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Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears.com (current coupons) is an online catalog by Sears, Roebuck and Co. that carries quality merchandise ranging from Craftsman Tools, and Kenmore appliance to jewelry and apparel.
The Sears Catalog traces its roots to 1893 when Richard Sears (a railroad station master) bought a shipment of watches that was rejected by a jeweler in North Redwood, Mn. Mr. Sears began selling the watches up and down the line. He realized in this operation that rural communities were underserved by existing stores, and that new forms of transportation allowed for a new model based on shipping. In 1894, Mr. Sears met a Chicago jeweler named Alvah C. Roebuck and established a catalog company.
The key to a catalog business (where consumers buy products sight unseen) is consistent quality. Sears concentrated on quality at a low price point and quickly built a solid reputation in rural communities, and the Sears Catalog became a fixture in Americana.
Sears opened their first department store in Chicago in 1925 and gradually expanded into largest US retailer toward the 1980s. Sears was eventually displaced by Walmart and several conglomerates and currently hold the sixth position.
Notable moments in Sears history include the 1974 completion of the 110 story Sears Tower in Chicago. The Sears Tower held the position of world's tallest building until the construction of the Petronas Towers were completed in 1996.
In 1981, Sears started the Prodigy BBS service with IBM. Prodigy became one of the first ISPs in the 1990s, but later floudered. Sears also started the DiscoverCard charge card which competes with Mastercard/Visa.
For the do-it-yourself crowd, Sears opened the Sears Parts Direct program which includes parts for most major brands of appliances and yard equipment.
Sears formerly traded on the NYSE with the symbol S. In 2005, Sears merged with KMart to form a new company called Sears Holding Compay which trades on NASDAQ with the symbol SHLD.