40 Years Bold

Lurching Toward Oblivion, Sears Stores Have Actually Been in Trouble for a Long Time

As early as 1993, the mall anchor was struggling for customers

Woman in a Sears ad — 'Come see the softer side of Sears,' the retailer implored viewers.Sears

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During the first week of August, Sears, the once-imperious retail giant that pioneered catalog shopping anchored malls across the country, announced it was closing another 21 stores—this despite emerging from bankruptcy just five months ago.

But Sears’ woes are hardly recent, as a walk through the back issues of Adweek (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year) readily demonstrates. In our Sept. 20, 1993, issue, we reported on a new campaign called “The Softer Side of Sears.”

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