Sears, once a retail giant rivaling Amazon, Walmart and Target, is now a shadow of its former self.
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Sears was once a retail giant with more than 3,500 stores, including Kmart stores after its 2005 merger. But today, it’s just a vestige of what it once was, and people are wondering if it will survive until Christmas 2026.
“Sears can no longer compete against other retailers with both brick-and-mortar stores and online retailers with better product selection, location advantages, and greater convenience,” said Dan Hamilton Rice, director of the E.J. Awaso College of Business Behavioral Research and the Herbert Huey McElveen Development Scholar and Leslie Associate Professor and Dal Miller Professor.
There are only five Sears stores left in the country: one in California, one in Texas, one in Massachusetts, and two in Florida.
And some experts, like Rice, believe there is a “certain chance” this will be Sears’ last Black Friday.
“With so few stores, industry experts and former officials have serious doubts that it will ever be profitable,” Rice told USA TODAY in an email.
According to Britannica, the company was founded in 1893 as a mail-order business. It opened its first retail store in Chicago in 1925 and has grown to become one of the nation’s largest retailers, rivaling Amazon.
After the company filed for bankruptcy in 2019, only a few stores remain, and some are at risk of closure.
Here’s what you need to know about this retailer and whether it’ll be back next year.
What will happen to the remaining Sears?
Coral Gables, Florida, a city in Miami-Dade County, is home to one of the state’s two remaining Sears stores. The other is in Orlando.
However, the location of the retail store, which has existed since 1954, could be converted into residential and retail space, according to the Miami Herald.
The rest of Sears is According to a report from CNN, Simon Property Group, the largest shopping mall operator in the United States,.
Sears store locator:
Where is Sears located?
Sears is located in the following cities:
- Braintree, Massachusetts
- concord, california
- El Paso, Texas
- Orlando, Florida
- Coral Gables, Florida
What led to Sears’ downfall?
Several factors led to Sears’ current situation.
“All consumer issues fundamentally come down to companies not adapting to changes in consumers,” Rice said.
Rice said Sears used to have its own brands like Craftsman and Kenmore, but when those brands were sold elsewhere, there was no reason for people to go to Sears. The retail giant was also slow to adapt to online shopping, falling behind other retailers.
“With store closures reducing the number of reasons to visit and reducing store footprint, the company is no longer able to attract customers with compelling reasons to choose it over other retailers, both online and offline,” Rice said.
Julia is USA TODAY’s trends reporter, covering scientific research, shopping trends, holidays, and trending news. Connect with her on LinkedIn ×Instagram, TikTok: @juliamaigz or email jgomez@hannett.com.
