You're welcome. Thank you for watching and I appreciate the super chat!

@Terri Mansfield It was indeed.

Same!

Plus Montgomery. Wards

Oh how I would flip the pages and use the models as my own paper dolls. Then I would star the most important things and circle the items I could deal with. Awesome memories

@@rick5793 for sure. And I think JCPenney maybe.

It was his front for money laundering.

There is a K-mart where I live.

@@margui6224 wow, there's only 3 kmarts remaining in the continental US

Kmart 🍿 popcorn; layaway

Sears and Kmart still has online shopping including appliances...

Kmart still has an online store. I actually worked there in Iowa till they were closing down. Miss it.

I had 16 foot fiberglass v-hull Sear Boat the an Evinrude/Sears 3 cylinder outboard motor.. And in a lot of towns there are still a large number of homes that were sears kit homes. You can still see the part numbers on the floor joists and roof rafters. They sold everything.

I recall going into Sears and hardly seeing anyone there. I told one of the cashers that unless something is done Sears would be no more. Of course, she said it would never happen. Within a year Sears filed for bankruptcy and started to close all the stores including the one she was working at.

I always got my school clothes from Sears

I always got my school closes from my older brother. I didn't get new clothes until I got a paper route and bought my own.😁

JACKSON'S BYRON'S 😢

I had the pleasure to shop at their flagship store back in the 1970's in San Lorenzo.... I still have a cute bracelet from there! I loved the upstairs department where they hadkitchenwares and a fabric department which housed crewel and needlepoint kits. Loved that department!

I agree. I used to buy my Levi’s 501 there. Also used to get them at a store named Millers Outpost.

I miss mervyn’s too. That is where i used to buy my clothes in my early adult years. Not a fan of Walmart or Target.

@@MrJammer90 me too I bought all my clothes there I very much miss it.

Elton John used to come shop at the one that was here in Atlanta. I think he was my dad’s favorite singer.

Tower Records and Tapes was where I’d go to get tickets for concerts. :) It was just down the street from where I went to high school in Carmichael Ca. Nostalgia just hit hard.

Blockbuster music was another one

Across the street from Sports Arena in San Diego

Definitely remember them!! 😀

Hollywood Video.

​@@SpaceInTime1885i heard that too

Toys R Us is in certain stores in North America for a possible comeback.

@@yoda908 I know! We've got one in Houston!

@@yoda908 That would be great. I would go buy stuff just to help with the come back.😊

Back then, there were telephone booths snd people bought vinyl records or cassettes. People were skinnier too

I still have a cooking pot from Sears from the 1970s or 80s. The handles wore out and broke but I still use the pot in the kitchen a few times a week. Still going strong

My first job was at Woolworth in the late 70's.

Toys r us is another. The one in my area closed up 4 years ago. Sad

They made real milk shakes, with real ice cream and they had the green Hamilton Beach milkshake machine and the big stainless steel cup. You pour that into the glass, and it rocked your world. They were about 50¢ when I was a kid. It was one of the best things you could get anywhere. Just one of millions of things that are lost forever.

Sweet❤

Big downtown woolworth's were amazing places. The one in Houston seemed to still thrive in the early 90's. They had a pet department. You could buy aquarium fish or hamster. I've been to a few others, but never saw hamsters. The Houston Woolworth's was connected to the downtown tunnel system, a weird underground pedestrian system, fallout shelter, with a few weird shopping mall areas.

@@Bacopa68 you used to be able to buy little beginner grade guitars there, and they were actually playable and you could learn on them. Little U.S. made Stellas, and Harmonys. Real functional instruments that would get you started if you wanted to learn and you had some determination.

I remember eating at the Woolworth lunch counter. I enjoyed going to these now defunct stores at the time. Shame that they closed.

True story. When the Furby craze was going on...my niece wanted one for Christmas. Went everywhere...couldn't find one. Went to "Monkey Wards" in our local mall ..found tons of them! Bought them all and sold them by the side of the road ..for a profit! Great memories!

Don't forget the SEARS Christmas catalog for toys

@@DrDoom-uu3cj Yes! Used 2 love going through that as a child. And the S&H green stamp one! 😆

The catalog still exist.

@@DrDoom-uu3cj ...my fav catalog to look at as a kid and dream of having all the toys....have a great day🙂

S & H Green stamps were the leader. Some grocery stores, drug stores, and gas stations gave them out with every purchase. A & P gave out Plaid Stamps, Some other grocery stores might give out H&O(?) Gold Stamps and I think Kroger's back in the late 60's or thereabouts gave out Blue Stamps.

