John George Sears (1870–1916) was a shoe manufacturer and the founder of

Sears plc Sears plc was a large British-based conglomerate. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was acquired by Philip Green in 1999. History The business was founded by John and Willi ...

, which was one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's largest retail businesses.

Career

Born in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and educated at the local

elementary Elementary may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Elementary'' (Cindy Morgan album), 2001 * ''Elementary'' (The End album), 2007 * ''Elementary'', a Melvin "Wah-Wah Watson" Ragin album, 1977 Other uses in arts, entertainment, an ...

school, John Sears became an apprentice with the ''Manfield Company''.John George Sears at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> In 1891 he set up his own business as a boot-maker with the help of his younger brother, William, trading under the name ''J. Sears & Co.'' In 1897 he opened his first retail outlet and by 1900 he had established his first shop in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He expanded the business rapidly particularly on the retail side and soon had 2,000 shops branded as ''Trueform''.Why old shoe retailers are on their uppers
Daily Telegraph In 1913 he bought Collingtree Grange in

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. The House was demolished in the mid-20th century and the grounds now form part of

Collingtree Park Collingtree Park is a district in the Borough of Northampton in the East Midlands of England. Location Collingtree Park is located at the extreme south of the urban area, due north of the village of Collingtree, which itself is in the Northampto ...

with a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

. He died in 1916 at the early age of 46 and is buried at St.Columba's Church in

Collingtree Collingtree is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is part of the Northampton built-up area. Location and context The village is about from Northampton town centre, close to the ...

Family

In 1896 he married Caroline Wooding and they had a daughter and two sons.

References

1870 births 1916 deaths People from West Northamptonshire District 19th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub