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Sears Tower History

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Many still call it Sears Tower, but Chicago's tallest building has officially been renamed. The tower bears quite a resemblance to the company it was named after in the past. Once the tallest structure in the world, it now ranks a lowly 14th., while Sears, the largest retailer in the US until 1989 is on the verge of going bankrupt by 2016, as predicted by The Economist . Decades before Amazon.com, most Americans (and Canadians) shopped at Sears. In its hey day, Sears had topped mail-order sales and accounted for more than 50% of the total $180 million; the year was 1931 . Founded by Richard Warren in 1886, within 50 years Sears had transformed into a retailing-giant to become a symbol of growth and hope for people in the country. Major national brands like Craftsman, Kenmore, Silvertone etc., were established by it, and Sears Catalogs became the source of all essential goods, services, and home improvement projects even for Americans living in areas as remote as Cape Charles, a tiny hamlet on the far flung Eastern shore of Virginia. But then, something went wrong. Smitten by it overwhelming success, it became complacent and got stuck in its rut, while its competitors (Walmart, Target, Home Depot & Best Buy ) regularly adjusted to shifting consumer …show more content…

Desperate to abate the stagnation, and yet unable to innovate in its core competency – Retail, Sears dabbled in many other business lines that were new to it, while innovative competitors like Target & Amazon chewed into its

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CHAPTER 1 – LOWE’S HISTORY Lowe’s started as a small hardware store by Lucius S. Lowe in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in 1921. After Lucius died, his son James Lowe inherited the business and ran the store with his brother-in-law Carl Buchan until both of them were called away to serve in the United State Army during World War II. While they were serving in the Army, the business was ran by Lowe’s mother and sister. Carl Buchan was wounded and discharged from the Army in 1943 and then he returned to operate the business.

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These stores offer a wide array of products and services. Sears' domestic sales have been consistently declining because its low-end competitors (e.g. Walmart and Target) and mid-tier competitors (e.g. J.C. Penny and Macy's) have been increasingly capturing more department store market share through wider selection and steeper discounts, thereby squeezing the company's sales and margins. (IbisWorld, 2012). JC Penney has many risks that could impact their sales and profitability. Highly competitive retail industry is one among them.

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Company History Lowe’s is a home improvement retail company that started in 1921 in North Carolina as Lowe’s North Wilkesboro Hardware by L.S. Lowe. At this time they sold not only renovation materials but also groceries, sewing notions, and other things. Eventually, his son, Jim Lowe, took over in 1940 and offered his brother-in-law, Carl Buchan, part ownership in the company. Due to WWII and a predicted increase in construction, in 1946, Buchan decided to focus more on home improvement products. They eventually opened the second store in Sparta, North Carolina in 1949 and not long after, Carl Buchan became the sole owner of Lowe’s in 1952.

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For the Home Depot organizations, they have managed to stay in line with their competition and align their strategies to fit the market. Some things that Home Depot’s management can do at the functional level to distinguish them from organizations like Lowe’s is continue to analyze the market and it’s changing trends. This will allow them to understand consumer buying habits and react to any changes. They need to continue with changes to its brand image in order to attract a broader customer base.

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We all know the retail leader for the last several decades has been Wal-Mart. During the sixty's, Mr. Sam Walton open the very first Wal-Mart. With a vision of selling their products cheaper than the competitor. At first, business was shaky at best. However, today the Walton family is worth an estimated 130 billion dollars.

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So in 1925, the company opened a brick-and-mortar store in Chicago. It was called the Sears, Roebuck and Co. Retail Store, and it was built inside the massive warehouse where Sears processed its catalog orders.” This shows that Sears was a brick-and- mortar store that only went out of business a few years ago; this is still happening today. Another example of this is in the article “The Rise of Amazon” on page 25 when Carro states “Today, many brick-and-mortar businesses are having trouble surviving in the world of online shopping. Over the past decade, many companies have struggled to stay afloat—or have gone out of business entirely.

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Target Corporation, founded by George Draper Dayton, opened its first doors in 1902 in Minneapolis as Dayton Dry Goods Company. Dayton’s ethics and belief in “the higher ground of stewardship” is what molded his organization (Target through the years). Dependable merchandise, generosity and honorable business practice defined Dayton Dry Goods Company. Throughout the years, this company went through different leaders that have adopted changes to bring this company to success.

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Struggling to stave off collapse after years of steep losses, while competitors were expanding into emerging markets, they were desperately trying to stabilize and hold ground. Currently, the global marketplace is beyond their reach. Penney’s is also hampered by a lack of differentiation from competitors. Kohl’s, Macy’s, and even Wal-Mart target similar market segments with similar products. Finally, and most importantly, Penney’s has lost their customers’ loyalty.

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Recently, the merger between K-Mart and Sears allowed them to offer customers each other’s product in both stores and affected Target’s revenue growth. Another threat faced by Target is the ability to provide flexible fulfillment needs

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The emergence of towering skyscrapers, engineered to withstand potential fire hazards, reshaped the urban fabric of Chicago, and set a precedent for vertical construction in cities around the

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The history of this company spans over a century. In 1909, P.C. Richard opened his first hardware store in Brooklyn, New York. He taught his son A.J. about his business and they worked together to expand their inventory to include electric irons. The electric iron started what would become the appliance division of the company. By 1932, the inventory had branched out to include toasters, washers, refrigerators, ranges, and radios in the expanded and relocated hardware store in Queens, New york.

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Located on the beautiful blue Michigan Lake, Chicago is home to the largest buildings and some of the most unique architecture in the world. The architecture of Chicago has really evolved over the past couple of centuries. This evolution helps to show how Chicago is changing as a whole. With a mixture of architectural components and many different designs. One of the main factors that contributed to the advancement of the city’s architecture was the Chicago Fire of 1871.

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World War II had many secrets throughout the fighting that took place, but some of the more interesting secrets were happening behind the scenes in German science labs. Not many people know that one of the original ideas of nuclear weapons originated from Germany during World War II. The Germans where planning on winning the war one way or another, even if they had to use these incredibly destructive weapons to do it. The Germans had been studying the idea of a nuclear weapon before the US had even begun research on it.

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‘’The responsible for much of the reconstruction were the architects of the Chicago School; some of the most prominent architects were L. Henry Sullivan and William LeBaron Jenney. These architects considered almost visionaries applied to architecture engineering principles and managed to raise the first skyscraper replacing the traditional wooden structures and brick by frames of cement. ’’ After the fire a larger Chicago emerged. Today, Chicago is a culturally diverse and dynamic city, and an international center for business and leisure due in part to the availability of the city through transportation.

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Al Smith the architect of the building surprise of public of New York City with a 46 foot long spire that would make the building a iconic skyscraper and the tallest one at the tome. With blimps

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