A dismantled sign leans outside a Sears store in Nanuet, New York, one day after it closed in 2019.
In pictures: The rise and fall of Sears
A dismantled sign leans outside a Sears store in Nanuet, New York, one day after it closed in 2019.
Mike Segar/Reuters

Updated 1855 GMT (0255 HKT) November 29, 2022

Sears was both the Walmart and Amazon of its time.

It started 136 years ago and made its name through its catalog business, selling mass-produced goods to Americans all across the country.

By the middle of the 20th century, it was the largest private-sector employer in the United States, with its stores anchoring malls and spreading rapidly.

But Sears, like many department stores, has fallen on hard times. The company has been bleeding money since 2011, and it filed for bankruptcy in 2018.

In February 2019, a judge approved the sale of most of its assets to a hedge fund controlled by Eddie Lampert, the company's chairman, for $5.2 billion. The decision kept 425 stores open and saved the jobs of about 45,000 employees.

But its downward spiral has continued, leaving the company with only 15 full-line Sears stores still open.

Businessman Richard W. Sears <a href="https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/10/business/sears-timeline/index.html" target="_blank">was a railroad station agent </a>who started selling watches as a side business in North Redwood, Minnesota, in 1886. The following year, he moved to the company's first Chicago location and hired watchmaker Alvah Roebuck. The two started a catalog business selling watches and jewelry in 1888, incorporating under the Sears Roebuck name in 1893.
Businessman Richard W. Sears was a railroad station agent who started selling watches as a side business in North Redwood, Minnesota, in 1886. The following year, he moved to the company's first Chicago location and hired watchmaker Alvah Roebuck. The two started a catalog business selling watches and jewelry in 1888, incorporating under the Sears Roebuck name in 1893.
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The cover of a Sears Roebuck and Co. catalog in the fall of 1900. The Sears catalog was the way many Americans first started to buy mass-produced goods.
The cover of a Sears Roebuck and Co. catalog in the fall of 1900. The Sears catalog was the way many Americans first started to buy mass-produced goods.
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A Sears, Roebuck and Co. store in El Paso, Texas, circa 1940. Sears' stores helped reshape America, drawing shoppers away from the traditional Main Street merchants.
A Sears, Roebuck and Co. store in El Paso, Texas, circa 1940. Sears' stores helped reshape America, drawing shoppers away from the traditional Main Street merchants.
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Sales clerks go on strike in Chicago circa 1946.
Sales clerks go on strike in Chicago circa 1946.
Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis/Getty Images
A Sears store in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1949.
A Sears store in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1949.
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People vote inside a Sears store in Tucson, Arizona, in 1953.
People vote inside a Sears store in Tucson, Arizona, in 1953.
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A woman receives a cosmetics consultation at a Sears store in Caracas, Venezuela, circa 1953.
A woman receives a cosmetics consultation at a Sears store in Caracas, Venezuela, circa 1953.
Jack Manning/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
A worker goes over files in Sears' catalog office.
A worker goes over files in Sears' catalog office.
Frank Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Cars fill a parking lot outside a Sears store, circa 1958.
Cars fill a parking lot outside a Sears store, circa 1958.
A. Y. Owen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Sales clerk Lucille Jagusch shows drapery samples to shopper Arlene Hardt at a Sears store in Niles, Illinois, in 1961.
Sales clerk Lucille Jagusch shows drapery samples to shopper Arlene Hardt at a Sears store in Niles, Illinois, in 1961.
File photo/AP
People shop inside a Sears store in Morton Grove, Illinois, in 1961.
People shop inside a Sears store in Morton Grove, Illinois, in 1961.
AP
Soldiers guard a Sears store in Baltimore after riots broke out following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
Soldiers guard a Sears store in Baltimore after riots broke out following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
People watch the Apollo 11 rocket launch at a Sears store in White Plains, New York, in 1969.
People watch the Apollo 11 rocket launch at a Sears store in White Plains, New York, in 1969.
Ron Frehm/AP
An iron worker helps construct the Sears Tower in Chicago. Sears' new headquarters, built in 1973, was the world's tallest building until 1998. Sears sold the building in 1994.
An iron worker helps construct the Sears Tower in Chicago. Sears' new headquarters, built in 1973, was the world's tallest building until 1998. Sears sold the building in 1994.
Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
A customer shops in Woodfield, Illinois, in 1991.
A customer shops in Woodfield, Illinois, in 1991.
Ralf-Finn Hestoft/Corbis/Getty Images
A woman works at a Sears in Hicksville, New York, in 1994.
A woman works at a Sears in Hicksville, New York, in 1994.
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Seth Meyers, left, and Hugh Jackman play Sears photographers during a "Saturday Night Live" skit in 2001.
Seth Meyers, left, and Hugh Jackman play Sears photographers during a "Saturday Night Live" skit in 2001.
NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Kaylin Wilson sets up children's clothes in a Kmart in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 2005. The store was the first Kmart in the country to begin receiving Sears merchandise after stockholders voted on a merger to form the nation's third largest retailer.
Kaylin Wilson sets up children's clothes in a Kmart in Nashua, New Hampshire, in 2005. The store was the first Kmart in the country to begin receiving Sears merchandise after stockholders voted on a merger to form the nation's third largest retailer.
Jim Cole/AP
Black Friday shoppers duck under the opening door of a Sears store in Mentor, Ohio, in 2011.
Black Friday shoppers duck under the opening door of a Sears store in Mentor, Ohio, in 2011.
Bloomberg/Getty Images
A woman in Mississauga, Ontario, looks at used store furniture for sale in 2018. The Sears location was closing forever.
A woman in Mississauga, Ontario, looks at used store furniture for sale in 2018. The Sears location was closing forever.
Rene Johnston/Toronto Star/Getty Images
Shoppers wait in line by an empty rack of jeans during a 2019 Black Friday sale at a Sears store in Hialeah, Florida.
Shoppers wait in line by an empty rack of jeans during a 2019 Black Friday sale at a Sears store in Hialeah, Florida.
Maria Alejandra Cardona/Reuters
Residents cast their vote in the 2020 presidential election at a shuttered Sears store in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Residents cast their vote in the 2020 presidential election at a shuttered Sears store in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Cesar Villasenor, right, sweeps away dirt in front of a vacant Sears store in Santa Monica, California, in 2020. The location underwent a $50 million makeover to turn the Art Deco-style building into an office, restaurant and retail complex.
Cesar Villasenor, right, sweeps away dirt in front of a vacant Sears store in Santa Monica, California, in 2020. The location underwent a $50 million makeover to turn the Art Deco-style building into an office, restaurant and retail complex.
Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times/Getty Images
A police sergeant receives a Covid-19 vaccination in a former Sears store at the Townsquare Mall in Rockaway, New Jersey, in 2021.
A police sergeant receives a Covid-19 vaccination in a former Sears store at the Townsquare Mall in Rockaway, New Jersey, in 2021.
Sarah Blesener/The New York Times/Bloomberg/Getty Images
People arrive to receive Covid-19 shots in 2021 at a vaccination site in a former Sears store at the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg, Florida.
People arrive to receive Covid-19 shots in 2021 at a vaccination site in a former Sears store at the Lake Square Mall in Leesburg, Florida.
Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Patti Naleck pushes a cart carrying a mannequin through a Sears store that was about to permanently close in Schaumburg, Illinois, in 2021. Naleck said she plans to use the mannequin for Halloween displays.
Patti Naleck pushes a cart carrying a mannequin through a Sears store that was about to permanently close in Schaumburg, Illinois, in 2021. Naleck said she plans to use the mannequin for Halloween displays.
Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images