If Sears would have been on the ball, they could be what Amazon is now! Sad thought but true!

It's kind of sad to see these iconic institutions close, but it's the reality. It's been several years since I've gone to a department store. I think the last one was Macy's.

I used to live in Chicago in the early 2000's for college and I loved shopping in the big downtown stores, especially during the holidays.

Except for appliances and tools, I stopped shopping at Sears a long time ago. They just never seemed to have what I wanted in clothing and the quality was less, housewares I could find elsewhere for less $.

I have bought very little from Macy's (my go-to store) in the past several years also, because I am just at a point that I don't need much, and not having to replace much -- I haven't had to maintain a work wardrobe for 2 decades now, and I rarely am in other than jeans and comfy shoes.

Well, last year I did shop for a wardrobe for my trip to Israel, but after searching Macy's and Nordstrom Rack, ended up finding and buying nearly everything at Stein Mart. I never did find the kind of skirt that I wanted.

I have fond memories of going on shopping trips to the big downtown stores -- special occasions those were, but suburbs/ malls killed them off.

The Sears near me closed last september- very sad. i remember when it was called Sears Roebuck and had both catalog and store sales. My Dad really liked Craftsman tools, which were sold only at Sears back then.

I think it's sad...Penny's are gone here, BonTon is gone, I read that Target is struggling. I cuss the internet...but here I am. ;) I remember too, how the

Down towns stagnated when the big Malls were opened with all these stores.

Karma, I guess...but it's biting us.

Sears has been more of a traditional store. They didn't cater to the traditional crowd and they didn't cater to the trendy crowd. They just sort of stagnated.

I shopped there for several years. Kenmore appliances weren't as good any more. The tools weren't as good. I did buy clothes for my kids there. I would shop at the end of the season when they would slash the prices. I would find some great deals. The kids outgrew the younger styles and Sears didn't have what they wanted. It's been 2-3 years since I even walked into one.

I would really hate to lose Target, but they do seem to have lost their edge- I used to make sure to buy things like makeup, over the counter meds, cleaning supplies there because they were reliably the better priced source (compared to grocery/drugstore) but Amazon is really hurting them there. And again, where I used to go in to find something cute or necessary for the house at a good quality and price (which they still do have) I just don't need stuff now (I am still off & on using a comforter that I bought there 27 years ago, washed many times and still looks great!). I think the fresh food section was a mistake to add.

i think reason for Sears’ demise is that girls on MTV show more skin than models in sears catalog, underwear section

Sears Roebuck offered my fist experience with the ''three Rs". My parents would have me look up the clothes we needed, write in the order blank, calculate the amount including the state tax, and write the check. My father could sign his name on the check.

I know for clothes, I'm a must try on first. Other things too, I like to go see and touch...even household items.

To me I noticed Sears started going down hill when they bought out KMart. I wish they were like in years past, as I liked them, but they are not.

There was a story on the local news last night about ToyR Us, Bon Ton ,Sears Kmarts all around here closing. I almost think karma got them because the malls destroyed all the lovely downtown and city shopping and built their huge places some of which are in decay now. Our Kmart was the worst store ever and I only went there for birdseed. Just depressing and ugly and last year was destroyed and now the best of the best are there in that space...HomeGoods, Marshals, and Steinmahrs. Our Sears was torn down for a Dicks. And Bon Ton and Borders next door are closing and HHGreg, and the old Dicks are in a dead strip mall now. Only Petsmart is there. >>I've been ahead of the times only shopping at TJ Maxx , Marshalls and HG for years. Haven't been in a big retail store in many years. Times are a changing. But Target isn't in trouble. It's a fabulous place jammed with people and I don't believe for a moment it's in trouble.

At my age (60ish) I've had all the department store "stuff" I need for 20 years already. My life hasn't changed much so don't need much else. Walking thru department stores and/or shopping malls full of same old, same old, cheaply made sh__ from elsewhere, makes me sad. Doesn't matter to me if it's an upscale, middle class, or penny-pinching big box: it's all so much greed on display.

