Sears

Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck built a mail-order watch business into Sears, Roebuck and Co., whose thick catalog — the 'Consumer's Bible' — sold everything from tools to entire build-it-yourself houses to rural America. Sears opened retail stores in the 1920s, anchored countless malls, and launched powerhouse brands like Craftsman, Kenmore, and DieHard, even building the world's tallest tower in Chicago. A long decline accelerated after a 2005 merger with Kmart under Eddie Lampert, ending in a 2018 bankruptcy that left only a remnant of stores standing.