"In 1886, when a Chicago jewelry company shipped some watches to an unsuspecting jeweler in the Minnesota hamlet of Redwood Falls, it started a chain of events that led to the founding of an American icon.

Watch Out! Here Comes an Opportunity
Richard Sears was an agent of the Minneapolis and St. Louis railway station in the neighboring hamlet of North Redwood. To earn extra income on the side, he sold lumber and coal. When the shipment of watches arrived, unwanted, at the Redwood Falls station, Sears went into action. He purchased them himself and sold the watches at a nice profit to other station agents up and down the line. It went so well that he ordered more."