I still come across items (new kitchen gadget, replacement alarm clock for instance) that in the past I would have driven to a dept store to buy, but it's easier to research/compare/buy them on the internet.

I can understand sentimental attachment to stores, but everything humans make, will change.

It will be interesting to see how much "stuff" my daughter buys when she eventually settles down into a house of her own (vs an apartment).

The ease of online shopping that WE ALL enjoy caused the demise of department stores. I haven't been in one in ages. Cool "shopping centers" are the rage now - we have an outdoor one called Santana Row (google that for pictures) that was built like an ersatz Italian village that's really fantastic, with stores below and very expensive housing above. It's always mobbed. Some of the ubiquitous chains (like Crate and Barrel) but no department stores. A few miles down the road is an old style indoor shopping center that has been struggling for over a decade and will likely be redeveloped into housing and some commercial space.

The problem with stores closing? You can't compare this one to that without it being in your hands. And speaking of in your hands, you have to wait to get whatever it is you needed. That part is irritating. I can't wait a lot of the time. Grr.

I shopped at the Carsons near me two weeks ago. I left very frustrated. I wanted to return one item and found 2 others. The fitting rooms were disgustingly dirty not having been vacuumed for a while and tried on clothing was piled into a heap. Of the 4 customer service stations, none, and I mean none, had a salesperson to return/check out my items. I finally found a group of 3 young saleswomen who were chitchatting to help. I am not surprised that the stores are closing.

One of the first shopping centers in the state was built in the late 50's. Then decades later it was turned into an enclosed mall. Guess what, back to the original. The mall was destroyed and the strip mall has returned.

I’ve yet to even visit the traditional mall with everything indoors out here, been living in the state coming up on a year now. I’ve gone to the outlet shopping center and the nearby shopping center with a mix of stores in block arrangements as well as some stores on a below ground level that’s attached to one of the movie theaters. I’ve bought jeans at Costco along with Olaplex step 3 at a much better price for 2 than I’ve seen anywhere else selling just 1 bottle for. Amazon is where I buy potty pads for the dog, sometimes I buy tops and leggings, if they happen to have the particular brand/style bras I wear at a lower price I buy them on amazon, same for a specific style of spanx that is no longer available in store or on the Spanx website. My closest Sephora is at the shopping center nearby so if there’s something I want in stock and I don’t want to wait for shipping I drop by the store. That one carries everything unlike the Sephora in JC Penney’s (we still have a J.C. Penney’s at the traditional mall I’ve never been to if I decide I want to visit there). The Lowe’s and Home Depot are across the street from each other in their own strip malls, about 2 miles from our house, but I’ve bought cabinet and drawer hardware from amazon, did the same with the shower filter cartridges because the price was lower and I have prime so they arrive in 2 days. I had been buying more on eBay - mostly shirts and knickers - but there’s not as many sellers who offer discounted or free shipping so when I find what I want on amazon I just buy there instead of eBay. Craft supplies and anything I need for sewing can be found on Etsy or at hobby lobby (I really only go to HL as a last resort - they often have higher prices on things so why bother if it’s available elsewhere).

I bought my food processor at Macy's last summer -- I had a tiny one but now that I have a good sized kitchen I decided I wanted an adult-sized processor. And, I had a gift certificate to Macy's, or I doubt I'd have gone there for it.

The last time I'd been in Macy's prior to that was autumn of 2010 -- I could look this up because I have the wedding shot glass with the names and date of my niece's wedding. The last thing I'd bought anything at Macy's had been something for their wedding that was on their registry.

I don't do all my shopping on line; Bed Bath and Beyond is a frequent locale for me to shop in. And I don't have to go through a mall to get to the areas I want to shop in.

