End Of An Era: The Last Sears Department Store In Maine Is Closing
The end of an era is fast approaching as the final Sears department store in Maine is about to close their doors for good.
Shared on Facebook by Lisa Retus, the Sears Department store in the Maine Mall is in liquidation mode, with massive sales storewide as they attempt to eliminate inventory before shutting it down for good.
For some, it's a day that they couldn't imagine ever coming. Sears department stores were once the anchors to malls all across the state of Maine. In fact, Sears was the last original tenant of the Maine Mall when it opened in 1971. But business began to shift when larger department stores like Walmart and Target started to open up across America, shifting the way people visited stores like Sears.
Business became even more difficult over the past few years, as Amazon's ability to deliver goods to people's doorsteps prevailed as the preferred way to shop. It left the Sears brand, and their slew of department stores in financial trouble. Despite numerous closings across Maine, the location in South Portland survived. That'll end very soon.
It's another hit for the Maine Mall as well. Just as the mall introduced a new anchor tenant in Jordan's Furniture, they're set to lose one in Sears. The Maine Mall has been able to operate at near capacity for years now while other malls have failed, but with Sears closing, it could be the tip of the iceberg. Other anchor tenants like Macy's and J.C. Penney are dealing with their own financial problems and continue to close stores across the country.
While this will be the last Sears department store in Maine to close, there are still some Sears Hometown stores in operation. Those hometown stores focus on hardware and appliances exclusively and are independently owned. Maine has two hometown locations, in Caribou and Farmington.