So Long Sears? Troubled Retail Chain May Soon Be A Memory

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - There's a jingle for every era, but decade in and decade out, Sears was all about the customer.

"America shops for value." "More for your life." "The softer side of Sears."

But now, Sears is apparently where America used to shop.

It appears with its stock price tumbling, and a debt payment looming, the store could file for bankruptcy as early as this week, reports CBS2's Dick Brennan.

The retail chain has brought on board a reconstructing expert make drastic changes and help the company meet a key debt repayment deadline in less than a week.

There was a time that the Sears store in Yonkers was always packed, you could never even get a parking spot, but now things have changed.

"I used to come here I was stepping over bodies," said Charlie Bond of Parkchester in the Bronx. "I come here now, we have the whole store to ourselves,"

"My mom used to go hardware area where the appliances were and stuff, my father went to the tool area," said Letisha Ramirez of Yonkers. "It's going to be quite sad to see them go."

In their prime they used stars to sell the store and fixed cars, but the prices were a bargain.

Sears ruled for more than 100 years. It's famous catalog was the old-fashioned Amazon.com. You could buy a bike, a tombstone or a toilet, and they would send it right to you.

The brand was so popular for so long, it was said in American homes there were as many catalogs as bibles.

"It was always the Sears catalog - we sat for the whole year and just picked out whatever we wanted, and hoped that Santa or somebody would bring it to us," said Bob Ramirez of Yonkers.

But it appears Sears is now the ghost of Christmas past - the real Amazon perhaps dealing the death knell.

A piece of Americana - the walk down the store aisle - may soon be retail history.

"I'm going to miss them," said Bond. "I loved sears, I loved them"