After 72 years of welcoming Yucatecan families and fulfilling wishes in the form of gifts, clothing, footwear and household goods, the iconic Sears Centro store closed its doors permanently on January 31st.
This is the first store to introduce the department store credit card in Yucatán , to provide easier payment options for purchasing products.
The announcement of its closure and discounts of up to 60% on its merchandise attracted several people to the store, located on 63rd Street between 56th and 58th.
The store, which was originally located on 56th Street and 61st Avenue in the building later occupied by Salinas y Rocha , opened in 1951, recounts the city’s chronicler, Jorge Álvarez Rendón .
“The important thing about that store is that all its products were American (from the United States). People went there because the toys, the clothes, everything was American,” says teacher Álvarez.
Goodbye to the store that introduced the department store credit card in Yucatán
Furthermore, the teacher continues, the store was the first to establish the credit card system in Mérida .
“In Yucatán, credit cards weren’t common, so being able to pay every month was a novelty. Of course, people started buying there. It became the trendy store.”
Before Sears came to town, people bought clothes, toys, appliances, and white goods for cash at local stores like Molina and Font , and Pluma y Lápiz .
That’s why, when Sears opened, middle-class people, mainly, had the opportunity to buy stoves, refrigerators, and consoles, and pay for them little by little.
“My mom and dad were middle class and they bought a lot of things there because of the easy payment options . My dad was one of the first to have a credit card, and years later he was even recognized for being one of the oldest cardholders,” recalls Jorge Álvarez Rendón .
It was with the entry of Sears that the other stores implemented the system of purchases on installments or credits.
Sears was a part of a whole generation of Merida residents
It was located at the corner of 56th and 61st for eight or nine years before moving to where it was until last Wednesday the 31st.
“It soon became a popular fashion store . Ladies went there because they had very pretty dresses, very good blenders, and stoves with ovens. They also had things for men,” says Jorge Álvarez Rendón .
The first store that had a Santa Claus
The store, the master continues, was the first to have a Santa Claus . “I even have a photo of myself with Santa Claus in December 1951. He would ask you what you wanted, of course, from all the things that were in the store.”
The whole store was decorated for Christmas . “I remember they would take me and we would queue up to go in with Santa Claus and ask for the toys we wanted.”
The teacher recalls that Sears was a modern store where wealthy people went, but also the middle class who had an income that allowed them to pay the monthly installments.
Why did Sears Centro in Mérida, Yucatán close?
Although there is no official statement from the Sears department store chain , the definitive closure of the store located in downtown Mérida is understood in the context of the changing way consumers purchase various products.
In part, online shopping accelerated with the pandemic; on the other hand, it is becoming more common to use technology for this purpose, as it allows saving time on travel to physical stores and virtual stores generally have fast delivery and product exchange times.
Although it is clear that there is still a segment that would not change the experience of walking through stores where they can touch the fibers and materials of what they are going to acquire or inquire about its operation, in the case of electronic gadgets.