That being said, the only place I can find tall clothing is on line. It's pricy, so if I want short sleeved tops, I hit up Kohl's to balance the budget out.

I liked Sears for appliances, but I found a couple of smaller appliance stores close to me, with service staff who actually know something about their appliances. We still have our Sears, but they sold off over half of their retail space to other businesses.

I prefer Target to Walmart because they are friendlier and *usually* have nicer customers.

They aren't the Target I discovered a few years back. They have a few items I prefer. The selection is so limited. I'd like to buy casual clothes for my dd there, but their quality has gone down. I'm tired of buying clothes that fall apart. The baby clothes are ok for gifts, but sometimes they are not 'cute'. I do like their 'home' area. I bought quilted blankets about ten years ago for all three of my children. They are still in good shape. The food section is ok if I'm in there and do not want to stop by a grocery store. I like their specialty trail mix and give it as teacher and bus driver gifts at Christmas. I wish they carried more books.

Target: I prefer our Target to our Walmart's (I'm talking about at my old home in CT, since I haven't done either store up here in MA yet, and I still own the home in CT until I can get it ready for sale -- the same is true of the stores I talk about in my previous post.)

At Target, I did buy a travel suitcase with roller handles for take on luggage plane travel back in 2012 or 2013. Very good quality. I've bought warm cozy sock packages there, and several small ticket items. I have never taken even a glance at the food sections in either Walmart or Target. Other than socks, I haven't even looked at the short sleeved clothing selections, much less any of their other clothing (they aren't going to carry Tall).

We have 2 Walmart's near my previous location back in CT. One is a store renowned as being "disgusting", the other is a Walmart Mini that took over a Bradlee's when that chain went down. Over the ten years these things have been around in that area, I've made three purchases at Walmart's, once because I had a broken ankle and it was where a friend suggested she drive me so I could buy a replacement coffee maker. Since she was also getting me to doctor appointments, I thought it rude to suggest she drive me out of her way to Bed Bath and Beyond, so I went along with it.

Walmart's isn't really suffering much for my lack of shopping at their stores.

Sears drove me away 7 years ago when I moved into my now previous house. I ordered a bunch of appliances and got terrible service.

If you buy something from Amazon and the wrong item is delivered, in my experience they fix it. Sears sort of shrugged and made me do a lot of calling around.

I guess my DH and DIL will have to stick together.. The Carson's where they met while working first jobs (Shoes and Cosmetics) will be no more come August.

There are two Target stores almost equidistant from my house. One is a lovely store with helpful, friendly staffing. The other isn't very clean, with poorly stocked shelves, and the staff is not only incompetent, but surly to boot!

I go out of my way to avoid Walmart stores. What a greedy, grasping family!

Dept stores lost me as I got older and just couldn't do all the walking and often, still not find what I wanted. I haven't been in one in years.

I find I'm doing more and more shopping online. Sometimes, I would like to actually SEE what I'm buying and that's a big problem, even with the existing stores out there. Last Sat, I wanted DGS1 to take me to Target to see/possibly buy a particular kitchen stool, and an new single-line CORDED phone to use on my kitchen wall. Thank goodness I checked online before we wasted our time going there! Mail order only.

I then looked at Walmart, Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Lowes and Home Depot. Not ONE of these stores carries, in stock, a corded single-line phone - not one! They all have the same kitchen stool available by mail order - I'm still afraid to order it without seeing it in person as it would not be easy to return.

But I needed a new phone in my kitchen and I prefer a wall phone. So, Sat late afternoon I ordered one off of Amazon; it was in my mailbox on SUNDAY. SUNDAY - the very next day!

I also needed a new watering wand for my sunporch - yardman broke the older one. My first instinct was to stop at Home Depot after pulmonary rehab on Tues - it's 1/2 mile away. Then I thought better of that idea and ordered two from Amazon - arrived the next day.

For someone like me with mobility issues, online ordering is really the only way to go.

