• mr_robot@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Discover Card used to be owned by Sears Roebuck Co… Back in the olden days, Discover Card was a product for consumers looking to continue building their credit history.

    It was relatively easy to get a low-limit Sears store credit card with no credit history whatsoever. After using the Sears store card for 6 months to a year, Sears would offer the Discover Card as a general-purpose credit card. Discover was an attractive financial vehicle as it offered path of least resistance to establish a credit history.

    Sears was as ubiquitous a retailer as Amazon is today. Sears credit and Discover offered an unmatched level of purchasing power for the new consumer.

    Sears sold off Discover to a third party shortly before they sold themselves to the same company that bought K-Mart. Sears c-suite leadership did not pivot into online sales fast enough and Amazon crowded them out of the future.

    Source: I worked for Sears back when most of you were itching your daddy’s pants. I signed up many, many folks for Sears cards and I got $5 each time. Now get off my lawn, my knees hurt.