Sears fans spot ‘everything must go’ signs on empty walls as shoppers reveal last store in state will closing down

SEARS is shutting down its last store in one state as customers have spotted final sale signs.

The once-popularretailerfeatured empty walls of merchandise and scattered clothing racks earlier this month.

Dealsand discounts as high as 70% off are available now to shoppers who frequent the Sears in Tukwila,Washington, just 11 miles south of downtown Seattle.

These offerings were confirmed through pictures taken by a local customer and posted in athreadon Reddit.

In the images, scattered sale signs could be seen with several areas having all products removed, as “everything must go.”

Employees confirmed to the shopper that the last day of business is December 15.

Several fellowSearsfans were saddened by the update, noting that only a few remained nationwide.

“Time to update the map again,” someone wrote.

“The last Sears in Washington is now closing, while the last one in Texas and the two in Florida are threatened by redevelopment.”

“The end is getting much closer now :(,” they added.

“At this rate, we can officially confirm the plug is also being pulled on many at once as well,” another added.

A few onlinedigital mapshave kept track of the remaining Sears stores for some time.

The storecountas of November 2024 is just ten, with nine in the United States and a singular location in Puerto Rico.

With the closure of the last Washington location, only eight will remain in the United States across California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Texas.

The last New Jersey area store closedin January.

GOLDEN YEARS

About 20 years ago, Sears was the largest retailer in the world after it merged withK-Martand became Sears Holdings to compete with giants likeWalmartand a growingAmazon.

There were 3,500 Sears and K-Mart locations in 2005, with 2,350 being stand-alone brick-and-mortar stores.

It was “Where America Shops,” per the old iconic slogan.

The company soon began encountering financial struggles over the following years, quickly shedding its retail footprint and selling assets to stay afloat, perInvestopedia.

BANKRUPTCY BATTLE

By October 15, 2018, Sears filed for Chapter 11bankruptcy, with $6.9 billion in assets and $11.3 billion indebt.

Less than 700 Sears stores in malls and stand-alone locations remained at the time of the filing.

That quickly shrunk, and in November 2022, after over 10,000courtfilings, Sears emerged from bankruptcy with about 20 stores in 14 states and Puerto Rico.

Since then, the store count dropped to what it is today, which some experts like Syracuse University professor of retail practice Ray Wimer saw coming.

“They do not have an appealing value proposition to customers, and the amount of competition in the retail marketplace offering similar goods means the end will come at some point,” Wimer said while speaking withFox Business.

This year may also spell the end for several retailers who have filed for bankruptcy and shuttered hundreds of stores.

Clothing retailers likeExpressandRue21went filed in the spring, shedding a combined total of more than 600 locations.

Big Lotsalso submitted its Chapter 11 filing in September with plans to close over 545 locations after weeks of rumors.