Watchmelol... Interesting music in department store story below.

I don't recall the name of the chain, but this was back in the early 1980's, possibly tail end 70's.

The store, the entire chain, went under at some point, and I know Linen's and Things took over half their space, and a local clothing semi-chain took over the other part. Linens and Things of course is gone now (alas), and their space is now a furniture chain.

Anyhow... the original unnamed department store.

Back in the 70's and early 80's, music in department stores was largely that hideous (in my opinion) "elevator music" aka "muzak". Instrumental sludge with no personality. (I do like instrumental music. Just the GOOD stuff.)

I remember driving over there, to buy something.

I remember wanting to just reach in and ten-finger-discount randomly. That hideous "music" playing in the background. I wanted to walk off with things I had no rational use for, or for even liking.

After purchasing the item I'd gone in for, I fought my way out of there. I did NOT walk off with any stolen item.

I was shaking when I got back into the car. I could not remotely understand the impulse to want to walk off with junk I'd had no pretensions for ever wanting. This was nothing I'd ever experienced before. Or, since.

Came to learn shortly after: some department stores were pumping in subliminal messages with their "music": "Do Not Steal", "Do Not Pilfer".

I am sure that was happening here. I loathed the "music" so much, I was getting the reverse mental subliminal message.

EDIT: If I recall correctly, I was over there to pick up something Mother wanted. This wasn't a place I'd shop at for myself at that point in my life. I was still living at home with them, and of course they'd not be carrying any clothing that would fit me right.

I love love Target and go every week. Mine is upscale, bright, modern with a small grocery part. The home decor stuff is great , cosmetics, garden stuff. Now Magnolia is featured. I have a Walmart I could walk to and another mega one six miles away. Don't set foot in either one.

artemis, what a funny/awful story! I've always hated muzak too. Not too long ago, I even dreamed about it. They'd taken a song I like which happens to have quite a few cuss words in it (but british so it's sort of funny to my ears) and muzaked it -- no, that's wrong on so many levels! I woke up mad as heck, how dare they!

I hear that Lands' End now has a new CEO that is bringing the company back to it's down to earth roots.

Trying to compete and be upscale has lost them big time.

Here is what I think though. I used to be a Macy's shopper. It was my go-to store. Then years later I added Lord and Taylor. But, in the past five years or so, I would go and buy nothing.

I think it is the buyers who are just not talented enough to figure out the merchandise that will sell. There should be a good mixture of basics, for those starting to build a wardrobe, some classic items, then some trendy to round things out.

I always do my shopping online at Loft due to their small petite department. I would love to have more clothing available at the store.

I just mailed back a top from Macy's. Total looked different than pictured.

Muzak! OMG! I remember it in elevators, and I am not going off topic, but I remember it in traditional department stores. It does seem like the Christmas music is starting up earlier these days, LOL. What is really sad about some of these stores closing is they didn't develop an online presence to rival Amazon. I wonder how Walmart is doing with its online presence. Some things I have ordered from Amazon have come in Walmart boxes, which means Amazon must be working with Walmart as a provider.

In my old age I look back fondly at trips to some of the large department stores (with NO music playing in the background). I liked to be able to feel the finish of a garment, the heft of a tool, and the interaction with a salesperson.

I admit that due to mobility issues I shop online for as much as I can, and enjoy the usually quick service.

I'm afraid that soon no one will have to leave their house for anything much, as not only can you buy anything and have it delivered, but so many can work from home. My car, should I need it, is parked in my enclosed garage, so I seldom see my neighbor.

Seems like a pretty lonely, dull life.

The Bon Ton company is on the auction block. There hasn't been a bid to continue these stores. This means no more Boston Store among others. All Boston Stores in my state (and elsewhere) are closing.

