As the last vestiges of what was once the largest retailer in the US close their doors, the property they occupied has become a hot CRE commodity.

Sears, Roebuck & Co., which opened its first store in Chicago in 1893, at its zenith became the top retailer in the US with more than 4,000 stores and 350,000 employees. Selling clothing, appliances and everything in between, the chain was the bricks-and-mortar version of Amazon long before Amazon existed.

When the real Amazon showed up and began spreading its online tentacles across the retail universe, the downfall of Sears commenced. When the department store and auto service center chain filed for bankruptcy in 2018, Sears was a shadow of its former self, with about 700 stores.

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