There’s More for Your Life at Sears (Just Not in the US).

Not everything about Sears is bad news: you just need to leave the country to find it.

The following is a series of stories on the downfall of Sears and Kmart. To read past stories and listen to podcasts, please go here and here.

This Sears location is clean and bright. The menswear section is filled with the latest fashions and takes up an entire floor. Women’s accessories fill the tables, but it still looks orderly. In fact, everything looks orderly. The furniture and appliance section is filled with customers. The toy section looks like it could rival Santa’s workshop. The mannequins are stylishly dressed with alluring poses. Everything about this Sears is different than any other Sears store you’ve been in.

There is a place where Sears stores don’t look shabby and unkempt. But to go to one of these stores, you have to leave the United States.

Sears might be on its last legs here in the US, but south of the border in Mexico, Sears is doing well. While it shares the name of the American retailer, it is owned by Groupo Sanborns, which is owned by Carlos Slim, the Mexican billionaire considered one of the richest people in the world.