Corporate Office HQ

Sears Corporate Office

Sears

Sears Roebuck and Company, or Sears for short, was founded in 1820 in New York City by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck.

The company began as a mail-order business with their first catalog in 1888. By 1894, the catalog was over 300 pages and reached over 500 pages the following year. In 1933, the company published its first Christmas catalog, which later came to be known as the Wish Book. In 1940, the catalog included almost everything a consumer could buy, even ready to assemble houses from kits.

History

In 1925, the first retail location was opened in Chicago, Illinois.

The company built many stand-alone stores from 1925 into the 1950s. Their strategy then changed during the 60s and 70s from independent stores to building stores inside shopping malls.

In 2005, Sears was purchased by Kmart and the Sears Holding Group was formed.

Formerly the #1 retailer in the US, as of 2017, Sears is now the 23rd largest retailer in the United States overall. In 2016, the company had annual revenue of $13.8 billion.

In 1974, the company completed the 110-story Sears Tower in Chicago, which became the world’s tallest building at the time. Sears moved to the new Prairie Stone Business Park in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

In late 2016 and early 2017, some significant steps were taken by CEO Edward Lampert in an attempt to make the company solvent. Lampert sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Black & Decker for approximately $900 million. During this same period, the company announced that it would close 150 stores (109 Kmart and 41 Sears outlets), in an attempt to cut its losses after a decline in sales of 12 to 13 percent during the holiday shopping season and the largest quarterly loss since 2013.

In October of 2017, Sears and Whirlpool ended their 101-year agreement which allowed Sears and Kmart stores to sell Whirlpool appliances. The companies were unable to come to an agreement on pricing issues.

The company currently operates over 2200 stores in the US and employs more than 89,000 persons. The Sears corporate office is located in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

In June 2018, Sears announced that they would be closing 48 Sears locations and 15 Kmart stores. The company hoped that this would help them be able to repay their multi-million dollar debt.

In December 2020, online site Best Life listed Sears as the #1 company when it came to the worst in customer service.

The company continues to suffer from poor sales and a shattered reputation. In November 2021, the last Sears location in the state of Illinois closed its doors and the only location in Hawaii also shut down.

Sears Roebuck and Company, or Sears for short, was founded in 1820 in New York City by Richard Sears and Alvah Roebuck. The company began as a mail-order business with their first catalog in 1888. By 1894, the catalog was over 300 pages and reached … [Continue reading] about Sears Corporate Office

Verizon Corporate Office

Verizon

Verizon began as Bell Atlantic in 1983 after the baby bells emerged from the breakup of AT&T. In 1997, Bell Atlantic merged with NYNEX.

In 2000, the company acquired GTE and changed its name to Verizon. This was one of the largest mergers in US history. GTE’s wireless operations became what is today Verizon Wireless.

History

In 2005, Verizon acquired MCI, making it the largest Telecom company in the US.

Verizon sold several of its wireline divisions in the 2000s in order to simplify its operating procedures.

Verizon currently owns 55% of Verizon Wireless.

Verizon operates a national 4G LTE network covering about 99 percent of the U.S. population, which in the second half of 2020 won or tied for top honors in each category of the RootMetrics RootScore Reports.

Verizon Wireless offers mobile phone services through a variety of devices. Its LTE in Rural America Program, with 21 rural wireless carriers participating, covers 2.7 million potential users in 169 rural counties.

In August 2023, the company launched a private 5G network for the Oklahoma Music Festival.

Also in August 2023, Verizon introduced a new Unlimited Ultra plan with extended features including 10GB of International data.

Verizon maintains a corporate office in New York, New York.

Verizon began as Bell Atlantic in 1983 after the baby bells emerged from the breakup of AT&T. In 1997, Bell Atlantic merged with NYNEX. In 2000, the company acquired GTE and changed its name to Verizon. This was one of the largest mergers in … [Continue reading] about Verizon Corporate Office

Walgreens Corporate Office

Walgreens

Walgreens was founded in 1901 by Chicagoan Charles R. Walgreen, Sr. By 1913, the business had grown to 4 Chicago locations. By 1919, there were 20 stores. The chain grew rapidly in the 1920s and there were 397 stores in 87 cities by 1930. This rapid growth has been, in part, attributed to Walgreens selling bootleg liquor during Prohibition. In 1939, Charles R. Walgreen, Sr. died and his son, Charles Jr. took over the company. Jr. retired in the early 1950s and his son, Cork, took over the company. In 1986, the company acquired MediMart.

History

In recent years, the company has gone through CEOs in rapid succession with 4 different CEOs since 2006:

In 2006, David Bernauer steps down as CEO and is replaced by Jeff Rein
In 2008, Rein quits abruptly and is replaced by Alan McNally
In early 2009, Gregory Wasson is named CEO
In 2014, facing pressure from shareholders after the merger, Wasson retires and is replaced by Stefano Pessina

The chain currently operates over 8300 locations in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. The Walgreens Corporate Office is located just outside Chicago in Deerfield, Illinois. In 2014, the company purchased Alliance Boots and formed a new company “Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.” Walgreens has since become a subsidiary of the company. The newly formed company is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol: WBA.

