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Sears: Sears Catalog
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Richard Sears was a railroad station agent in North Redwood, Minnesota when he received a shipment of watches from a Chicago jeweler which were unwanted by a local jeweler. Sears purchased them himself, sold the watches at a nice profit to other station agents up and down the line, and then ordered more for resale. Soon he started a business selling watches through mail order catalogs. The next year, he moved to Chicago, Illinois where he met Alvah C. Roebuck, who joined him in the business. In 1893, the corporate business name became Sears, Roebuck and Co.
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Sears had been selling building materials by mail order since 1895, but they’d found it unprofitable. In 1908, in an effort to revitalize that business, they began offering plans and kits for houses. In addition to featuring them in their general catalog, Sears offered a separate catalog just for houses: the Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans. Prices that first year ranged from $495 to $4,115—equivalent to roughly $9,800 to $81,000 in today’s dollars.
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Richard Sears knew that farmers often brought their crops to town, where they could be sold and shipped. Before the Sears catalog, farmers typically bought supplies (often at very high prices) from local general stores. Sears took advantage of this by publishing his catalog with clearly stated prices, so that consumers could know what he was selling and at what price, and order and obtain them conveniently. The catalog business grew quickly. By 1894, the Sears catalog had grown to 322 pages, featuring sewing machines, bicycles, sporting goods, and a host of other new items.
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Montgomery Ward issued its first catalog in 1872; Sears Roebuck followed in 1895. Just two years later, the Sears catalog was advertising 6,000 items, from safety pins to canned oysters to three-piece bedroom sets. Almost all were illustrated with woodcuts. The Sears catalog quickly became known as America's "wish book." Many customers acknowledged reading the 780-page catalog cover to cover, even if they ordered only five pounds of gum drops or a Schmuck's patented Mop Wringer.
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After selecting a house design from the Sears Modern Homes catalog, customers were asked to send in $1. By return mail, they received a bill of materials list and full blueprints. When the buyer placed the actual order for the home-building materials, the $1 was credited toward their purchase.
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Sears, Roebuck and Co. (NYSE:S) is a broadline retailer with significant service and credit businesses. In 2001, the company`s annual revenue was more than $41 billion. With headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill., the company offers its wide range of apparel, home and automotive products and services to families in the U.S. through Sears stores nationwide, including approximately 870 full-line stores. Sears ... offers a variety of merchandise and services through its Web site, www.sears.com. In June 2002, Sears acquired Lands` End, a direct merchant of traditionally styled, classic Lands` End clothing offered to customers around the world through regular mailings of its specialty catalogs and online at www.landsend.com.
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