Sears, once the largest retailer in the United States, filed for bankruptcy in October 2018. At the time, the company had 700 stores, compared to 3,500 stores in the 1970s and ’80s. Now, one of the remaining stores in Union Gap is closing again. Few knew that these stores had survived.

Union Gap Sears will close permanently on September 22nd.

Sears emerged from bankruptcy with 22 stores in the U.S. and several abroad. At one point it was the largest U.S. retailer, but was quickly overtaken by Walmart and others.

Its parent company, Trabsformco, had quietly launched a “Rediscover Sears” campaign in 2023 and also had an online presence, but after closing its Union Gap, WA, store in December 2022, it reopened in November 2023. Now, according to Yahoo, it is closing again for good.

According to Yahoo, the Union Gap store was No. 2 among the surviving stores in terms of total sales. Officials say that number will now drop to around 12:

“The closure leaves one Sears store remaining in Washington state: at Westfield Southcenter in Tukwila, one of about 9 estimated to remain in the United States in July 2024, along with two Kmarts and a handful of locations in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”

Financial observers say there are growing signs that the brand is finally dying out. The company’s former massive headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, once housed 9,000 workers and was one of the 30 largest buildings in the world by square footage.

The building has been purchased and is being demolished. A new data center is to be built on its site. Reports suggest that the remaining businesses are slowly but surely being auctioned off.

While they still have an online presence, industry experts say that’s mostly third-party items. The volume of actual Sears-branded items continues to shrink each month until, experts say, it will eventually reach zero.