Probably everybody over a certain age has fond memories of looking through the Sears & Roebuck catalog or going to the hardware section of Sears for some Craftsman tools. Now you can get a little background and clarification as to why that is no longer possible.
Nicely researched and written Arthur.
Thank you.
Growing up in the deep woods of East Texas, going to town was not a daily excursion so it was kind of a treat when we took a trip.
I still have fond memories of taking trips to Sears with my Dad or Uncles to peruse the craftsman tool section. Amazing how Sears downfall wasn’t one big calamity but death by a thousand cuts. One small misstep after another snowballed into its demise. They were a retail juggernaut and on top for an incredibly long time.
Retail consumer goods has turned into the most brutal business environment imaginable. But even back then it is definitely survival of the fittest. Too bad. It was a cool place to shop or just walk around and they had a lot of history. Gone, gone, gone.
Sears was it in the 50’s and 60’s. I spent many hours in their catalogue, wishing. I bought my first motorcycle from them in 62 or 63 using my lawn mowing money. It was a 125cc two stroke made in Austria that made 10 HP or so.
In their prime, it was inconceivable that Sears would just dry up and blow away. But they did, just like the entire world in which I was raised. I would call the decline and disintegration of Sears to be an almost perfect metaphor for the nation of my birth.
“I would call the decline and disintegration of Sears to be an almost perfect metaphor for the nation of my birth.”
Tom, I concur. When I returned to my old neighborhood about ten years ago it was literally unrecognizable. We are considered disposable.