EXECS of a historic department store chain have pulled out of a US state after closing another one of its stores.
The Sears outlet in the Southcenter Mall in Washington permanently shuttered on December 15.
It had been a shopping center staple for over three decades.
But, its days were numbered, and discount sales were held in the run-up to the closure.
Shoppers flocked to the store in the run-up to the closure.
Sears, which was once a booming chain just decades ago, has been reduced to a handful of stores.
The chain, founded in 1892, no longer has a presence in Washington.
However, the company still has stores in California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas.
There are just eight Sears locations remaining in the entire country.
Shoppers have been left mourning the closure of the last-remaining Washington store.
“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.”
News of the store’s demise has prompted shoppers to reminisce about their memories.
“I grew up with Sears…both the stores and the catalog,” a Sears fan cried.
“Sad to see such an icon fade.”
Another customer recalled when they told their grandson that Sears was the so-called “original Amazon.”
“He didn’t get it,” the shopper said.
“But my age and older do.”
“Truly sad. Used to buy our appliances, yard products, tools, and clothes there,” a third fan cried.
How does bankruptcy work?
Bankruptcy is a specific legal process that helps companies eliminate debt they can’t repay.
The process allows businesses to start fresh and gain access to new credit.
Supervised by federal courts, bankruptcies allow a company to sell off its assets more easily to pay off creditors, according to Investopedia.
Chapter 11, a common process for companies, is used to restructure a business with the goal of remaining open – even if it means selling off most of the company’s properties.
Chapter 7, on the other hand, sells all of a company’s assets, putting it out of business.
Chapter 15, alternatively, allows for collaboration between American and foreign courts to conduct bankruptcy proceedings with “parties of interest involving more than one country,” per the United States Courts.
Shoppers told how they used to flock to Sears to grab household and kitchen appliances.
Sears chiefs have gradually whittled down their portfolio in the years since the company filed for bankruptcy.
Bosses filed for bankruptcy in 2018 at a time when there were 700 Sears stores.
And more than 60,000 workers were on the company’s books then.
At the time, chiefs revealed they would close 142 stores in a bid to revive itself.
Sears emerged from bankruptcy in 2022 but only after a sweeping set of closures.
STORE PORTFOLIO CUT
In October 2022, the company had just 24 stores.
The years that followed have seen further closures.
But, the closure of the Washington store has sparked fears among some shoppers regarding the future of other chains.
One shopper prayed that Macy’s wouldn’t suffer a similar fate.
Macy’s chiefs have recently announced a slew of store closures.
A total of 65 outlets will close by the end of January, execs announced earlier this month.
Initially, it was estimated that 50 would go the wall this year.
The sweeping closures are part of a three-year plan that will see 150 outlets close.
Macy’s chiefs have announced waves of store closures in recent years.
In February 2020, execs revealed a three-year plan that would see 125 store shutdowns in total.
