Sears used to be the “Amazon” of the 19th and 20th centuries. The Sears, Roebuck and Company brought about the concept of the merchandise catalog, which enabled many Americans, in the city, in suburbia, and in the rural hinterlands to have access to household goods and other types of products. Many brands, such as Kenmore appliances and Craftsman tools were the pinnacle of robust, sturdy, and cost effective as well as affordable merchandise that American consumers could choose from within the Sears Catalog.
The Sears, Roebuck and Company was founded in 1893 by Richard Sears. The business began as a mail-order watch and jewelry establishment and eventually into a full-blown mail-order service. The ubiquitous Sears catalog concept was started in 1895 and quickly became famous across the nation. Eventually, the company was bought and restructured by Julius Rosenwald and began to scale out in growth. The company focused on selling items that were of low prices to rural locations that did not have readily available access to physical Sears stores. Catalogs were sent to prospective consumers in the hope that they would place orders (Hartman & McDowell, 2022).
As the 20th century progressed, the company increased in popularity. The stores could often be see in many malls and store plazas. The 21st century brought about increased technological changes to the company’s operations. Increased competition by competitors such as Walmart also put a strain on the company’s retail revenue. The company continued to focus exclusively on retail operations while other competitors were establishing an online presence. Amazon and other online shopping companies began to significantly shift the landscape for Sears. Internal management struggles were also affecting business operations. Stores began to close, and the Sears work force began to get cut in droves. Corporate management was to blame for the deterioration as well as labor shortages. The company eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2018 (Hartman & McDowell, 2022).
Sears ultimately demised due to its inability to plan for the consequences of a quickly changing retail environment. The digital transformation that many other successful companies, such as Walmart, Macy’s, and Target were able to adapt to, was not embraced by Sears. Sears failed to leverage digital ecosystems and streamlined business management protocols. Information Technology integration was also not leveraged. Lastly, the failure to anticipate and forecast how consumers desire to shop was also part of its demise. It is ironic that the company that started mass at-home retail via catalogs and a vast distribution and store network was done in by technology, bad business practices, and not paying attention to what customers want was done in by companies such as Amazon, which recently mailed out a holiday toy catalog to a large swatch of American households, much like its now defunct predecessor did (Torman, n.d.).
References
Hartman, A., & McDowell, E. (2022, December 20). The rise and fall of Sears. Business Insider.
Torman, M. (n.d.). Digital Transformation and the Downfall of Sears. Cleo.
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