As Black Friday 2025 rolls in, one of America’s most iconic retailers may be leaving the spotlight for good. Once a retail powerhouse, Sears now faces what many analysts consider the final chapter of its holiday shopping season.
The reopened Sears store in Burbank, California, on December 1, 2023. While the store reopened that year, it closed once again in 2025, one of three Sears stores to close this year, leaving only five still operating.
Samantha Delouya/CNN
From an Empire to a Few Stores
Just two decades ago, Sears operated thousands of stores nationwide. Following years of financial troubles — including a bankruptcy filing in 2018 — its footprint drastically shrank. Today, only five stores remain open across the United States.
Some of those remaining locations are reportedly under consideration to be sold or repurposed: for example, one store in Florida might be torn down to make way for new housing developments.
Why the Collapse Happened
Several factors contributed to Sears’ decline:
- A shift in consumer habits: Shoppers increasingly favor online retailers or big-box stores offering lower prices and faster deliveries — trends that Sears failed to fully adapt to.
- Financial missteps: Rather than investing in store renovation or e-commerce, management focused on selling real estate and buying back stock — a move many analysts say hastened the collapse.
- Changing retail environment: With inflation, economic pressures, and fierce competition from modern retailers and online platforms, traditional department-store models have struggled globally.
A Sears store announces its closure in the city of Toronto, Ohio. Photo: Getty Images
What Black Friday 2025 Means for Sears — And Retail at Large
For long-time customers and former employees, this year’s Black Friday might mark more than a sales event — it could be a swan song. Experts suggest that even if the remaining stores survive through the holidays, chances are slim they will operate much longer.
Sears’ dramatic fall serves as a potent warning for other legacy retailers: in an era where convenience, adaptability, and digital presence reign, rest on past glory — and you risk disappearing.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next
With its shrinking footprint, repurposed stores, and declining consumer relevance, Sears may soon vanish from the retail landscape. Meanwhile, the holiday shopping season continues to be dominated by online giants and nimble competitors who better meet consumers where they are. For many, Sears will remain a nostalgic name — a reminder of a different era of shopping.
Reference:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/28/business/sears-black-friday-holiday-shopping-season
Cashflow Weekly 📚 
Leave a comment