Richard Warren Sears
Richard Warren Sears | |
---|---|
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Born | |
Died | September 28, 1914 | (aged 50)
Occupation | Businessman |
Years active | 1886–1908 |
Known for | Co-founder of department store Sears, Roebuck and Company |
Richard Warren Sears (December 7, 1863 – September 28, 1914) was an American company manager, retail businessman and the co-founder of department store
Early life
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Richardsears-young.jpeg)
Sears was born in
Businessman
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/RW_Sears_Watch_Advertisement_1888.jpg/220px-RW_Sears_Watch_Advertisement_1888.jpg)
In 1886, when Sears was 23, his station received a shipment of gold watches from a Chicago manufacturer, but the local consignee, jeweller Edward Stegerson, refused the unsolicited shipment.
A common scam existing at the time involved wholesalers who would ship their products to retailers who had not ordered them. Upon refusal, the wholesaler would offer the already price-hiked items to the retailer at a lower consignment cost in the guise of alleviating the cost to ship the items back. The unsuspecting retailer would then agree to take this new-found bargain off the wholesaler's hands, mark up the items and sell them to the public, making a small profit in the transaction.
But Stegerson, a retailer savvy to the scam, flatly refused the watches. Young Sears jumped at the opportunity, and made an agreement with the wholesaler to keep any profit he reaped above $12, and then he set about offering his wares to other station agents along the railroad line for $14. The watches were considered an item of urban sophistication. Also because of the growth of railways, and the recent application of time zones, farmers and railroads needed to keep time accurately which had not been necessary until then. For those two reasons the station agents had no trouble selling the watches to passers-by.
Within six months, Sears had netted $5,000 and felt so confident in this venture that he moved to
Chicago
In 1887, Sears moved his company to Chicago, an important transportation center for the
The first Sears catalog was published in 1893 and offered only watches. By 1897, items such as men's and ladies clothing, plows, silverware,
The 500-page catalog was sent to some 300,000 homes. Sears catered to the rural customer because, having been raised on a farm, he knew what the rural customer needed. He also had experience working with the railroad and he knew how to ship merchandise to remote areas.
In 1908 Sears made another move forward and began to sell
Death
In 1908 Sears retired and moved from Oak Park to Lake Bluff, Illinois, suffering from failing health due to alcoholism. Six years later, he died in Waukesha, Wisconsin, of Bright's disease.[4]
Legacy
Sears's birthplace in Stewartville is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sears was inducted into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1892.
References
- ^ Industrial revolution in America, Volumes 7–9 By Kevin Hillstrom, Laurie Collier Hillstrom page 194
- ^ Richard Sears, Spring Valley Methodist Church Museum. Retrieved January 17, 2011.
- ISBN 978-0615895031.
- ^ "Richard W. Sears Dies. Founder of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Began Career as Railroad Employee". The New York Times. September 29, 1914. Retrieved June 14, 2008.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)