Sears, Roebuck and Co. is an American retail company that traces its origins to a mail-order watch business started in the 1880s and incorporated under the Sears, Roebuck name in the 1890s. Over the course of its history, the company has used only a handful of major logo designs, each lasting roughly two decades.
Design and History
Sears’ first formal logo was a circular design introduced in the 1950s. That mark was retired in 1984, when the company introduced its third logo in 98 years. The 1984 design featured the company name in custom-designed capital letters in an italic typeface, with lines drawn within the letters. The new logotype was created by Robert P. Gersin Associates in New York and made its first appearance in retail advertising on July 1, 1984. Sears said the change was made to match its new image as the “Store of the Future.” [1] [2]
In September 2004, Sears adopted a new logo, only the fourth in its 118-year history. The company described the look as “fresher, friendlier.” The logo used a brighter blue than its predecessor, with “Sears” no longer in all capital letters and a red arc underlining the word. Sears spokesman Chris Brathwaite said the company believed the look evoked “a more modern, stylish feel.” No radical change was made to the previous logo because customer research found that it was consistently perceived as trustworthy and reliable. [3] [4]
After Sears emerged from bankruptcy in early 2019 under a new parent company, Transform Holdco LLC, the retailer introduced a new logo in May 2019. The design kept a lowercase sans-serif wordmark and added a new graphic symbol. The company said the new icon was “created to represent both home and heart,” and that the shape “also conveys motion through an infinity loop, reminiscent of one getting their arms around both home and life.” The rings, Sears said, were “like those of a tree trunk” and showed longevity, with “home and heart at the center” radiating outward. [5] [6]
The 2019 emblem drew criticism on social media for its resemblance to Airbnb’s logo, with some users mocking the similarity. [5] In January 2020, roughly nine months after the initial rebrand, Sears updated the logo again. The wordmark stayed the same, but the graphic symbol was changed: the loop was removed and the bottom crossing was separated, making the icon more closely resemble a house or home. [7] [8]
Meaning and Symbolism
For the 2019 emblem, Sears stated that the icon was designed to represent both a home and a heart, with the infinity loop conveying motion and the rings suggesting longevity. The company said the rings radiated and grew to encompass its “broad assortment of products and services.” [5] The 2020 revision kept the home-and-heart concept but rendered the symbol as a more conventional house-like icon. [8]
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