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Early in The Shawshank Redemption, Red says:

Yes, sir. I'm a regular Sears and Roebuck.

Who is he referring to here?

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  • 13
    Pretty sure that it's the department store chain since Red can get people whatever they want...like a store.
    – steelersquirrel
    Aug 25, 2016 at 17:07
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    So you knew how to spell Sears and Roebuck but you didn't know it was a store? What happened when you Googled it? jw.
    – Hack-R
    Aug 26, 2016 at 2:05
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    This question makes me feel old :(
    – BruceWayne
    Aug 26, 2016 at 15:51
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    Even referenced by Curly! m.imdb.com/title/tt0030223/quotes?qt=qt1049370
    – James McLeod
    Aug 29, 2016 at 0:07

2 Answers 2

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37

Sears and Roebuck is the name for the catalog/mail-order business that grew into the chain of stores today known as "Sears" and more lately known as "the abandoned store at the end of the mall"

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    I know, right? I only park at Sears at the mall because it's at the end of the mall ;)
    – steelersquirrel
    Aug 25, 2016 at 17:44
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    There's a commercial online where Sears promotes the fact it has "lots of available parking!"
    – JS.
    Aug 25, 2016 at 20:11
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    @JS. I wonder if that was done by the same genius behind the radio ads for the professional soccer team in Pittsburgh PA about 15 years ago that encouraged fans to go to the games "...because you can get right up close to the action!"
    – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight
    Aug 25, 2016 at 21:17
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    @DanNeely "Heck, be the goalie for a while! We don't care!" :-)
    – JS.
    Aug 25, 2016 at 22:21
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    Relevant.
    – Michael Lorton
    Aug 27, 2016 at 17:45
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Sears and Roebuck was a popular dealer of catalog merchandise in the 19th century and eventually grew into a major chain of American department stores in the 20th century. The company now is known throughout the United States and Canada as Sears, though Sears, Roebuck & Co. is the official name.

Sears and Roebuck were well-known for their mail order catalog and retail stores. Red was presumably referencing Sears and Roebuck due to the popularity of their catalogs and stores at the time.

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    For the youngsters: Sears and Roebuck was the Amazon.com of yesteryear.
    – Basil Bourque
    Aug 25, 2016 at 20:18
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    @BasilBourque ...back when the Internet was called "The Post Office".
    – Monty Harder
    Aug 25, 2016 at 21:43
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    And for people who are from one of those 200+ countries in the world that is not the United States, and would therefore not be familiar with this domestic brand. :)
    – Mark Micallef
    Aug 26, 2016 at 3:33
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    @BasilBourque it went even further than Amazon, as you could buy flat pack houses from the Sears catalog...
    – Moo
    Aug 26, 2016 at 11:25
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    @Moo You can buy house kits on Amazon, too. This one is 837 sqft (78 sqm) amazon.com/Allwood-Kit-Cabin-Eagle-Point/dp/B00LYGIEU2
    – Keeta - reinstate Monica
    Aug 26, 2016 at 15:10

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