@@johnkerner8073 BE-LO's Gave stamps. My gram had me lick hundreds of them. She would give me a list and $5 and I would come home with 3 paper bags of groceries. Miss that time.

: Blue Chip Stamps store too!😊

We also had the TV Stamp Store.

And good stuff too.

Thank you for watching!

Quality is a key word here and how about so much was still made in USA.

I agree 100% ! Haven't never had a thing from China worth a sht ! They & we were betrayed by our government for decades & only getting worse ! 😔

When i was 16,, I worked in a bathing suit factory weighing boxes of suits and labeling for shipping,,I remember the names of most of these stores we shipped to,,, And it was in Philly

Quality products and quality customer service. The people that worked at these stores were respectful to customers and knowledgeable about the products. Not so much today.

Inconceivable these days

Omg loved Mervyns. They were the first credit card I opened at 18.

Woolworths is still open in Australia and I miss it to in the UK

Woolworth’s still exists in Australia 🇦🇺

@@jaydee975 WOW, I did not know that! I was in Australia in 2002 and would have LOVED to go into a Woolworth's if I had seen one.

I remember;It was kinda like we were at an Amazon warehouse,minus the delivery driver!It was fun.Best products was similar.?

So kind of like Ikea? They do this for their larger items.

Loved service merchandise. Actually got my wedding ring there. 28 years later and it’s still looking good.

@@danfiorini785 Congrats on 28yrs!,right behind y'all with 26.Wife's wedding ring came from da pawn shop!😳.Hey,we're simple.+Married late'ish,at 33.

Thanks for mentioning that .I barely remember. I still have my dad's Sounddesign stereo we bought there. I don't use it because, well, Sounddesign, but I did get it back operational so there is that! I think my memory is from the late 80s.

I still use my Radio Shack plug-in radio, which I bought in the early 90s. Still works. I used to go to Radio Shack a lot.

Thank you for watching and sharing some memories of where your dad worked.

Radio Shack was a great store!

I went in to radio shack about 5 years ago in Waukegan Illinois

I remember buying all sorts of diodes and circuit boards from there, I rewired my guitar with parts from them in the 70's. The employees seemed to always know what you needed.

Us Michiganders always add a s to the end of our stores. Wards meijers krogers 😂

I still get the catalog from Montgomery Wards.

@@karlar8648 So do I. I also buy from their catalog.

My mom used to shop there.

Crapo Walmart put them out of business to just an online store now. People don't shop at Walmart! They also pollute bad with plastic bags from here to Asia. Kroger is halting plastic bags next year 2025

I bought a FM RADIO TRANSMITTER KIT in Chicago on somewhere on Milwaukee and Elston or around SIX CORNERS AND PUT TOGETHER AND IT WORKED I WAS SPEAKING🗣 IT PICKED UP THE 📶📶SIGNALS.... it was fun🤣

I still have some electronic parts from Radio Shack that I still occasionally use and comes in handy

Radio Shack still exists. It has an online marketplace now.

I used to shop at Radio Shack all the time in So Cal in the 80’s

Lafayette electronic stores too

Of those 19 things, I'm pretty sure only six ever existed in my area.

Only 6 of them existed in my area

00:24 also Woolco in Canada

Anyone remember Caldor?

@@jonlobb - nope.

They still have a catalog

@@m42037 does it get sent to every home?

I go to malls all the time

Today's kids sure don't. I doubt they'll ever experience a mall atmosphere like what we experienced.

I so remember all of this too. Shopping plazas and Malls weren't just places to go shopping they were also a way to get out of the house. There are some malls and plazas around where I live that are still open but barely have any stores in business.

As a kid in the 80's, my parents would take us 5 kids to the mall every month, maybe every 2-3 weeks. Last time I've been to any mall is many years ago, that I don't even remember anymore.

I agree I used to love the mall. Now when I go I try food court samples and don’t shop. Online is more fun.

Remember the long lines when you wanted to pay for something during Christmas season

Apparently youre the only one that feels that way or the stores would still be in business.

Life was NOT complicated back then

@@TheBenjammin No,The internet replaced everyone/everything.ie;No more Great Rock Stars/Rock Bands either.

Don't forget about these famous Texas Chains-Foley's;Joske"s and Sakowitz.

