Sears Holdings Corporation history, company profile (overview) and history video
Sears Holdings Corporation was a retail company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears.
Sears was considered one of the leading home appliance retailers as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. It was also one of the nation’s largest providers of home services.
Sears Holdings, through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation, operated a national network of stores with full-line and specialty retail stores across the United States.
The company’s key brands included Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard. Sears and Kmart offer a broad range of apparel, including Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer labels, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has the Country Living collection, offered by Sears and Kmart.
HISTORY
Sears’ origins date back to 1886 when Richard Sears started selling watches to supplement his income as station agent at North Redwood, Minn.
In 1887, Sears settled in the company’s first Chicago location and hired a watchmaker named Alvah C. Roebuck.
In 1893, the corporate name of the company became Sears, Roebuck and Co.
In 1913, the Kenmore® brand was launched.
In 1925, the first Sears retail store opened in catalog center on Chicago’s west side.
In 1927, the Craftsman® brand was launched.
In 1931, Allstate Insurance Co. was established.
In 1953, Simpsons-Sears, Ltd. was established in Canada.
In 1981, Sears acquired Dean Witter Reynolds Organization and Coldwell, Banker & Company.
In 1999, Sears.com was launched.
In 2005, Sears merged with Kmart and formed Sears Holdings Corporation.
In 2018, Sears Holdings Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
In 2019, the company sold its assets to ESL Investments. ESL Investments moved Sears assets to its newly formed subsidiary Transform Holdco LLC, and after that, Sears Holdings Corporation was closed.
*Information from Forbes.com, Wikipedia.org, and staging.searsholdings.com.
**Video published on YouTube by “Sears Holdings Corporation“