History of Sears
Sears department stores were founded in 1886 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck. Richard Sears was a railroad station agent from Minnesota and Alvah Roebuck was a watchmaker in Indiana. It all started in North Redwood, Minnesota, when Sears received from an impressive shipment of watches. These watches where not wanted by the local jeweler. Sears purchased the watches and then, sold them for a rewarding profit. He realized the potential for this market and soon he started a business selling watches through mail order catalogs. The next year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he met Roebuck, who joined him in the business. Roebuck approached Sears and asked him to buy him out for $20,000. Sears agreed if …show more content…
The goal of this was to offer more options to people with a better price. In 1894 the catalogue had grown to over 300 pages. Sears catalog had become known in the industry as the ‘Consumers’ Bible. Sales began to climb rapidly and they were not slowing down. After only 7 years in business the sales where over $400,000 and two short years after that they were approaching $800,000. The company had sales of $800,000 in 1895, sadly the national depression caused money to be tight and large quantities of unsold inventory. This unfortunate event made Roebuck decided to leave Sears and move on. Sears offered Roebuck's half of the company to Chicago businessman Aaron Nusbaum, who brought in his brother-in-law Julius Rosenwald.
In 1906, the success of the company and their dream for greater development led Sears and Rosenwald to take the company public, with an incredible $40 million in stock. In 1908 Sears resigned the presidency due to poor health. Rosenwald was named president and chairman of the Sears and had full control of the company. Sears also opened its catalog plant and the Sears Merchandise Building Tower in Chicago in 1906. Sears's successful initial public offering marks the first major retail IPO in American financial …show more content…
The low prices appealed to shoppers, and the chain quickly grew into one of the nation’s preeminent retailers. Today, Kmart has more than 1,500 stores and an Internet presence that reaches millions of customers. The Kmart name has become a symbol of Americana, standing for quality products at low prices.
The merger of Kmart and Sears as Sears Holdings Corporation (SHC) closed on March 24, 2005, and the company continues to market products under brands held by both companies. SHC’s corporate headquarters are in Hoffman Estates,
Sears department stores were founded in 1886 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck. Richard Sears was a railroad station agent from Minnesota and Alvah Roebuck was a watchmaker in Indiana. It all started in North Redwood, Minnesota, when Sears received from an impressive shipment of watches. These watches where not wanted by the local jeweler. Sears purchased the watches and then, sold them for a rewarding profit. He realized the potential for this market and soon he started a business selling watches through mail order catalogs. The next year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, where he met Roebuck, who joined him in the business. Roebuck approached Sears and asked him to buy him out for $20,000. Sears agreed if …show more content…
The goal of this was to offer more options to people with a better price. In 1894 the catalogue had grown to over 300 pages. Sears catalog had become known in the industry as the ‘Consumers’ Bible. Sales began to climb rapidly and they were not slowing down. After only 7 years in business the sales where over $400,000 and two short years after that they were approaching $800,000. The company had sales of $800,000 in 1895, sadly the national depression caused money to be tight and large quantities of unsold inventory. This unfortunate event made Roebuck decided to leave Sears and move on. Sears offered Roebuck's half of the company to Chicago businessman Aaron Nusbaum, who brought in his brother-in-law Julius Rosenwald.
In 1906, the success of the company and their dream for greater development led Sears and Rosenwald to take the company public, with an incredible $40 million in stock. In 1908 Sears resigned the presidency due to poor health. Rosenwald was named president and chairman of the Sears and had full control of the company. Sears also opened its catalog plant and the Sears Merchandise Building Tower in Chicago in 1906. Sears's successful initial public offering marks the first major retail IPO in American financial …show more content…
The low prices appealed to shoppers, and the chain quickly grew into one of the nation’s preeminent retailers. Today, Kmart has more than 1,500 stores and an Internet presence that reaches millions of customers. The Kmart name has become a symbol of Americana, standing for quality products at low prices.
The merger of Kmart and Sears as Sears Holdings Corporation (SHC) closed on March 24, 2005, and the company continues to market products under brands held by both companies. SHC’s corporate headquarters are in Hoffman Estates,