I went to a Woolworth store in South Africa in 2017!!! Nothing like the one I remember from my childhood but I couldn't resist!!!😢😢😢

Aren’t they grocery stores there though?

So is Kmart! So are shopping malls!

I have to say I hate the trend of outdoor shopping centers. I liked going inside the mall to shop.

ONLY ONE MALL LEFT IN MY AREA!!!!! THE GANG BANGERS SHOOT IT UP DAILY/MAINLY FRIDAY, SATURDAY NIGHTS!!!!!! ALMOST ALL OF THE ANCHOR STORES HAVE MOVED OUT!!!!! IT USED TO BE A NICE MALL UNTILL THEY BUILT A LARGE LOW INCOME/SECT 8/WELFARE HOUSING COMPLEX RIGHT BEHIND THE MALL!!!!! THE POLICE DEPT HAS ACTUALLY HAD TO PUT A FULL TIME FORCE OUT THEIR!!!!!!

The Kmart where I live is open 24/7 and is always busy. I go there about once a week. The last big thing I purchased there was a kenmore refrigerator, about 2 months ago. They have a little Cesar’s inside.

Brick and Mortar store shopping has become so inconvenient nowadays, hence the failing of many malls. Also, USA had too much shopping space. We don't need umpteen gazillion stores selling the same thing.

@@Amen.22 not the one where I live is just a regular retail they close 10pm

Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories Wendy!

Yep! When I was little my mum used 2take me downtown to Woolworths and I'd get a cherry coke!

Kmart used to have a lunch counter too! I remember eating at both! 😀

Wow I'm near Lancaster PA, and I used to buy military surplus rifles there:) I really missed this store when it died.

Yeah I remember that some of the Woolworths even had a pet Department I remember seeing birds in the back of the store and I think fish also not sure

Monkey wards always had everything ( like Sears )

wow I thought only my dad called it monkey wards lol

@@hugoschmeisser2484 My dad called it as well .

"Brothers in Arms" as in Dire Straits?

@@hugoschmeisser2484 Same here! My dad called it the same.

I bought a reclining chair at our local one in 1994. The chair still works great.

@@SunriseLAW sales failure in those areas probably meant they were newer stores that were built in the post WWII era when a number of management mistakes started a decline. Prior to the war the stores were very popular. The one near where I grew up in the 60s and 70s did really well though I’m not sure of it’s age. It anchored a small shopping mall that had the store on one end and a domed century movie theater on the other with small shops in between. That changed somewhat when a large, new modern mall was built a couple of miles from it with a Sears, Pennys and Macys as anchor stores. But lots of people still went to Wards if they didn’t want to deal with the larger mall. The one near where I eventually moved did ok for a while. It was a stand alone store. But it had competition from two malls in the area. One was a smaller mall anchored by a Mervyns (also defunct now) and a May Company store and a larger one with Sears, Pennys and I think Robinsons with anchors. Both May Company and Robinsons are gone now, they merged sometime in the 90s then got bought out by Macys. The Sears in the larger mall is now closed.

Walmart Target put everyone out of business, what bland stores they are today yuk. Walmart is a big pollution maker with their bags, I just watched a show about it.

Yes there was. Thank you for watching!

Ecommerce accounts for less than 20% of retail sales in the U.S., and Amazon only accounts for half of that 16-20%. Amazon and Ecommerce generally did not destroy brick-and-mortal retail. That's just a myth propagated by the media and people who've never looked at the data.

These stores put business out just like Amazon. It is no different.

Blink of an eye is very accurate.

@@Xeyedjohn It really is. I can't even fathom what happened moments ago or even days ago. Its crazy.

I remember as if it was just yesterday

@@vanrajsindha9918 same here

sad gone for ever invaded to death america is

Aim's bought them out then went broke themselves

Unfortunately that's how it usually goes with most of these businesses

I LOVED Ames!

Montgomery Ward's gave me my 1st kerosene lamp around 1968 when I was five when I fainted in their store. It was little and green.

My first cards were dept store cards too. That was the way to build credit back in the 80s. Store card, major card, then a car loan. All of that prepared you for your first home and mortgage.

My first CC came from Sears. I really miss all these old stores.

Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories!

And cherry cokes!

I'm still looking for Woolworths Fountain of Youth and for Woolworths to go back in Business. I miss the Good Old Days.

I brought my Fathers Ear muffs in 1961 for Christmas. I was 8 years old.

