SCTS

 Richard Warren Sears was a railroad station agent in Minnesota when he received a shipment of unwanted watches, which he bought himself. He sold the watches up and down the railroad to other agents, and ordered more watches for resale. Shortly after, he created a business selling watches through a mail order catalog...  Sears knew that farmers bought crops at general stores usually at very high prices, and the general store got their supplies from the railroad companies. Richard Sears took quick advantage of this and published his catalog. Customers could then know what he was selling, at what price, and obtain them conveniently by ordering through the catalog. [|Alvah Roebuck] joined Richard in 1893 when Sears moved to Chicago. The catalog business expanded rapidly, as in 1894, it was composed of 322 pages and sold sewing machines, automobiles, bicycles, and sporting goods. [|Julius Rosenwald] became a part-owner in 1895 to help organize the business. Alvah Roebuck resigned due to stress and health issues, but rejoined during The Great Depression; he worked as a spokesman for the company until he died in 1948. [|Sears, Roebuck & Co.] introduced the "Sears Wishbook", one of their first Christmas-oriented catalogs, in 1933. Today, the Sears Catalog is a widely-known mail-order magazine that brings convenience to the industrial and consumer worlds alike.