By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-20 04:31:49 | Updated at 2024-12-20 11:05:11
6 hours ago
Sears has closed its final store in Washington, leaving it operating in only four states across the US.
The department store, which was once the largest in the country, closed an outlet in the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington, on December 15.
In the weeks leading up to its closure, the store, which had been there for three decades, hosted discount sales for shoppers.
Its closure means that Sears only has eight stores remaining across California, Florida, Massachusetts and Texas.
Locals expressed their sadness at the store closing its doors.
'It's a landmark, it's something you grew up with, it's something you could trust,' Barbie Talamante, a former Sears staffer, told the Seattle NPR station KUOW-FM.
'As a little kid you'd go into a Sears store, your parents would buy the washers, dryers, paint, draperies, whatever.'
Talamante had worked at Sears for more than 10 years, and this is the second store she has had to see close down.
The department store, which was once the largest in the country, closed an outlet in the Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, Washington, on December 15
But according to a Reddit post from 2022, the Tukwila store already appeared to be past its prime two years ago.
'It had a random mix of products, the top floor was closed and the washrooms were boarded shut,' a user wrote on the social media site, alongside photos of the store.
'It gave it a real Dawn of the Dead vibe.'
Despite its reputation for bargains, discount stores like Walmart have siphoned off Sears' customers over the last several years.
The department store was founded in 1892, and as recently as 2012 boasted over 4,000 stores across the US.
But the vast majority have now shuttered since the company filed for bankruptcy in October 2018.
The company also closed its final location in the New York area at the beginning of this year.
A store in Jersey City, just over the Hudson river from Manhattan, announced a 70 percent off closing sale in a Facebook post in January - ending 40-years in the Newport Centre Mall.
Sears is now owned by Transformco, a retail company headed by hedge fund operator Eddie Lampert.
Lampert bought control of Sears for $11 billion in 2005 - merging it with Kmart, which he had bought out of bankruptcy two years previously.
Pictures of the Washington store from 2022 appeared to show areas closed off for customers
The vast majority of Sears stores have shuttered since the company filed for bankruptcy in October 2018 (Pictured: A closing down sale at a store in Jersey City)
Sears discontinued its catalog in 1993 - just short of its 100 year anniversary (Pictured: The Sears bumper Christmas catalog from 1968)
The company opened its first retail store in Chicago in 1925 - next to its warehouse which it had used for catalog orders
Sears was once the biggest retailer in the US (Pictured: The Sears store at Burbank Town Centre reopened in October 2023 after closing in November 2022)
But the combined brands have struggled to stave off competition from other big-box retailers including Walmart and Target and e-commerce giant Amazon.
It is a familiar story for many companies amid the so-called 'retail apocalypse' sweeping the US - which is seeing big-name stores shutter in their thousands.
The troubled retailer quietly reopened two stores in 2023, including one in Burbank Town Center mall, north of Los Angeles.
But visitors branded it the 'saddest thing I’ve ever seen' with empty shelves and stained carpet.
Plans for the company going forward are unclear, and it is not known whether further closures are planned in 2025.