Me too.....😢

Yes Hamsters were really big in the 70s , I had plenty, remember Habitrail ?

@@bravo3279 Yes I do remember the Habitrail. What about that plastic ball you put the Hamster in ?

@@kimo2432 Yes of course🙂

Both have certainly played their parts. Thank you for watching!

I agree

True

It was decided that it was a better business model to screw its customers and allow its management to insult the employees, and that it was better for store managers to get huge bonuses instead of providing the store employees with equipment that works. Also not ever stock what customers went in there for, and promote the biggest jerks into management that treat customers like they're just in the way.

San Diego area here, sounds familiar!

What is Handyman and Builder’s Emporium? You must be an old person like my boomer mom. We were both born and raised in OC but by the time I was born in 1992 those stores you mention didn’t exist. She’s old (born in 1956) so maybe back in her childhood days those stores were still around

I forgot all about Builders Emporium! Wow

Thank you for watching!

We had one in Southeast Michigan, a little town named Ypsilanti. I was 13 or 14 when they closed. Another local store was Arlans ( sp?) That one was closed when I was 11 ( 1972 ).

?

Yes! I also recall these stores: Hegewisch Records, Yellow Front, Gately's Peoples Store, Shopper's World, Ben Franklin, Venture, Musicraft, Robert Hall, Pacific Stereo. In the Chicagoland area, there were two more stores similar to Service Merchandise: McDade and I forget the other...

I was old enough to shop at these stores including W.T, Grant way back in 70's. I brought my 1st portable typewriter from Grants for $39.00 and learn how to type in 1972. At that time all merchandise sold at the US outlets are generally Americans made that keep the buying power to Americans!

@@johnmadow5331 I was an assistant manager and left the company shortly before they went bankrupt in, I believe, 1972. They would give anybody credit to boost the book numbers and it caught up with them. Luckily, that’s where I met my wife of 52 years!

Uh, creaking wooden floors and popcorn smell! I got this in the Forties and have yet to forget it! (Ah, but am I to too soon? Ha! Well, so-far so-good!)

Thank you for watching Vicki!

They were all 0 years old when they started.

@@PeterKKraus 😂You're right. Ooops! Didn't realize how I worded that, hahaha!!

@@VickiCampbell-1216 👍

Same Here.

I'm near there also! What a shame! We grew up with shopping Kmart in the Cincy area in the 60's and 70's.

@@ynot0714 I mean that's where we got EVERYTHING! Now, there's a Walmart right over the way in it's place. It's sad to see it.

I worked at KMart and they paid 4.00 an hour and paid in cash every Friday. You went to a window in the back of the store and they passed out your pay stub and an envelope with cash. Never realized how weird that was.. lol. My store was in Marion Ohio I also loved Hills

@@Tracylyn42 my Mom worked at the Milford one when I was a kid. She's gone. I would love to know how they paid her! This is great lol

@@raptureready3015 For 1 winter back in "85, I use to work at Furrow's across the street. Don't know where the time as gone! Lol

You don't say, Glen Burnie! Probably met you.😊

@@karlar8648 I do live in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

I used to buy a lot of DVDs there and they had a nice film book section.

That was a great bookstore. Thank you for watching Eric!

@@RhettyforHistory You could do a whole video on once-successful bookstore chains that have now closed, though many big department stores also had substantial book departments.

There are still a few around, I have one in a town near me.

I had one near me in Oklahoma City. My whole group of friends would go in there together. I miss it.

Yea, Rhetty loves making us feel old. LOL

You're welcome and thank you for watching Annabelle!

Thank you for watching and sharing another store we need to remember. That Tower Records is a big one.

I miss Mervyns too. That place was my childhood!

Yeah, I guess FYE replaced it...

Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories Dru!

I'm so old I remember shopping at Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Best Products Company. A catalog store.

I used to visit the Best store in Torrance, CA when I was a kid...always liked that place.

Montgomery ward was similar to Macy's my bought a leather jacket from there.

Mik Mik I have the 1st thick Sears & Roebuck catalog that was published!👍😁

JC Penney had a thick catalog as well miss the Friday evening trips to town.

Thank you for watching and sharing your experience with them now.

I worked for wards in the late 60’s. Our credit department was our profit center. We were tithe first to use credit scores. As a result. Our customer base shrank drastically. We were not the only business credit scoring destroyed

I really miss those catalogs. Those were always fun to look thru.

