Roebuck Sears and Company

Sears, Roebuck and Company, large U.S. retail firm. Originally a mail-order company, it was founded in Chicago in 1893 by Richard W. Sears and Alvah C. Roebuck. Its mail-order business flourishing, the company began opening retail stores in 1925. It now also includes the Sears Financial Network, comprising the Allstate Insurance Company, the Coldwell, Banker & Company real estate brokerage, and the Dean Witter Reynolds stock brokerage firm, all operating out of Sears retail stores.