I miss Sears, maybe mainly for sentimental reasons, but also for things like major appliances. I used to like walking through Sears and Zellers (a Canadian department store that is also gone). I have to say I can't stand Walmart, which took over when Zellers closed. The problem I find with a lot of online retailers (and I do buy from them) is that I have to pay for return postage for many of them. The cost adds up.

I worked @ Sears in the automotive department for 9 years! Eons ago. :0) A month ago, I went in for a Diehard battery and there was one customer ahead of me. One guy writing tickets. One guy said "all" he did was drive cars into the shop, his title was "driver". Mechanics standing around with nothing to do. The shop writer said he couldn't check the electrical until he installed a new battery. I had to commit to pay $178 for a battery before he'd even put my car in the shop. Then I had to wait an hour before they got to it.

I really LOVE Sears. I made good money working there, liked everyone, made great memories......buuuuuuut...... That is NO WAY to run a shop!

Kohls & JC Penneys is doing a pretty good business here. I generally shop online and pick up my merchandise at the store. Ikea, Walmart & Costco are still going strong.

Muzak has some awesome tunes at the grocery stores! :0)

I never go into big malls any more. No time! But, every once in a while, I do go on the Macy's website for tops, or sweaters. I really like how functional the site is. You can easily see the colors each item comes in, and the reviews are right there handy, so it's easy to find out if the material is stretchy, see-through, or fits big, small, or weird. And you can zoom in to see fabric up close. I can get more shopping done there online in 30 minutes, than I could in a couple hour visit to the actual store. Returns are free and very simple. And it's surprisingly inexpensive. (I know I sound like an advertisement, and I don't mean to, it's just that they seem to have figured out the online thing).

it's been ages since I've gone into a 'dept store'. other than kohl's - I've gone in there a few times in the past 10-15 yrs with my sister.

i mostly stick to W, Walgreens and a local grocery. haven't been to a Sears or Penney's in probably 15 yrs or more. the last time I went into a Penney's it was to pick up a catalog, so a long time back. Not much into clothes anymore. My sister gives me a lot of hers, tho the tops are usually too small and I have to hem the pants. i only usually go out maybe twice a week. one of those trips usually includes going to the local town - to a doctor, the bank or to pick up a to go dinner. traffic is horrible and there seems to be construction in all directions.

W is just down the road from me - I don't even have to go out on the main hwy to get there. I just go thru one of the new developments on a few back roads.

I don't really like it there. they're just rearranged everything so I can't find anything. tried my last 2 trips there to find a box of #10 envelopes. nope, can't find 'em. I guess they prefer people can't find things and shop elsewhere. I've been food shopping more lately at the local grocery. a bit higher in price but worth it.

do a good amount of shopping on amazon - for me anyway. saves me going from store to store to look for things.

It seems like the discount chains like Marshall's and T.J. Maxx are doing better. For years (and I still do), I bought clothes and housewares at these outfits. I can't remember the last time I set foot in a department store, as well. I am definitely a Maxxinisto? (because I am a guy, LOL). In fact, someone gave me a gift card to T. J. Maxx some time ago.

The auto store should close next. Good riddance.

Auto store? Do you mean a car parts place?

I worked at a Sears in Michigan during the 1990's. Loved working there. And in the early 1960's it was a Sears credit card that helped out greatly as we moved and settled in a new state. Have relied on Sears for so many things over the years.

This post made me wonder if my Sears in Michigan was still open. Did a search and was shocked to see that in 2014 my Sears was the last store to close in the mall that it was located in. That mall included a Penny's, Macey's and Kohls stores. All gone. How sad!

On a trip back to Cincinnati a couple of years ago when my father was in the hospital, it was unexpectedly colder than I had packed for so I decided to go to the mall right across the highway from the hotel we were staying in. The place was desolate. One of the anchor stores had just closed, another had apparently closed much earlier, and inside the mall at least half of the smaller store locations were vacant and boarded up, with no signs that other stores were planning to move in.

