The Sad, Last Days Of Sears
70 images Created 12 Feb 2020
The Sad, Last Days of Sears
-- Sears at 1259 Whitehall Mall, the last remaining Sears in the Lehigh Valley, closes on February 16, 2020. The Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pa., store is one of the original anchors at the mall, opening in 1966. The business was originally housed at 600-606 N. Seventh Street, Allentown, before moving north on the Golden Strip of the Lehigh Valley, MacArthur Road. The familiar second story of Sears was closed in 2018. The Sears Auto Shop at the Whitehall Mall has been already closed.
-- Since the November, 2019, announcement of Sears’s closure the store began selling inventory and fixtures at dramatic reductions in December, ahead of its last day of business which will be Sunday.
-- To longtime shoppers and employees the scene inside the nearly empty retail giant is bleak and depressing. Shelves that for generations were loaded with colorful choices have been emptied, tagged for quick sale and moved to storage areas. Aisles that were once crowded with shoppers looking at huge selections of goods are closed off and empty. The few remaining workers' faces reflect the sadness of their store’s closure and of losing their jobs. Many Sears workers' jobs span decades.
-- Recently, one longtime employee saw an alarmed and saddened shopper’s face upon entering the nearly empty store. He peered at the shopper from the stool where he has greeted guests for many years, and said ‘bleak, huh?’. He looked away, back at the empty floor space and shelves that were seemingly forever filled with lawnmowers, patio sets, home exercise equipment, and, of course, Craftsman tools of every kind.
-- The company was formed in 1893 in Chicago, first known as Sears, Roebuck and Co..
Donna Fisher
-- Sears at 1259 Whitehall Mall, the last remaining Sears in the Lehigh Valley, closes on February 16, 2020. The Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pa., store is one of the original anchors at the mall, opening in 1966. The business was originally housed at 600-606 N. Seventh Street, Allentown, before moving north on the Golden Strip of the Lehigh Valley, MacArthur Road. The familiar second story of Sears was closed in 2018. The Sears Auto Shop at the Whitehall Mall has been already closed.
-- Since the November, 2019, announcement of Sears’s closure the store began selling inventory and fixtures at dramatic reductions in December, ahead of its last day of business which will be Sunday.
-- To longtime shoppers and employees the scene inside the nearly empty retail giant is bleak and depressing. Shelves that for generations were loaded with colorful choices have been emptied, tagged for quick sale and moved to storage areas. Aisles that were once crowded with shoppers looking at huge selections of goods are closed off and empty. The few remaining workers' faces reflect the sadness of their store’s closure and of losing their jobs. Many Sears workers' jobs span decades.
-- Recently, one longtime employee saw an alarmed and saddened shopper’s face upon entering the nearly empty store. He peered at the shopper from the stool where he has greeted guests for many years, and said ‘bleak, huh?’. He looked away, back at the empty floor space and shelves that were seemingly forever filled with lawnmowers, patio sets, home exercise equipment, and, of course, Craftsman tools of every kind.
-- The company was formed in 1893 in Chicago, first known as Sears, Roebuck and Co..
Donna Fisher
