The Richard Warren Sears Legacy

Richard Warren Sears was an American businessman and executive who founded the Sears, Roebuck and Company together with his business partner Alvah Curtis Roebuck. He was born on December 7, 1863 in Stewartville, Minnesota. By June 1870, the Sears were living in Springville where James, the father of the family, served as one of the city councilmen. James, who was also in blacksmith and wagon-making business, sold his shop in 1875.

After acquiring sufficient knowledge in telegraphy, Sears served in the railroad industry. He joined the North Branch, Minnesota of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway in 1880 as telegraph operator. He was excellent in his job. Later, he became the company’s station agent in Redwood Falls, Minnesota.

The greatest shift in Sears’ career started when he was 23 years old. In 1886, a Minnesota retailer named Edward Stegerson refused an entire shipment of gold-filled pocket watches from a manufacturer in Chicago. At that time, a scam existed involving wholesalers who ship products to retailers even though they did not make orders. As the retailer refuses the shipment, the wholesaler would offer the price-hiked shipment to the retailer at a much lower cost by asking him to save him the high cost of shipping the items back. As the unsuspecting retailer agrees to the new bargain, he marks up the items and sells them at a very small profit.

Being a retailer savvy, Stegerson refused the shipment. Sears grabbed the opportunity and made a deal with the wholesaler to keep the profit he earned above $12. He offered the items to other agents in the railway at $14. The agents sold the watches easily for two reasons: the items were considered urban sophistication, and, the farmers needed an accurate timepiece because of the recent implementation of time zones.

Sears earned as much as $5,000 in six months. Armed with a higher level of confidence, he moved to Minneapolis to establish the R. W. Sears Watch Company. He embarked on massive advertising campaigns. His personal approach in the flyers convinced potential customers from rural and small town communities to purchase watches from him through mail-order.

Sears moved the company to Chicago in 1887 as the city became a very important transportation interchange for the midwestern states. He hired a watch repairman named Alvah Curtis Roebuck who repaired the returned watches. From being his first employee, Roebuck helped Sears establish the Sears, Roebuck & Company in 1893. Sears was just 30 years old at that time.

From watches, Sears offered other product lines such as men’s and ladies’ wear, athletic equipment, bicycles, silverware and plows.