Sears mission statement is “To grow our business by providing quality products and services at great value when and where our customers want them, and by building positive, lasting relationships with our customers.” It’s also part of the company’s corporate culture and has many meanings.
What does Sears mission statement mean?
Means that Sears mission statement is “To grow our business by providing quality products and services at great value when and where our customers want them, and by building positive, lasting relationships with our customers.”
It is a short, catchy phrase that will likely be heard throughout the organization. The phrase includes both philosophy and actions in a blended message that hails as the heart of all that Sears stands for. It also captures a major theme in company culture—the idea that it must be customer-focused to survive.
Sears Company Core Values
Sears’ core values are as follows “honesty, integrity, and adherence to the highest ethical standards.”
One of the core values is the idea that, “the company should speak directly and honestly to customers.” In other words, when a customer calls or writes the company to complain, you should never overreact. Instead of getting mad at the customer (read: angry for complaining), you should just get mad at your competition.
Sears Company History
Sears is a well-known store that follows its mission and vision statements.
Since 1893, the company’s reliability, durability, and quality have made it one of America’s most valuable brands. It’s the oldest continuously operating retailer in the United States, having been founded in 1886 by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck. In 1889, Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck together opened a general store on the corner of South State Street and Washington Boulevard in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1893, Richard Sears opened a small store across from his home on Lake Street in Niles, Michigan. From there he went to work developing his new idea—a mail order catalog that would sell affordable quality goods at reasonable prices.
Sears officially began selling the first products through its mail-order catalog on June 14th 1893.
The company’s first store was opened in North Redwood Street, Kenosha, Wisconsin on the corner of 21st and Lake Streets. This store is still open today as the Kenosha Sears, and sells only Sears merchandise. Further expansion took place throughout the next two decades. In 1909, Sears Roebuck & Co. had its current corporate headquarters build on the same site in downtown Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
In September 1885 Richard Sears traveled to Chicago with Alvah Roebuck to buy furniture for their new home at 572 Lake Street in Niles, Michigan. They hired an architect to design what would become a two-story building with sixteen rooms along with a large living room for entertaining guests. They also included a full basement for storage.
In 1886, the Sears and Roebuck partnership was dissolved and Richard Sears asked his brother-in-law, Julius Rosenwald to join him in running the growing business. Julius Rosenwald was a cashier at the time and had no knowledge of the retail business. In 1893, they moved the store to Chicago. In 1895 they again moved, this time to an even larger building that was on State Street near what was then known as Sherman’s Store in downtown Chicago near Lincoln Park.
In 1906, the Sears building in Chicago was destroyed in the Great Fire. To continue serving its customers and support its expansion during a time when banks were not lending money to businesses, Sears sold $400,000 worth of insurance for losses by fire and replaced the building.
In 1908 and 1909, Richard Sears invested heavily in real estate on both sides of State Street in Chicago. He announced that he would build on his property only if his neighbors also expanded their property. He created many businesses and jobs on State Street and financed them with loans from his bank located on State Street. In addition to expanding the neighboring businesses for two miles from Harrison to Polk Streets, Sears also tore down buildings that were damaged by the Great Fire.
In 1908, Sears opened a Sears store in Washington, D.C., with the help of partner Julius Rosenwald. He moved his business to a new building in 1911 at 12th and F Streets N.W. (now the site of the National Building Museum). By 1917, Sears had seven stores in major cities across the country: Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Boston; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Richmond, Virginia; and San Francisco; as well as a mail-order business serving customers nationwide by 1912.
Having been burned twice and having seen others lose their businesses in fires, Sears decided to use his insurance money to open a fire station next to each of his stores instead of using it for further expansion.
Conclusion
Sears’s mission statement is an example of a good mission statement. The mission statement is short, to the point, and easy to remember. It’s simple and straight to the point.
If you need a good example of a mission statement, I would recommend that you use Sears’s mission statement because it is a straight forward company and they mean what they say!