Sears at Woodfield Mall Closes Sunday After 50 Years
Sears was once the largest retailer in the nation, boasting thousands of stores.
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After serving shoppers from around Chicagoland for decades, Illinois’ last remaining Sears store is closing its doors for good this weekend.
The Sears store at Woodfield Mall, Illinois' last location, is closing for good Sunday after 50 years.
Transformco, the chain's parent company, announced the closure in mid-September. The company said it would look for ways to revive the space with another tenant because it also manages the real estate.
Sears Holdings, which also owned Kmart, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2018. Transformco later acquired Sears out of bankruptcy and has since closed dozens of the remaining Sears and Kmart locations across the United States.
Gordon Beu takes photos inside Sears at Woodfield Mall, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, before it permanently closes this weekend in Schaumburg, Illinois. Beu, who worked in this store for 25 years as a customer convenience manager, needed to get one last look at the store where he spent a quarter century. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: A worker hangs signs inside a Sears store at the Woodfield Mall announcing the store would be closing on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Patti Naleck pushes a cart filled with a mannequin through the Sears store in Woodfield Mall on Nov. 11, 2021, before it permanently closes this weekend in Schaumburg, Illinois. Naleck plans to use the mannequin for halloween displays. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Part of a mannequin can be seen on a chair inside the soon-to-be closed Sears store at Woodfield Mall, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, in Schaumburg, Illinois. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Customers shop at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS – SEPTEMBER 17: Merchandise is offered for sale at a Sears store in the Woodfield Mall on September 17, 2021 in Schaumburg, Illinois. The store, which will close it doors in November, is the last remaining Sears store in Illinois. Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, was founded and is headquartered in Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The exterior of the Sears store at Woodfield Mall on Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021, four days before it permanently closes in Schaumburg, Illinois. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
In September, a spokesperson for Transformco declined to confirm how many Sears and Kmart stores were still open. At the time, the company's website listed 35 Sears locations, including the one at Woodfield Mall, and 22 Kmart stores.
Sears was founded in Chicago in the 1890s. Its business blossomed through much of the 20th century, as it sold everything from homes to apparel. Sears was once the largest retailer in the nation, boasting thousands of stores.
The company had about 700 stores, many of them barren of goods, when it filed for bankruptcy protection.
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