When did Sears and Roebuck go out of business?
In 1980, Sears, Roebuck and Co. announced the formation of a corporate office and plans for major restructuring. This resulted in renaming the retail business the Sears Merchandise Group and the insurance business Allstate Insurance Group in early 1981. When Sears acquired the Dean Witter Reynolds Organization, Inc. and Coldwell Banker & Company later that year, it formed the Dean Witter Financial Services Group and the Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group. The following year, Sears formed a world trading company. It became Sears World Trade, whose activities were reduced and transferred to the Sears Merchandise Group in 1986.