Here in South Africa we still have many Woolworths stores, they are a major retailer all across southern Africa. They have stores in Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Mozambique, but their biggest retail footprint is in South Africa. I was in a Woolies just the other day. They even have a Woolies credit card, apart from their in-store cards. And have entered the financial services market too, you can borrow money from them and get a Woolies loan. So while Woolworths has closed down in America and in England, the brand lives on in (southern) Africa.

@@438019 Wow!! That's ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!! I'm SOOOOOO glad!!

You're welcome and thank you for watching and sharing where you worked.

Hostess changed the recipe on all the good stuff. Can't even eat the donuts or wonder bread anymore.

Snowballs are so gross. Marshmallow shit. I have some in my pantry I bought last month and haven’t eaten

Thank you for watching and sharing some more stores for us to remember.

I remember warehouse records in the late 70's, great place to buy used records and used jeans.

And John Wanamakers.From Philly myself

You missed Hess's! How can you forget Hess's in Pennsylvania?! :(. I'm from your area. Fun fact I still have a Sony ps-f5 "flamingo" that was purchased there in it's OG box.

I love the old Strawbridge store in Jenkintown.

Thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories Dan!

Ames was a good store. There’s still one of its stores standing in Sea-brook New Hampshire closed of course.

@@joem5643 The Ames I worked at is still standing empty...sort of. A tractor store took over half the building. The other half is still empty.

Murphys Mart, Gee Bees, Jamesway, Children's Palace are a few more. I remember when JC Penny's, Montgomery Wards and Sears all had sporting goods department that you could buy hunting and fishing equipment. Including firearms. Wow times have changed

My Father-in-law shopped at Two Guys all the time! So many good stores are gone now and all we have left are the Big Box stores that I hate.

yes same for me with Tower and The Warehouse!

Yes, Jamesway was another store not mentioned. We had one in central New York. Also a Caldor which was here for a very short time.

Garfunkel, Hecht's

Interestingly, in every major city in America, Sears was a default store for many people. I’m pretty sure the kitchen pot I have is from Sears from the 1970s. The side handles are broken and worn out but it still works fine for soups and stuff.

Sears was not a franchise. All corporate owned.

I loved the hoagies at Woolworths!

Loved Woolsworth when I was young. They had the best goldfish selection. And Gimbals in Pittsburg. Mom and I would shop in the morning, then have lunch in their little restaurant before we went home. That was many decades ago.

that's interesting the Mervyn's was right across the street from Best in Sacramento lol was that were you lived?

Oh how interesting that the wreath had those stickers still on it. Thank you for watching and sharing your memories!

I worked at an Ames store for a couple years after high school.. The Ames where I live now was originally a Hills. It's been 20 years since Ames went under and the signs are still there. One in the parking lot by the road and the one on the store itself.

I worked in a drive thru lane at a bank. It was a little building with one station, so by myself all day. Lucky I had a lot of customers to talk to.

I had forgot all about Fotomat until this video, now I can't get the little hut out of my mind.

My wife got robbed at gun point in a Foto Mat as an employee!!

Hello Nadia. All is good here and I hope you are doing well too. Those wrappers used to be a big thing and now you can hardly see them. I've always thought it was a great service to have. Thank you for watching and sharing a little about your mom.

Yeah remember when the stores had a gift wrapping service you would bring your gifts after you were done shopping and you could get them wrapped. You'll never see this that again what better times

I worked as a seasonal employee a couple of times. I always wanted to be in the gift wrap dept, I love wrapping gifts.

@@RhettyforHistory ty Rhetty for these vids. It’s so nice to know that I’m not the only one missing these stores. I actually cried when Broadway store closed right near me. I loved their jewelry and furniture department so much and I would go there even if it was just to look. I went at least twice a week. I get full of nostalgia for these stores. I shop sometimes just to escape from my cares and problems. It just had always been fun for me and like an adventure when I felt so alone. I feel bad for some of the employees at stores that are still open bc I know they will probably be closed down the road. Sad time we are living in right now for so many reasons. Ty so much for caring and addressing this. It is an important topic I believe. God bless you.

@@letsmakemoney8027 I know right I remember they had them at JCPenney and Mervyns and they are completely gone I miss it very much

You're welcome and thank you for watching and sharing some of your memories!

Dose anyone remember the stors called coronets

@@paulsmith295 Not me.

@@ericteneyck8691 ok

I miss Walden Books. They allowed people to get a Greek book every Birthday!