Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began as a mail ordering catalog company migrating to opening retail locations in 1925, the first in Chicago. In 2005, the company was bought by the management of the American big box discount chain Kmart, which upon completion of the merger, formed Sears Holdings. Through the 1980s, Sears was the largest retailer in the United States. In 2018, it was the 31st-largest. After several years of declining sales, Sears's parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018. It announced on January 16, 2019, that it had won its bankruptcy auction, and that a reduced number of 425 stores would remain open, including 223 Sears stores.
An air ioniser is a device that uses high voltage to ionise air molecules. Negative ions, or anions, are particles with one or more extra electrons, conferring a net negative charge to the particle. Cations are positive ions missing one or more electrons, resulting in a net positive charge. Some commercial air purifiers are designed to generate negative ions. Another type of air ioniser is the electrostatic discharge (ESD) ioniser used to neutralise static charge.
Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a world-pioneering mail-order business and later a leading department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001. The current Montgomery Ward Inc. is a national online shopping and mail-order catalog retailer that started several years after the original Montgomery Ward shut down.
Harry and David, LLC is an American-based premium food and gift producer and retailer. The company sells its products through direct mail, online, corporate gifting, and in their flagship location in Medford, Oregon, and operates the brands Harry & David, Wolferman's, and Vital Choice. Harry & David was founded in 1910 by Samuel Rosenberg as Bear Creek Orchards in Medford, Oregon, as a premium fruit company. As of 2014, it is owned by 1-800-Flowers.com.
Circuit City Corporation, Inc., formerly Circuit City Stores, Inc., was an American consumer electronics retail company, which was founded in 1949 by Samuel Wurtzel as the Wards Company, operated stores across the United States, and pioneered the electronics superstore format in the 1970s. After multiple purchases and a successful run on the NYSE, it changed its name to Circuit City Stores Inc.
The Source (Bell) Electronics Inc., doing business as The Source, is a Canadian consumer electronics and cell phone retail chain. The chain goes back over 40 years in Canada, initially as Radio Shack and later as The Source by Circuit City. The Source is now owned by BCE Inc., which purchased the assets of InterTAN from its parent, American retailer Circuit City, in 2009. The Source is a unit of 4458729 Canada Inc. and is based in Barrie, Ontario.
PVH Corp., formerly known as the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation, is an American clothing company which owns brands such as Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Warner's, Olga and True & Co. The company also licenses brands such as Kenneth Cole New York and Michael Kors. PVH is partly named after Dutch immigrant John Manning van Heusen, who in 1910 invented a new process that fused cloth on a curve.
Forever 21 is a multinational fast fashion retailer headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. Originally founded as the store Fashion 21 in Highland Park, Los Angeles in 1984, it is currently operated by Authentic Brands Group and Simon Property Group, with about 540 outlets.
Brookstone is a chain of retail stores in the United States and China. It was founded as a mail-order business in 1965, when it started selling items, such as dental clamps and other specialty tools. Its first physical location opened in 1973 in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The company's headquarters are currently located in Merrimack, New Hampshire.
Spiegel was an American direct marketing retailer founded in 1865 by Joseph Spiegel. Spiegel published a catalog, like its competitors Sears and Montgomery Ward, which advertised various brands of apparel, accessories, and footwear, as well as housewares, toys, tools, firearms, and electronics. Their company brands included Newport News, Shape FX, and Old Kraftsman, among others. They also operated brick-and-mortar stores.
Richard Thalheimer is an American entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder and former CEO of the US-based consumer brand, The Sharper Image. He established The Sharper Image in 1977, after taking an interest in watches. The early watch designs were inspired by a $69 watch that he owned and advertised his watch range in Runner's World magazine. The success of the watch advertisement led to the inaugural distribution of The Sharper Image catalog in 1979. Thalheimer took his company Public company in 1987 on the Nasdaq exchange.
Ritz Camera & Image is a photographic retail and photofinishing specialty store, headquartered in Edison, New Jersey. The company owns and used to operate a chain throughout the United States under the names Wolf Camera, Inkley’s and Ritz Camera. In 2012, Ritz Camera was acquired by C&A Marketing.
Iconix Brand Group is an American brand management company that licenses brands to retailers and manufacturers, primarily in the apparel, footwear and apparel accessory industries.
Wilsons Leather is a U.S. leather brand, selling products such as leather jackets, belts, shoes, handbags, and gloves. At its peak in 2002, the Minneapolis-based retailer had 763 stores in 46 states and Canada. The company stores used to sell product assortments from brands such as DKNY, Michael Kors, Guess, and Cole Haan.
Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media (2016–2018).
London Fog is an American manufacturer of coats and other apparel. The company was founded in 1922 as the Londontown clothing company by Israel Myers.
Jerry W. Levin is an American businessman.
Scene7 is an American on-demand rich media software company that provides document hosting and interactive publishing services such as online catalogs, targeted email, video, and image management. Retailers use the company's services to showcase products on their websites and to allow customers to interact with the products. Scene7's technology allows users to manipulate product images by zooming in and rotating products, simulating the inspection of merchandise in retail stores.
Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. was an American golf specialty retailer based in Austin, Texas. Each store, along with golfsmith.com, housed a wide selection of golf clubs, shoes, apparel, gadgets and gear from all the major brands as well as proprietary offerings. They also offered custom club fitting, lessons and services for golfers.
Global Brands Group Holding Limited is a bankrupt holding company that has its own brand of apparel and footwear, as well as being a brand management company. It designs, develops, markets and sells products under a diverse array of owned and licensed brands in a wide range of product categories. In June 2021, despite a series of asset sales, the company's liabilities still exceeded its asset value. Trading in the shares of the financially stressed entity was halted by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange due to its inability to file annual results. In 2022 Creative Artists Agency took full ownership of the joint venture, CAA-GBG Global Brand Management Group (CAA-GBG), a partnership that was launched in 2016. CAA-GBG is a Brand Management Company. A Brand Management Company is a business that uses techniques to increase the perceived value of a product line or brand over time. The company manages brands including celebrity brands such as David Beckham and Drew Barrymore.
