u/RareSeaworthiness905

Today marks exactly 10 years since this beautiful 1950s Sears department store shut its doors. The Hillsdale Sears that originally opened on September 12th of 1962 as an Emporium department store that was later occupied by Sears in 1996 also closed its doors by that same day: https://flickr.com/photos/voycall/albums/72177720319839307/
Emporium - Hillsdale | Flickr
Just like many other locations that had the appliance, electronics and hardware departments on the lower level (Burbank CA 1991-2025, Chicago IL 1952-2017, Citrus Heights CA 1972-2018 and Houston TX 1939-2018... even at the Mall of America in Minnesota 1992-2018 and Crestwood Plaza in Missouri 1957-2012), this location's layout was very unique and decent, although there are some differences: the Chicago and Houston stores were not attached to a mall and the rest of the stores listed above were. The top floor penthouse used to be office space and was later used as an employee break room.

Sources and Credits:
Laurel Dodge (Things That Aren't In The Memphis Area Anymore Facebook Group) May 7 1958
https://www.facebook.com/groups/172378589501329/posts/31487563970889382/
l_dawg2000 (Flickr) June 21 2014 and January 16 2016
Sears Laurelwood, Memphis (1958-2016) | Flickr
https://flickr.com/photos/l_dawg2000/albums/72157663664127785/
Mike Kalasnik (Flickr) December 27 2015
Sears Poplar Ave Memphis, TN 8 | Mike Kalasnik | Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/10542402@N06/24565919112/in/photolist-DqNKTw-rTWtV3-sbtMLZ-rScMct-rewHeu-reJfj2-rTWviy-rScNnp
Memphis Retail (Flickr) January 17 2016
Sears Laurelwood - Memphis, TN (January 2016) | Flickr
https://flickr.com/photos/bluffcityelevators/albums/72157663076048280/with/23818256514

Over the years so many freestanding Sears that closed down throughout the 2010s decade and even the Ft Lauderdale store in Florida back in 2022 were torn down, leaving us with the last freestanding Sears in the USA, located at Coral Gables in Miami, one of 2 left in FL and 5 left in America, and even at the Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord, the last in California, along with also the online store Sears.com, Kenmore, Sears Home Services, Shop Your Way and Sears Parts Direct
r/deadmalls
r/retailporn

This was my childhood store. It has been 8 years since it closed its doors. This place had a similar building design to the Hayward (closed July 2020, 1958-2020) and Concord (still open, 1966-present) locations in California. This location in Shoreline opened in September 1967, less than a year after the Sun Valley Mall location opened in October 1966. This Washington State location had both a black 1980s logo and just like the south Seattle location in the Southcenter Mall (up until signage replaced in 2016) a white 1990s logo outside.

Taken sometime in early 2018

In this post I am using the pictures of various locations (including my local Sears in the Seattle area) just to show what they still have, as well as screenshots of what the 140 year old retailer's e-commerce website looked like in the early 2000s and 2010 as well as what it looks like today.
When the internet first started in the 1990s Sears had and they still do have a website Sears.com and they have since been selling online and still are to this day. They had the best product selection, lots of web pages and all merchandise from Sears itself. But even after Kmart bought Sears they were still good (and still looked good) at web design in the mid to late 2000s and even into the early 2010s but past 2013-14 it was unthinkable that the e-commerce business would deteriorate, product quality (especially major appliances) would decline, product selection would decline substantially site wide and later in stores, shipping speed would decline and the service department would go downhill, coupled with a whole lot of consumers turning there back on Sears over appliances breaking down throughout the 2010s decade under the tenure of Eddie Lampert as chairman and CEO.
That being said, despite Sears' troubles the retailer still had appliance and electronics dominance, we still bought from them and we have still been getting emails from them and visiting there website. In all of our years of shopping here, we went to Sears Optical, bought a JVC TV, treadmill, Sony digital cameras, a Canon point and shoot camera, a Kenmore Progressive upright vacuum, some rugs, a Whirlpool fridge from 2013 (Sears Outlet), and even clothing, as well as a Hamilton Beach toaster oven, a Kenmore coffee maker and Samsung stove from Sears.
Please go and support them while you still can. Even site wide.
So.....
When did you last buy from Sears site wide and/or even in store, what product and where, and when and where did you last work for Sears ?
When was the last year Sears could have been saved ? (I would say around 2004-05 of course but since they were still doing fine after the merger (Kmart Corporation acquired Sears Roebuck and Company but still called it Sears Holdings Corporation) the year I would have to go with would be around 2010-2013)
Will / would you still shop at (also meaning buy from) Sears in 2025, even if / though the sales floors are limited on merchandise and the website Sears.com is also limited on merchandise sold by Sears ? If not why not ?

