The Good Life Isn’t Here Anymore
A Guided Tour of one of the very few Sears full line stores operating in 2024
Not far away from the Sears at the Whittwood Center in Whitter, California there is a Target. It’s busy and full of eager shoppers, ready to drop several hundred dollars in the world of Bullseye. I’ve been very tempted to stand outside and remind people that just across the parking lot there exists a rare opportunity to travel back to 1999. There’s a Sears over there, a store that used to mean something, and there is absolutely no telling how much longer it will be there, so you should go now. Take a photo, buy something small, and marvel in the fact that you are standing in the zombified bones of a once mighty retailer. I resisted the urge, bought the items I could not buy at Sears (if there was a Sears Grand nearby, maybe I could, but those don’t exist anymore) from Target, and got in my car and drove off. My visit to the Sears had already occurred.
I’ve been to the Sears in Whitter three separate times in recent months. Since I became fascinated with the company, I made it a point to visit, especially once I learned there is an entire community (of course there is) of former employees, customers and even executives who would love to take the opportunity, although to be fair for many employees it would be a hard pill to swallow to see what has become of The Big Store. I wrote another article, which you can read here that goes into how Sears went from over 3,000 stores to just 11. Why are they still being operated, who is behind them and how did they get into this depressing state? These are big questions actually, and the media has done a poor job of explaining, so I, along with others, have tried to fill the gap. I’m not going to go into that here though, no, my intention is to take you on a detailed tour of the once Broadway now Sears in Whittier, California, to try to capture a moment in time when it still exists as a going concern.
I did not get a chance to see the 4th floor. From what I am told by former employees, it is called the penthouse, and contains air conditioning equipment along with what once was a small collection of offices. I’d love to go up there, to see what remains, to look at the wall calendars from 1988 and think of better times. I did get to briefly see the 3rd floor, when I rode the elevator up there, but out of respect for the staff, I did not exit, since the 3rd floor was closed. I saw a one bedframe, for a child, and nothing else besides empty shelves and faded grey carpet that needed a cleaning.
The 2nd floor was open until a few months ago. I rode the escalator up there, and listened to the repetitive voice telling me to make sure I did not fall, which reminded me of my time as a ride operator at Knott’s Berry Farm. The escalator, I was told, dates back to The Broadway, which existed before Sears took over in 1996. I walked around the sales floor, on the tile path. The clothes seemed like a somewhat random collection (which makes sense since my research has found that most merchandise comes from leftover stock from the heyday of Sears Holdings, along with whatever Transformco, which owns Sears, could convince vendors to send them) of children's clothes and slightly off-trend men and women’s apparel. I bought my wife a Roebuck and Company sweater and a dress and socks for my preschooler. Some of the clothing had Kmart tags, which makes sense since Transformco owned both Sears and Kmart. Sears used to have an electronics section (the last major purchase I made with the company was a Nintendo Wii back in the mid 2000s in Orange, California) but no longer, with one tiny exception: there was a single rack of DVDs in one corner. It appears a big push was made to sell exercise equipment, since there was a decent collection of machines on offer. The restrooms were also on the 2nd floor and were of a size needed for a large store such as this, even though they looked half abandoned.
Finally, we are left with the real heart of the store, the 1st floor, home of the hardlines, the very heritage of Sears. There is a large appliance section on this floor, and more than anything else, this is a reason to visit. There are good deals to be found, if you are willing to take the risk of dealing with a company that might disappear next month. Appliances gets it’s own register stand, with signage from the early 2000s, and a full line store warranty policy posted from 2018. There are great prices on chest freezers in particular, as well as some good deals on washers and dryers. Samsung even has a modern-looking display area. There are of course, Craftsman tools, although I have it on good authority there are no longer nearly as good as they once were. Former employees on Reddit were distressed to see the fine jewelry case filled with tools. I’ll take that over empty, but yes, it does seem out of place. The registers in the store were circa 2002-ish, running the IBM os2 operating system although a new register recently appeared, which along with a new appliance, counts as big news these days for what was once the world’s largest and most successful retailer. The shoe section was barren and there were more clothes. You could also find patio furniture, Kenmore microwaves and mattresses. The mattresses in particular also offered some great prices, although you would definitely want to disinfect them first; some looked really rough.
The walls of the store had new posters and signs as part of the Rediscover Sears initiative, which basically entails a few Facebook posts, some paint, and some pictures of happy looking people. The sign that struck me the most was on the door and it read “This Isn’t Goodbye.” That one hurt. Call me a softie. The employees, especially in appliances, were kind and attentive. One of the women working the cash register elsewhere seemed surprised to learn she was working at one of the last Sears anywhere in the United States.
Since my first visit in October 2023, the 2nd floor has closed, leaving only one floor remaining. There had been an attempt to repair the escalator, but apparently that was abandoned. Investment has never been Transformco’s strong suit to say the least. Before I go, I want to encourage high level corporate folks from Walmart and Target to come on down and walk through the Whittier Sears. Take a moment and realize this was once one of the most powerful companies in the world. They literally sold houses and offered The Good Life, At A Great Price, helping to equip the middle class with the fruits of our capitalist society. There were no Soviet-era bread lines in a Sears. They had a massive corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois that housed over 4,000 employees as recently as 2017. You could get a haircut there at HQ, along with a good meal in the company café. All of that is gone now. The same can happen to any company. Take nothing for granted. Fight like hell for every dollar. That’s the message of Sears — oh yeah, don’t let a hedge fund bro buy the company, especially if his name is Eddie Lampert. Come on down to the Whittier Sears — just please buy something before you leave and say hello to one of the employees. They need the company.
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