Mine too! To be fare though, had they purchased all of the hundreds of items on the list, they'd need a hundred or so years to pay it off.
The old Sears in St Joseph, Mo was so great. The candy shop and the escalators are cherished childhood memories.
Lil Fast Eddie Lampert, last CEO killed SEARS….firmer SEARS employee. Nice story work-up in this video 👍🏻
Yes he did but he had help to.
It wasn't Lampert's fault. He didn't take over until 2013. Sears was doomed long before that.
I loved Sears and Roebuck, . They are the ones that gave me my very first credit card when I turned 18 years old. And when I bought my first house, Sears was my go to store for everything under the sun that I needed for the house
Sears Auto centers, and even repair centers to bring your Sears TV or Lawnmower to for repair!
No need to repair those items anymore...........they are ALL throw away items NOW!
I loved SEARS …. Very good memories of shopping …even with my parents.
As a kid we loved when our mom got in the new catalog. It was a book of dreams and possibilities. It's a shame that they couldn't hold. Heck people were able to buy home kits. They were pretty amazing.
No they weren't.
@@scarygary-qq1pj You are a jerk!
I worked at Sears when I was 16 to 22. I worked the catalog order desk and then moved to packing orders. It was a good company.
SEARS...'HAD' everything!
Scooters, cars, AND HOUSES!