While some of the blame for stores closing can certainly be placed on Internet shopping, there are many other factors involved. The rampant drive over the years to build ever more new stores and new malls, eventually reached the saturation point, where each customer at each new store is merely one that isn't going to the older store.

Coupled with the overall decline in the economy in much of the country where all of the better-paying jobs were shipped overseas, until all that remains is various retail jobs, which frequently don't pay enough for the employees to shop in the stores where they work.

Another big, big factor in many of the store chain closings, (Toys 'R' Us in particular.) is the merger and acquisition and buyouts that have been going on for a few decades. Another company or an outside organization or coalition come in and buys the company and finances it through massive amounts of borrowed money, secured by the real-estate assets of the company they are buying. In the case of Toys 'R' Us, three private capital firms bought the then struggling company, and burdened the company with $5 billion in debt, then between the millions in management fees they have the company pay to them, and the hundreds of millions in interest on the massive debt, devour any and all gross profits on sales, leaving little to nothing (or less than nothing) to invest in keeping the company running.

I think in the last year Toys 'R' Us had over $11 billion in sales revenue, but between the increasingly thin profit margins due to competition, and the massive interest payments owed, it lost maybe $400 million. The private capital firms have squeezed all the juice out of the company that they can, have written off all of the losses and are tossing aside its dry, drained husk, and will now be moving on to the next plump, juicy company to parasitize and plunder.

greenshoekitty

To
me I noticed Sears started going down hill when they bought out KMart. I
wish they were like in years past, as I liked them, but they are not.

*******************************************************

A correction - Kmart bought Sears.

money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart/Nov 17, 2004 - Kmart is buying Sears,
Roebuck & Co. for $11 billion in a deal that will marry two of the
nation's oldest retailers that had trouble keeping up with the ... And
while it's struggled in clothing and other soft lines, it bought Lands' End and developed youth-oriented Apostrophe brand to try to fill those holes.

I will miss Hergergers! (Bon Ton) It was a reliable place and had good sales in my area.

As a young adult, I worked at Carson's, Wiebolts, and Marshall Field's on Chicago's State Street. Those were the days!

rob,

Sears Auto Store.

I mostly buy stuff I have inspected in person first. I also canceled my smart phone some time ago, have replaced it with voice only recently - and haven't activated the new phone yet.

There's a tendency for the failed stores to be ones catering specifically to the middle class, with the closures being in conjunction with a tendency for the middle class to be failing (shrinking) also. Many Dick and Jane families are living a high credit card balance sustained lie, and have $5000 or less put away for retirement.

Regards Bon Ton: I just moved to Massachusetts, and never heard of this chain until this thread... and until I went to Westfield (where i am getting physical therapy for a knee surgery). There is a Bon Ton there, but when I drove past, it looks dark. It also states it gears to men's clothing (I'm a woman).

I am really just curious, since other than footwear, I don't need men's clothing.

What is their status? Essentially, overall?

We lost K-Mart many years ago. We used to have Woolco but Walmart came to Canada and bought out Woolco. I miss Woolco so much! Similar store, but not. Then Target came to Canada and bought out Zellers. Now both are gone because Target royally screwed up by thinking we were stupid and would buy the crap Target Canada had to offer. All I ever bought from Target was the Frappacino's at the Starbucks and the caramel popcorn in the junk food section. The clothes were cheap and there was no craft section. Really?? So now we have Walmart. I hate Walmart. I try to avoid the store as much as possible. So if I want to buy something I have to hope Superstore carries it (odds are they don't) or I buy online. The malls here are looking more nekkid than ever with small stores closing. So what do they do? They put in a Nordstroms and a Saks Fifth Avenue that only rich people can afford. Saks opened just a few weeks ago and I don't see the store lasting long here. Sears closed it's last store here in the last six months. I will miss Kenmore appliances. My washer, fridge and stove are all Kenmore: a name I completely trust. I really wish Woolco and Zellers could make a come back here.