All Sears Hometown Stores closing

The long-promised demise of Sears has been slowly playing out for years now, and it shows no signs of stopping. Currently, the namesake chain has just about a dozen stores left in the entire country.

Sears Hometown Stores will close all 115 locations across the U.S. following bankruptcy filings.

The franchise, specializing in home, lawn and garden appliances and equipment, announced on its website that all stores “from coast-to-coast will be shutting their doors.”

All merchandise, including furniture and fixtures, will be sold, with items going at a 40% discount.

Buyers of higher-ticket items, such as riding lawn mowers or home appliances, will be able to buy third-party warranties.

The chain filed for bankruptcy earlier this month. Sears spun off Sears Hometown in 2012, according to CNN. There were about 700 hometown stores just three years ago.

 

Sad

 

Didn’t stay current and this is what happens.

the loss of a legacy…

how many Christmas’ and lonely nights were made better by their catalogs…

 

Lost ours years ago. I used to love going there with Dad when younger. The Craftsman tools ( when they used to have real tools and a large variety ) , Dad swore by their Golden Spectro motor oil and don't forget that christmas wish-book at the holidays. Lots of great memories.
A friend of mine has a house that was actually a kit from Sears , all the boards came numbered and you assembled it yourself..

Kind of sad to see them go.

 

Yes sir sure do. We had one next town over not too far from where the Sears store once stood.
Also S&H green stamp store.

Memories of the simpler life of days past.

 

Yep, really is sad.

Like losing a very old friend that was always there.

 

Friend of mine had a shotgun with Montgomery Ward name on it. Not sure who actually made it for them but always found it interesting that they would actually have their own branding on such a thing.

 

Definitely sad to see them go. I enjoyed thumbing through their catalog. They closed the local to me about three years ago.

I think there are several factors as to why they closed.

*They cost more than the bargain places like Wal-Mart, and there is in general way more competition stores/brands
*Most people hire out to contractors now. Craftsman tool quality also went way down, and the lifetime warranties on hand tools weakened and disappeared over the years

And the biggest reason imo....

*Everyone wants online shopping now. Going into an actual store has become a nostalgic, novelty concept for most. They never seemed to really get behind the online concept. This can be said I believe for malls in general, where many Sears were located. The malls and Sears used to be loaded with people when I was a kid. At Christmas time, it felt magical. The last decade or so they were open, it felt like a ghost town, only a handful of people to be seen.

 

Ha! My first gun was a shotgun form sears and yes, I still have it. Used it last fall for a couple of grouse as a matter of fact!

 

Back in the early 70,s I worked for Sears in delivery. We had 2 trucks running, one for local deliveries and the other one for out of town deliveries within a 50 mile radius. We delivered a lot of appliances and furniture. The sears store closed here a few years ago and has been remodeled into a grocery store.

 

Craftsman branded hand tools and mechanics wrenches were always our go-to for diy garage tools. Craftsman stood for quality. Sadly, they are on par with HF tools now.
We are now a throw-away society.
And manufacturers don't build anything to last more than the warranty period.

 

Growing up and even in our early years of marriage, Sears was the go to place for appliances, tools, kids toys and even shoes and clothing. Yep, a bygone era for sure!

Edit: If I remember correctly Savage used to private label firearms for Sears and Montgomery Wards.

 

High Standard, Jc Higgins, Ted Williams were Sears and Savage/Stevens made MW

 

I have a Ted Williams 30-30 that was my grandfathers, not sure of the age but I’m thinking 60s-70s. He got cancer in 79-80 and struggled until he passed in the mid 80s. Also have a squires Bingham 22 semi from Kmart. Honestly that is the reason Kmart is long gone putting our lack of quality like that POS auto jammer.

 

I use to love getting the Sears catalog before Christmas. My wife and I still have a patio set we bought at Kmart before they shut down.

I asked my sons if they remember going to Toys R Us. They do. It's sad little kids don't know the feeling of walking through a toy store like that. Though I guess they're trying to tag along with Macys now.

 

When I left home for tech school my first job was with Mongomery Wards auto center. My interview was to change a tire. Since we grew up at my dad's auto repair and body shop, I got the job.

 

Worked at our local Wards for about 5 years. If memory serves me correctly they went belly up under the Exxon ownership days.