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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133457
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 1:43pm | IP Logged | 1 post reply

CNN

I have some heavy duty nostalgia for this department store chain—Simpson Sears as it was known in the Canada of my youth. There I bought my first pair of “aviator” glasses when I was about 18, and a couple of years later my first pair of blue jeans. And wandering thru their record department I found, with no idea it was coming, MR SPOCK’S MUSIC FROM OUTER SPACE.*

Gadzooks!

______

* That was where I learned about Hobbits. Something of a life changing moment!

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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12745
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 2:21pm | IP Logged | 2 post reply

The Sears catalogue used to be a fixture in every home -- especially around this time of year!

For example:



[sigh!]
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133457
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 2:43pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply

I’m reminded of those “sexy” lingerie ads in the Sears catalog. Which sent me just now on a google search for vintage Maidenform bra ads. That long running “I dreamed….” series has become hilarious with the passing of the years.

It might have been NATIONAL LAMPOON that parodied them with “I dreamed I led the St Patrick’s Day parade in my Erin go brae!”

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Michael Casselman
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 14 January 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 1248
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 2:51pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply

The Sears closest to me in Watertown closed in early 2019. Even in it's last 10 years, it was but a shell of it's old glory. I'm surprised that there are as many as 15 still around.
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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 12745
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 2:53pm | IP Logged | 5 post reply

There was a time when catalogues and "National Geographic" were just about it for teenage males!
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Eric Morin
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 22 February 2007
Posts: 460
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 3:18pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply

When I was a lad my Mom used to hand me a Sears catalog
and asked me to circle the things I wanted for Christmas.
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Peter Martin
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 March 2008
Location: Canada
Posts: 15973
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 3:19pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply

Sears closed in Canada a few years ago. I liked it, but the writing did seem to be on the wall for a while.
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Wilson Mui
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 27 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4556
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 3:58pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply

One of my first jobs 35 yrs ago was standing outside a
Sears to sign people up for a Sears or Discover credit
card. Even back then it was starting to decline. The only
times it was somewhat busy was around Christmas.
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Bryan Eacret
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 08 February 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 745
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 4:01pm | IP Logged | 9 post reply

With their catalog Sears should have become Amazon. They were too big, slow moving and short sighted to transition the catalog to the internet. 

My wife worked for Sears for twenty years; most of that in some type of store management. The longer she stayed the worse the working conditions got due to mismanagement at the corporate end. She quit,  sometime around 2002, due to poor pay and the many hours she was expected to work since she was salary (free labor). She was super dedicated to Sears until they finally broke her. 
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John Byrne

Grumpy Old Guy

Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 133457
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 4:10pm | IP Logged | 10 post reply

The husband of one of my Ex's high school chums was a Sears veep. It certainly provided them with an elegant lifestyle, including an enormous brownstone in downtown Chicago.
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Doug Centers
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 17 February 2014
Location: United States
Posts: 5615
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 5:27pm | IP Logged | 11 post reply

So at the age of 18 I hired in at the local Sears Auto Center. Slung tires around for a while, became a service advisor for some time then into management for the remainder of my stay. After 34 years I took the severance and retirement as they were shuttering my Auto Center and the store. That was January 2019.
Bryan's wife's experience was pretty close to mine tho I stayed on to the bitter end. 
I wont go into the gory details here but what Eddie Lampert did to Sears and KMart was borderline criminal. 

The positive; lifelong friends, small pension, great 401k return, allowed me to raise my kids comfortably. And being a manager at a corporation that sold licensed Marvel and DC merchandise allowed me to vote for JB for the Hall of Fame. 
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Mark Waldman
Byrne Robotics Member


Joined: 16 August 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 1273
Posted: 29 November 2022 at 6:17pm | IP Logged | 12 post reply

Sears was great as a kid. I would go with my mom and grandmother and needle them to get a toy. Star Wars action figure, Hot Wheels, GI Joe, etc. Good times. Sad Sears has ended but most of us probably felt it had gone away 10+ years ago.
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