In 2012, the DEA accused Walgreens of failing to maintain proper control over prescription pain medication, especially Oxycodone. The company was fined $80 million in 2013.

In early 2018, Walgreens announced that they would be closing more than 600 Walgreens and Rite-aid locations over the course of the year.

It’s been rumored that Walgreens was considering purchasing all or part of AmerisourceBerggen, makers of Oxycontin, but with a lawsuit looming, that plan might have been delayed.

Walgreens also denies that it is interested in purchasing Target stores, but this rumor continues to circulate as of May 2019.

In March 2023, Walgreens announced that it would no longer offer the abortion pill mifepristone in about 20 republican led states. California then announced that it would cancel a $54 million contract with Walgreens.

In October 2023, many Walgreens pharmacy employees walked off the job claiming that they were being asked to do too much with too few employees and/or resources.

Walgreens maintains a corporate office in Deerfield, Illinois.

Best Buy Corporate Office

Best Buy

Originally founded in 1966 under the name Sound of Music by Richard Schulze and Gary Smoliak. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the store focused on specialty audio equipment.

History

By 1969, the company had 3 locations and was listed on the NASDAQ. There were 9 locations by 1978.

In 1981, the Roseville, Minnesota location, which at the time the largest and most profitable Sound of Music store, was hit by a tornado. The store’s roof was sheared off and showroom destroyed, but the storeroom was untouched. In response, Schulze decided to have a “Tornado Sale” of damaged and excess stock. The sale was held in the damaged store’s parking lot. He poured the remainder of his marketing budget into advertising the sale, promising “best buys” on everything. The company made more money during that four-day sale than it did in a typical month.

So, in 1983, the company’s name was changed to Best Buy and the first superstore was opened in Burnsville, Minnesota. With annual revenue in the $10 million dollar range, the company decided to expand into home appliances and “new” electronics, such as VCR’s.

In 1985, the company went public on the NYSE under the ticker symbol: BBY. The company expanded quickly in the US during the late 80s and 90s. In 1992, the company reached $1 billion in sales.

In 2003, there were 600 Best Buy stores nationwide and the company began to expand internationally.

In 2008, the chain opened its 1000th location in the Mall of America.

In 2012, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, losing sales to online giant Amazon, until new CEO Hubert Joly introduced a price match guarantee. This turned the company around since many consumers were happy to not only receive the same price as what was offered on Amazon, but they could take their product home the same day.

In early 2014, the company settled for $4.55 million in a class action lawsuit filed against them in April 2010 by consumers who claimed Best Buy was making unsolicited phone calls in contravention of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.

On March 1, 2018, the company announced that it would shut down its 250 standalone Best Buy Mobile stores in the US by the end of May, due to low revenue.

In September 2019, a family filed a lawsuit against Best Buy and their delivery companies after an elderly woman was beaten, set on fire, and died by a person delivering a washer and dryer.

Today, there are over 1026 locations worldwide. Annual revenue in 2017 was $42.151 billion. The Best Buy corporate office is located in Richfield, Minnesota.

Originally founded in 1966 under the name Sound of Music by Richard Schulze and Gary Smoliak. Located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the store focused on specialty audio equipment. By 1969, the company had 3 locations and was listed on the … [Continue reading] about Best Buy Corporate Office

Autozone Corporate Office

AutoZone

AutoZone was originally known as Auto Shack and was a part of the Malone & Hyde grocery chain. The grocery was sold to the Fleming Companies of Oklahoma City and the name Autozone came to be.

In 1984, the chain had 194 stores in 13 states. The company became the first auto parts retailer to create a quality control program for its parts, causing business to boom. The company grew quickly in the 80s and had 513 stores in 17 states by 1989.

History

The company went public in 1991 on the NYSE under the ticker symbol: AZO.

In 1995, the 1000th store was opened in Louisville, Kentucky. The following year the company opened their website.

In 1998, the company acquired Auto Palace, TruckPro, and Chief Auto Parts, which gave the chain over 150 extra locations.

In 2008, AutoZone opened its 4,000th store in Houston, Texas. Annual revenue that year hit $6.2 billion.

In September 2022, the company announced that it was buying back $2.5 billion in shares.

There was currently over 4400 locations in 48 US states and a total of 6003 in Mexico, Brazil, and the US. Annual revenue in 2017 was $10.89 billion, The Autozone corporate office is located in Memphis, Tennessee.

AutoZone was originally known as Auto Shack and was a part of the Malone & Hyde grocery chain. The grocery was sold to the Fleming Companies of Oklahoma City and the name Autozone came to be. In 1984, the chain had 194 stores in 13 states. The … [Continue reading] about Autozone Corporate Office