Monroe County- Sometimes everything just falls into place.
For Korey and Jamie Barksdale that time was in 2007 when Korey, at the time a K-Mart manager, received a letter from Sears (owned by K-Mart) asking if he’d ever thought of owning his own business. He had, but the prospect of moving from Monroe County wasn’t attractive to the couple who had already moved several times for his job.
“Korey was a K-Mart manager and Sears sent out letters asking if they had ever thought of owning their own business. Then around the same time, this one (the Sears store in Waterloo) came up for sale, and everything fell into place,” said Jamie.
The Barksdales moved to Waterloo in 2001 because of its proximity to St. Louis. By being closer to the St. Louis area, Korey didn’t have to travel as much to reach the different K-Mart stores with which he worked.
“We’ve lived in Waterloo for nine years. We like Waterloo because it’s a small town like where we come from, but it is also close to the city. We love being here,” she said.
The Barksdales purchased the Sears Waterloo store in September of 2007, but the store had been open for more than 10 years. It is located at 1349 Jamie Lane, which is behind the Super 8 motel in Waterloo. Both Korey and Jamie bring the skills needed to successfully run a retail business with Korey having 15 years experience in retail and Jamie being an accountant.
As with other Sears locations, Sears of Waterloo, offers customers all the same name brand appliances, electronics, mattresses, lawn and garden and fitness products they expect. They also offer the Sears Price Match, which means they will match and give customers 10 percent off the same products found elsewhere.
“We will even shop around for them so they are getting the best price,” said Jamie. “Now we can order anything Sears has to offer and most of the time shipping will be free to your home. It’s really awesome that we do that now. We can get you anything you see on Sears.com. If you come into the store, they won’t charge shipping or if you go through the register we have trucks that deliver products on Tuesday and Thursday (appliances) and on Wednesdays (tools) so you may get your product quicker.”
Sears offers the following brands: Appliances-Kenmore, GE, Samsung, LG, Maytag, Bosch, Whirlpool; Tools and Lawn and Garden-Craftsman; Electronics-Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, LG, Vizio, Sylvania, Sharp; Fitness-Nordic Trac, Proforma; Mattresses-Serta.
The Barksdales donated the December Think Monroe County Super Consumer prize, and have been strong supporters of the Think Monroe County First program (TMCF) from the beginning.
“We live locally and own a local business so we understand the importance of shopping locally,” Jamie said.
The TMCF Super Consumer is a monthly drawing in which local consumers can enter to win a prize valued at $100 or more when they make a purchase at a participating TMCF business.
In addition to being a supporter of TMCF, Jamie is also a member of the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, secretary of the Kiwanis, chair of the Zahnow PTO and treasurer of the Friends of the Morrison Talbolt Library.
The Barksdales live in Waterloo with their six-year-old son, Garrett.
Sears of Waterloo is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. They are located at 1349 Jamie Lane, Waterloo.
You can reach Sears of Waterloo at 618-939-5552 or through the “locate a store” option at www.sears.com.
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