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Alvah C. Roebuck

American businessman

Quick Summary

Alvah C. Roebuck was an American businessman best known for his partnership with Richard W. Sears in founding Sears, Roebuck and Company. Roebuck joined Sears's mail-order watch business in Chicago in 1887 as a watch repairman.1

The company's mail-order catalog expanded significantly, offering a wide variety of goods. In 1895, Roebuck sold his interest in the firm to Julius Rosenwald, who brought crucial administrative skills to complement Sears's marketing talents. Roebuck later partnered with Sears again in a new mail-order firm that eventually became Sears, Roebuck and Company.1

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. Richard W. Sears
  2. Robert E. Wood

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