Unfortunately I can no longer find the article, (it was recently), but apparently there is 1 Sears hometown store that's actually gonna remain open, just not sell Sears products anymore.
Anyone heard anything about this?
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To the poster below: Fair, but that doesn't make it a Sears Hometown. It's just a store in Norfolk that used to be a Sears hometown. I can call a store "my mother's hometown store", but it still has absolutely no connection to Sears, in any way.
The former Sears Hometown is now called Norfolk Hometown.
https://www.norfolkhometown.com/index.html
OK, even with that below link. It is no longer a SEARS hometown store, so once again, the thread is misleading. There are no SEARS hometown stores (in the US anyway). There might be stores that USED TO BE Sears, but they are not Sears hometowns anymore.
https://archive.is/HHoSU
https://norfolkdailynews.com/select/business/norfolk-hometown-carries-on-without-sears-brand/article_7047a388-e9c5-11ed-9145-1f0f4658cd3f.html
I remembered seeing this. The article has a pay wall so I can't read the whole thing. the information under the picture talks about Sears putting up closing signs without their approval.
When Sears Hometown was still active, their store locator never listed any location outside the United States and its territories.
They are separate, not part of Transformco. But still are Sears, nonetheless. Whether or not they are officially "Hometowns", I am not sure about.
Are those two store actually part of Transformco, or are they separate like Sears Mexico (and other stores in Central America)?
Not sure if these count as hometowns but these 2 are still open:
https://sears.bm/
https://www.facebook.com/Searskuwait/
No, there isn't a SEARS HOMETOWN remaining open. This headline is misleading. There might be stores that USED TO BE SEARS HOMETOWNS, that are run as something, else, but they are not Sears Hometowns that are remaining open. That's like an old Kmart that is now a U-haul. It's a former Kmart building, but in no way, shape, or form, is it a Kmart anymore.
I'm sure there are more than 1 that continued on as sole proprietorships. Nothing unusual about that.
The owners of those stores could do anything they wanted with their stores...........they owned them! Just because Sears pulled the plug didn't mean they couldn't continue. I don't think legally they would be allowed to use the "Sears" name however since they only had that right under the franchise contract. Transformco still owns the "Sears" name.
Here's one example of a Sears Hometown that planned to reopen as a local independent appliance store, in Sheridan, Wyoming:
https://www.thesheridanpress.com/news/local/appliance-max-takes-over-former-sears-hometown-store/article_9581fad4-c758-11ed-910c-5b4769fd6363.html
It would be interesting to know how many of these franchised stores remained open under new names after disaffiliating from Sears, but I don't think anyone has kept track of them.
No there isn't any Sears Hometown left. That's why there is no article. Another nothing-burger.
I had heard some Hometown Store owners had found alternate sources of merchandise, rather than buying from their own company. It makes some sense, as we know Sears/Transformco became unreliable at supplying goods. So, these stores then were operating more like independent appliance dealers, rather than Sears franchisees.
It's kind of hard to believe a small store owner would be getting positive value out of being associated with the dying Sears name, but it at least seems possible.