This is what is left of Sears:
5 stores
- Coral Gables in Miami Florida 1954 - present
- Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord California 1966 - present
- South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts 1980 - present
- Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas 1982 - present
- The Florida Mall in Orlando Florida 1986 - present
- Sears.com 1997-99 - present
- Kenmore 1913 - present
- Sears Home Services sometime in the 1950s/1960s or 1992 - present
- Shop Your Way 2009 - present
- Sears Parts Direct 1995 - present

Sources, Locations and Photo Credits:
Southcenter Mall in Seattle Washington (1994 - 2024)
Sears Tukwila Facebook Page sometime in March 2011
https://www.facebook.com/sears.tukwila
Myself on December 28th of 2016, July 9th of 2024, September 10th of 2024 and November 6th of 2024
Coral Gables in Miami Florida (1954 - present)
L A July 31st 2025 (Kenmore Studio) on Google
Sun Valley Shopping Center In Concord California (1966 - present)
Zohaib Khan December 5th of 2017 on Google
Kazeem Adebiyi May 19th of 2018 on Google
Sears Website
Sears.com
Wayback Machine
Sears.com in the early 2000s
https://web.archive.org/web/20030401082436/http://www.sears.com/sr/homepages/sears_homepage.jsp
Sears.com in 2010
Sears: Appliances, Tools, Electronics, Apparel and more from Craftsman, Kenmore, Diehard and other Leading Brands
Sears.com today
Shop: Appliances, Tools, Clothing, Mattresses And More
https://www.sears.com/
https://web.archive.org/web/20100528184610/http://www.sears.com/
Appliances: Home and Kitchen Appliances | Sears.com
https://www.sears.com/appliances/b-1020003?subCatView=true&storeOrigin=Sears&filterList=storeOrigin
TVs and Electronics - Buy Electronic Products Online from Sears
https://www.sears.com/tvs-electronics/b-1231469010?adcell=hp_CatLink_CE&storeOrigin=Sears,Sears%20Authorized%20Supplier&filterList=storeOrigin
Vacuums and Floor Cleaning Equipment for your Home from Sears
https://www.sears.com/appliances-vacuums-floor-care/b-1020018?subCatView=true&storeOrigin=Sears&filterList=storeOrigin
Small Kitchen Appliances | Coffee Makers, Blenders and more | Sears
https://www.sears.com/appliances-small-kitchen-appliances/b-1020025?storeOrigin=Sears,Sears%20Authorized%20Supplier&filterList=storeOrigin
Buy Home Heating, Air Conditioners and Air Quality Products at Sears
https://www.sears.com/appliances-heating-cooling-air-quality/b-1325041153?storeOrigin=Sears,Sears%20Authorized%20Supplier&filterList=storeOrigin
Tools | Buy Tools Online from Sears.com
https://www.sears.com/tools/b-1020000?subCatView=true&storeOrigin=Sears&filterList=storeOrigin
Outdoor Living
Camping Chairs | Camping Tables - Sears
https://www.sears.com/fitness-sports-outdoor-activities-camping-hiking-camping-chairs-tables/b-1340958908?storeOrigin=Sears&filterList=storeOrigin
https://www.sears.com/world-famous-sports-stars-and-stripes-quad-folding-chair-w-cup-holder-and-carry-bag/p-A120342662
Camping Air Mattresses | Camping Air Beds - Sears
https://www.sears.com/fitness-sports-outdoor-activities-camping-hiking-camping-air-mattresses/b-1340958905?storeOrigin=Sears&filterList=storeOrigin
Grills and Outdoor Cooking
https://www.sears.com/outdoor-living-grills-outdoor-cooking/b-1024045?storeOrigin=Sears,Sears%20Authorized%20Supplier&filterList=storeOrigin
Home - Kenmore
https://kenmoregrill.com/
Grills - Kenmore
https://kenmoregrill.com/kenmore-product-category/grills/
The Latest Showroom
Kenmore Studio – Sears Virtual Store
https://searsvirtualstore.com/kenmore-studio/

SEARS
140 Years
1886 - 2026
1886 - present

Edit: by Cielo Vista Mall I mean the Sears in El Paso TX

2012 was also the year Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHOS) lived on as a separate company. By 2019 the Sears outlet division was acquired by Franchise Group with the rest of the company being acquired by Transform Holdco. Sears Hometown went bankrupt in December 2022 and ceased to exist in February 2023, with the Sears Outlet division, later rebranded as American Freight, closing up shop in 2024 due to the bankruptcy of its parent company Franchise Group

These aren’t my photos, they were taken by David Gill

I went to the Coral Gables Sears on Thursday while I was in Miami for work. Pretty decently stocked, and the ladies working there were a delight to speak with.

The one I chatted with most said her manager has told staff that they’re absolutely not closing “because this store is iconic in Miami.”

I’d read before that a lot of Miami Cubans love Sears partly because it’s where they bought a lot of things for their new homes when they came to America decades ago, and they associate Sears with America (same as me).

I picked up some Craftsman tools, a tool bag, and a US Polo Association shirt. The cashier asked if my phone number was registered with Sears’s reward program. I was sure it wouldn’t be because I haven’t been able to shop in a Sears since I got my current phone number, but there I was in the system! They must’ve registered me when I used Sears Home Services a bunch about five years ago.

Keep going, remaining Sears locations!