Out of the Blue and into the Black
An unmistakable look, taste, feel, flavor, or sound. A brand that finds its way above and beyond just gaining respect and becoming successful. An item, a person, place, or something that grows to become woven into the thread of pop culture and society. A true American original. Whether we’re talking about a product, a company, a concept, or a brand, it’s pretty hard to beat a trendsetter.
Just indulge in the thought briefly, how often does a second attempt, a sequel, or some type of re-creation of a highly successful or iconic person, place, or thing surpass its predecessor? Despite, in most cases coming from the same minds or brain trust that delivered that first offering that resonated so deeply with the public, a second “act” rarely equals or outdoes the original.
However, two competitors that even these “kings” of all brands should keep in their crosshairs, as history has shown. One of these “competitors” is themselves and recognizing when whatever industry they are in is changing and evolving. The other competition can be the death nail in a brand if the company fails to see it coming and allows for it to pass right on by.
That competitor is time. Once time passes, a brand by, and they did not see it coming and evolve, even in the cases of some of America’s most iconic brands, its game over.
Retail Kings for a Day (Well Actually Like 100 Something Years)
Icon. The word is defined as a symbol—someone or something that stands for and represents their industry or profession. In the world of retail, where we now think of Wal-Mart or Target as iconic, there once were other brands synonymous with what became the department store. Likewise, these too were threads in the fabric of American society and, no question, iconic brands. But just as we forewarned above, evolution and time is a formidable opponent and as newer model stores began arriving with lower prices and more modern shopping methods became the norm, these retail icons found themselves a thing of the past
I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if you are 40 or older, you remember circling all the toys you wanted for Christmas in the Sears “Wish List” catalog. Likewise, if you are in your thirties or younger, you may ask, “What is a catalog?” This analogy sort of starts painting the picture to explain what happened to Sears Roebuck and Company.
From “Number One” to All but Done
Sears began, fittingly enough, as a mail-order catalog company in 1888. After initially just selling just watches and jewelry, they would expand to become the United States’ largest catalog company. Ironically, seeing the times change and staying just ahead of the curve, they went nationwide to open retail locations in 1925. By 1931, the retail stores were outselling their catalog for those pre-dated by Sears; at points in time, you could get anything from the retailer. Their stores and catalog have featured everything from your standards, toys, clothing, and electronics to farm equipment, cars, furniture, and more.
From the mid-1940s through the 1970s, Sears’ sales numbers would soar to all-time highs. AS the popularity of shopping malls rose to prominence, Sears was often the “anchor” department store for malls throughout the decade and beyond. They employed nearly a half-million Americans at their peak height. However, remember when Sears saw the writing on the wall and stayed ahead of the curve, moving from the catalog only to opening retail stores across the U.S.? Well, suffice to say, after having monstrous sale numbers throughout the 1980s, they were no longer able to keep ahead of that curve. Things for Sears Roebuck and Company, for nearly 130 years the absolute number one retail store, would never again reach their apex as they moved into the 1990s. By 1993 Sears did what was once unthinkable and discontinued the printing of their annual Christmas catalog. As Bob Dylan might observe, “The times- they-were-a -changing.”
“Sometimes life moves pretty fast if you don’t stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.”
— Ferris Bueller
Intro to an Icon
Around the same time Sears began enjoying its climb to the retail world’s top, a completely unknown, young businessman, Sam Walton, would purchase his first-ever department store. Now, it’s safe to say that at the time, given the methods available of circulating information, and the size of Walton’s store and its relatively unthreatening suburban Arkansas location that the decision-makers for Sears wouldn’t have even known he or his store existed. Given the success they were enjoying at the time, it’s a safe bet they did not even care. I’m almost sure looking back, they’d have wished they had the ways and means of knowing of Walton’s business model, as in the end, between him and others to follow (Target, K-Mart), it would ultimately prove to be their undoing.
Walton was exploring a business model of the higher volume of sales with lower pricing to his products. Though he suffered a few minor setbacks initially, in the Summer of 1962, he opened his first “Walmart Discount City” store in Rogers, Arkansas. Within five years of opening, Walton’s stores expanded in numbers to 18 across Arkansas. Three years later, for the first time, Wal Mart opened its doors in a state outside of Arkansas. While Sears continued coasting atop the retail department store world throughout the “excess ’80’s” Wal-Mart grew to become first a regional powerhouse and through sticking to Walton’ “low-price, high-volume” game plan would expand to become the U.S.’s third-largest retailer (Sears and K-Mart) with almost 1,200 stores across the U.S. by 1987. By 1990, they surpassed both Sears and K-Mart and became the top U.S. retailer by revenue.
The 90’s and Beyond: Evolve or Dissolve
In addition to the more cost-friendly products and model of Wal-Mart, a new and digital age was on the horizon by the mid to late 1990s. As noted above, the once-iconic Sears catalog was discontinued in 1993. Unfortunately, with the success they had in this email-driven type of sales, it would seem if Sears had the right people looking at the future, they could have thrived as the huge boom that would be online shopping began growing, but obviously, those people were not in place. A 2005 merger with K-Mart would prove as nothing more than a band-aid being placed upon an open wound, as after a year of increased sales, this duo’s failure to form a strong digital presence would prove to be the eventual undoing of the American icon, Sears Roebuck Company.
Like Wal-Mart had now grown to do, Sears had seen in the 1920’s the direction shift and was able to move flawlessly with the times. However, as time progressed, Sears no longer did “stay ahead, which led to their experiencing drop-offs in revenue to the tune of tens of billions of dollars annually by 2015. As other online shopping giants such as Amazon began gaining momentum alongside the new “king” of retail, Walmart, the writing was all but on the wall for Sears. It is estimated that due in major part to their failure to evolve from their antiquated business model and their lack of emphasis on forging a strong online presence, Sears sales numbers dropped nearly by 30 billion dollars from 2010 through 2017. In the late fall of 2018, Sears Roebuck and Company officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As a result of their free fall, which media outlets have dubbed the “retail apocalypse,” the once-mighty Sears has just a smattering of operating retail stores left across America. Comparatively, Wal Mart reported that in just the third quarter of 2020, even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a 5.32 quarterly revenue increase, earning $134.7 billion worldwide in that three-month period.
If They Could Only Go Back
As emphasized in our introductory few paragraphs, the one opponent that can topple the most unbeatable foe is time. Nearly a hundred years ago, Sears was able to see the retail world evolving from the “mail order catalog” era and get the jumpstart on opening retail stores nationwide. They stayed on top of the game for well over six decades, and this is due in part to the fact that the retail game never really changed. However, when it finally did, after what the once “King of Retail” would enjoy as their most lucrative decade the 1980’s, Sears was not prepared and evolution in the. form of a new retail business model and eventually online shopping would spell the end of this American icon.
Maybe with the ’80s being so successful for Sears Roebuck and Company, they should have listened to a quote from the main character in one of that decade’s biggest movie hits, as it could have tipped them off to keep a better look out of their surroundings. The quote comes from the film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and from Ferris himself who prophetically remarked, “Sometimes life moves pretty fast if you don’t stop and look around once and a while, you could miss it.”
