Sears is an iconic American chain of department stores and online retailer that started as a mail-order watch business in 1886. 1886: Railway station agent Richard W. Sears begins selling unwanted gold watches in Minnesota, forming a partnership with watchmaker Alvah C. Roebuck shortly after. 1893: The company officially adopts the name Sears, Roebuck and Co. and expands from jewelry into a massive general merchandise catalog. 1908–1940: Sears sells “kit homes” via mail order, shipping all materials and instructions to build over 70,000 houses.