SEARS HOMETOWN STORE IN BRENHAM CLOSES; OWNER BLAMES NATIONAL MANAGEMENT
Sears Hometown Store in Brenham has joined the hundreds of Sears stores across the nation that have closed.
The business closed its doors over the weekend, with a sign posted on the door thanking customers for their support. The sign reads that the locally owned store fought to keep its doors open, but is “being forced to close”.
Kathleen Chaney, owner of the store since 2018, put the blame squarely on the shoulders of corporate management at the national level. Chaney claimed she was unable to receive orders for merchandise in a timely manner, saying items would often not arrive until several weeks after she placed an order. She added that many times, merchandise would arrive in poor quality or in a state that she did not feel comfortable selling it to customers.
Chaney maintained she did not want this store to close, and as a result had to resort to means such as taking personal pay cuts in order to keep the store running and not losing money. She also claimed her bonus was cut in half and later taken away for two quarters.
Chaney said she believes her hand was forced in this closure, and that the store was put into a corner that it could not come back out of.
Sears, currently located at 2507 Becker Drive, has been in Brenham for at least 60 years, with previous locations including the shopping center on South Market Street and in downtown Brenham.
KWHI is attempting to reach out to the Sears corporate offices for comment.
I am sad that Kathleen is closing the store. We have bought several items from her and was planning to purchase more in the future.
A couple of years ago I saw Craftsman tools for sale at Ace Hardware. The writing was on the wall…..
It must if been all of a sudden to just have a sign up especially on the wknd. Never knew it was closing.Good Luck but bad timing.
That’s what happens when billionaire hedge managers start declaring bankruptcy. Closing stores, thousands of jobs list all while they stiff creditors and destroy an American retail giant with a history of meeting the needs of rural Americans for over a century. Sad.
I hate to see it go!
Is there going to be a sale of what’s left in the store?