Sears Holding Corporation just released their store closing list and two area Sears stores are on the chopping block. The Coventry Mall and 69th Street Sears stores are closing. No Kmart stores will be closed in Pennsylvania and no other Sears store in Pennsylvania will close, other than Pottstown and Upper Darby.
The Sears store at Coventry Mall predates the mall. Originally Sears was in downtown Pottstown and moved across the river into North Coventry Township as a stand alone store. When the mall was built in 1967, Sears was connected to the mall. The Sears store is last surviving original anchor store at Coventry Mall.
Sears retail stores have been in decline for several decades. Sears was the nation’s largest retailer until the 1980’s but has declined considerably since then. In 2005 Sears merged with Kmart. Kmart purchased Sears and Kmart Holding Corporation changed its name to Sears Holding Corporation.
Sears built and owned what is still the tallest building in the United States, the Sears Tower in Chicago. In 1993, Sears sold their skyscraper and moved into an office park setting in Hoffman Estates, IL.