In a long, strange tale, one of the largest surviving pieces of Sears’ former operations will finally be exiting Houston, albeit under a different name, American Freight. The story begins with Sears Outlet, which arrived in Houston in 1975 and was initially named “Sears Surplus.” These stores were exactly as the name portrays an Outlet branch of the successful Sears chain. The stores leaned more heavily into the “catalog side” of things than the variety of Sears department stores. The chain would shift to the Sears Outlet name as the catalog business died out. This change also signaled a switch to selling more scratch and dent merchandise, with a heavy emphasis on appliances. During the initial Sears fallout of the early 2010s, Sears Outlet was spun off along with the Hometown Stores as an independent company. However, in 2019, Transformco, owner of Sears, decided to pick Sears Hometown back up, forcing the company to sell off the Sears Outlet division. Under new ownership, Sears Outlet was merged into American Freight, a separate but similar company their owner, Franchise Group, acquired shortly after their purchase from Sears. While the company adopted a new name, much of Sears Outlet was left intact, including many locations. One such location in Houston is part of a former Sears Warehouse.
American Freight has been struggling for a bit now, with only three operating locations in Houston from a high of six after the two companies merged. Late last year, the parent company sold off Babcock Furniture to Conn’s, which has primarily been blamed as the culprit for that chain’s bankruptcy. The filing also comes after SEC scrutiny earlier this year in which the CEO stepped down. Franchise Group also owns The Vitamin Shoppe, Pet Supplies Plus, and Buddy’s Home Furnishings. All have locations in Houston and are said to be unaffected by the liquidation of American Freight.
