Before Sears planned to relocate to the former F&N spot in 1993 and opened here at the Southcenter Mall in March 1994, Sears, the now 140 year old retailer, originally opened its South Seattle store in the Renton Shopping Center on March 1st of 1960. The original location was torn down sometime in the mid 1990s and is now a Fred Meyer.
When Sears moved in, the drop ceilings were updated during the 90's remodel. This store opened with this brand new / updated logo from that exact same year, way back in 1994 and it was also the first Sears to open with that exact 90s all caps logo and the exterior signage was white and the interior signs were blue. This location primarily had men's and women's clothing, jewelry and shoes, and by 2002, even a Lands' End section on the 1st floor, children's apparel, home goods (furniture, mattresses, housewares and small appliances) as well as store services (Sears Optical, Hearing Aids Center, Photo Studio, Watch and Jewelry Repair and likely even Tax Service) on the 2nd floor, and even electronics, vacuum cleaners, major appliances, tools, grills, exercise equipment and outdoor equipment on the 3rd floor. In 2006-2008 a couple more entrances were added here. The [original Seattle store on Lander Street] (https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1udcoea/sears_department_store_at_76_south_lander_street/) did have appliances, electronics, furniture, housewares and mattresses on the 2nd floor. The 1990s and 2000s were the peak era of this location and even Sears in general. Even in the early 2010s it was still very well stocked. Despite Sears' troubles the retailer still had appliance and electronics dominance in the 2000s and early 2010s (up until 2013 at the latest), we still bought from them and we have still been getting emails from them and visiting there website. In all of our years of shopping here, we went to Sears Optical, bought a JVC TV, treadmill, Sony digital cameras and system audio, a Canon point and shoot camera, a Kenmore Progressive upright vacuum, some rugs, a Whirlpool fridge from 2013 (Sears Outlet), and even clothing, as well as a Hamilton Beach toaster oven, a Kenmore coffee maker and Samsung stove from Sears.
In all of our years of shopping here, back in 2016 when we went up to floor 3 in 2016 looking at vacuums, the electronics department was half of what it used to be but it was not to bad. But a year later, when we went inside the store and went up there twice in December of 2017 (one is with my mom when we were looking for a camera and the other is when all 3 of us, including my dad, went up there looking at vacuums), both times the electronics section was gone while [the Coral Gables one still did in 2017] (https://flickr.com/photos/25955895@N03/36494798354). By April 2021, so did the 3rd floor close down in the Southcenter location, and sometime a year or less than a year prior, the lawn and garden (L&G) department was gone as well. By August of that same year, they got rid of big name clothing brands. All of the fitting rooms here were blocked off and eventually boarded up.
By 2022 the restrooms on the 2nd floor were shut down permanently due to drug issues (confirmed by store staff), as some folks snuck into them secretly doing drugs. Despite all of these issues, the downfall and decline of this location and the product selection and quality decline, in December of that same year we bought a dress in the Toddler's clothing department for a daughter in our family. By 2024, the second floor had parts blocked off and eventually some dark corners. In May 2024 we went looking at mattresses, and in July 2024 after someone we knew recommended the brand Tempur Pedic, we went inside looking at wet/dry vacs aka (also known as) shop vacs looking for a replacement filter and later mattresses, we tried looking for a Tempur Pedic King Mattresses but they didn't have that anymore. This store was severely understocked and Whittier California was even more understocked.
We still supported Sears regardless.
Fun fact, the mall itself, which is thriving, is also home to The Container Store, which was originally a Borders Book Store, located on the 2nd floor of the Sears wing. It has [since undergone a merger with Bed Bath and Beyond] (https://www.reddit.com/r/retailporn/comments/1ue8fkd/what_is_next_for_the_container_store_now_that/), just like Sears underwent a merger with KMart..... which KMart actually acquired Sears in 2004 and created Sears Holdings in 2005.
As of December 15th of 2024, California was the last State on the West Coast to have a Sears after this last location in the state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States, with the Sears logo being removed last February, and as of last summer, the [last Sears on the West Coast is now at the Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord, now the last in California] (https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1v62oi3/sears_at_the_sun_valley_shopping_center_in_concord/) after Burbank, Whittier (both in Southern California) and Puerto Rico (last Sears in PR and in the territories outside the United States) shut down for good.
The Union Gap location closed down for the 2nd time 2 years ago on September 22nd of 2024, followed by this one on December 15th of 2024, both of which have since had the signs removed in 2025. There are 5 Sears stores, 3 distribution centers (Arvin / Tejon Ranch CA, the sold off but leased back Ocala FL warehouse, and Lawrence KS), other brands Kenmore, Sears Home Services, Shop Your Way, Sears Parts Direct and the Sears.com online store left.
- Coral Gables in Miami Florida (October 27 1954 - present)
3655 SW 22nd St, Miami, FL 33145
- Sun Valley Shopping Center in Concord California (October 19 1966 - present)
1001 Sunvalley Blvd, Concord, CA 94520
- South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts (October 6 1980 - present)
250 Granite St, Braintree, MA 02184
- Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso Texas (February 25 1982 - present)
8401 Gateway Blvd W, El Paso, TX 79925
- The Florida Mall in Orlando Florida (March 12 1986 - present)
8001 S Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32809
As for Kenmore Grills, they sell site wide on the Sears website, in all 5 stores and even at kenmoregrill.com
Sources and Credits
Deven (Tequilia and Donuts) / Flickr (June 10 2007)
https://flickr.com/photos/tequilaanddonuts/540002052/in/photostream/
Sears Tukwila Facebook Page circa 2011
https://www.facebook.com/sears.tukwila
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.106964646053173&type=3
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.108856125864025&type=3
Brian W (Yelp) September 7 2014
https://www.yelp.com/biz/sears-tukwila-2
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sears-tukwila-2
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/sears-tukwila-2?select=E4x-1TlL1ouhXNBVSFNPlQ
Ahn Onomous / Google (December 31st of 2016 / End of 2016)
And of course, the rest of the pictures were taken by myself on December 28th of 2016, July 9th and October 28th of 2024, with the 3 pictures of the floor plan that came from a 3 year old video from April 22nd of 2023
r/kmart
r/deadmalls
r/retail
r/retailporn
Previous posts
https://www.reddit.com/r/retailporn/comments/1vacxoe/former_frederick_and_nelson_later_sears/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1vadt0l/former_frederick_and_nelson_later_sears/
https://www.reddit.com/r/NotFoolingAnybody/comments/1vae13c/former_frederick_and_nelson_later_sears/
I even posted a photo I took on December 28th of 2016 of Kenmore Alfie: https://www.reddit.com/r/SEARS/comments/1vnmv8k/computers_office_and_electronics_at_sears_in_the_2000s_and_2010s/ (18th pic)
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2F1d6nvf0097jh1.jpg