Sears, Kmart fade into history

By Rick Yencer

MUNCIE, IN  -  The sign at Muncie's Kmart was dark Tuesday night, an omen of Sears Holding Corp. announcing plans to close as many as 120 of its Sears and Kmart stores after poor Christmas sales.

 While that list of closings will be decided after the Christmas retail season, employees and customers at Muncie Sears and Kmart stores seemed to know that Sears will stay while Kmart might go. The hammer later came down on the Sears store in Anderson, and a Kmart on Pendleton Pike in Indianapolis.  Just go to www.searsmedia.com to find out more.

 Kmart closed its south Muncie store after the company filed bankruptcy in 2003 and later merged with Sears. The more than 100 year old discount store once had a huge retail corporation that included OfficeMax, Waldenbooks, and Borders only to give up its holdings after the bankruptcy. The combination of Sears and Kmart was expected to bring more profitability but the lower prices of mega-death retailer Wal-Mart and the way cool merchandise of Target  began to take its toll besides the Great Recession.

 On Tuesday, there were hardly any customers in Sears at the Muncie Mall as shoppers slammed Macy's and J.C. Penney. And there also were few people at Kmart  in north Muncie compared to all the cars in the lot at nearby Target.

 Sears reported low holiday sales, sending its shares downward by 27 percent, their lowest in recent years. The company also tapped its cash, according to Reuters,  and predicted their year end earnings would be cut in half. Sears closed at $33.38 actually falling 65 percent since a year-high in February. The holding company still has a cash value of $3.57 billion with its more than 4,000 stores and property holdings.

Sears has an even more storied history at 125 years and has been owners of WLS Radio in its hometown of Chicago, Allstate Insurance and Coldwell Banker Real Estate. It's name also was on the largest skycraper in the world when it was built in 1973. That Chicago landmark that is still the tallest in the United States is now named Willis Tower after the London-based insurance broker that occupies it.

 Locally, Sears was once the retail giant anchoring downtown Muncie along Walnut Street and being one of the anchor stores at the Muncie Mall when it opened over 40 years ago. It's appliance and other hard goods in store, by mail or online always ensured its retail competitiveness until recent expansions and upgrades by everyone from Macy's to Amazon.com  The way its stock keeps falling, Sears could be just another page in history like other former retailers such as Woolworths, Wells, Hill's,  or Ball Stores.