The last remaining Sears Department Store in San Antonio, Texas closed its doors last weekend. This effectively ends the longstanding, 92-year relationship that the city of San Antonio and the department store held. Back when the popular Rolling Oaks Mall was established, the company was one of the three most profitable storefronts and continued to gain popularity well into the early 2000s.
The decline of Sears does not come as a surprise to many as the retailers have been continually losing popularity across the nation. This last remaining storefront is one of three that have closed its doors over the last two years. The list includes stores in Park North Shopping Center and Ingram Park Mall. Alan King, a faithful shopper says that “I was hoping that maybe they would leave one (location_ in San Antonio and hang on … but I’m glad they survived as long as they did.”
The inception of the now declining store began in 1893 as Sears, Roebuck and Company. The retailer steadily gained popularity until it was a household name that stocked well-respected brands like Craftsman and Kenmore. As time continued, the company began to sell everything from kitchenware and tools, to children’s toys and its very own credit card. The company opened its first San Antonio location in 1928.
Jan Kniffen weighs in on the subject by making the applicable analogy that, “In some sense, you could call Sears the Amazon of the 20th century,” However, the wheel of capitalism is continually turning and as new and competitively priced companies made their debut into American consumerism, Sears struggled to keep their foothold on products and pricing. While a few appliance outlet stores and auto centers will stay open in the San Antonio area, the last storefront has closed. Other giant stores will come into replacing the old locations that will soon be vacant.
