Willis Tower new competition by retailing giants such as Kmart, Kohl's, and Walmart. The fortunes of Sears & Roebuck declined in the 1970s as the company lost market share; its management grew more cautious. Nor did the Sears Tower draw as many tenants as Sears had hoped. The tower stood half-vacant for a decade as a surplus of office space was erected in Chicago in the 1980s. In 1990, the law firm of Keck, Mahin & Cate decided to move out of its space in the Sears Tower and into a development that would become 77 West Wacker Drive, rebuffing Sears' attempts
Sears, Roebuck and Company Complex a modillioned cornice. It housed water tanks for firefighting on the upper levels, as well as offices and secretarial training facilities. It also housed the early broadcast facilities for WLS-AM. In 2015, it was refurbished and reopened to the public as the "John D. and Alexandra C. Nichols Tower". It now houses non-profit groups and offices, including a classroom on the 12th floor for the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The Sears Roebuck plaque is still visible on top of the building. The Sears, Roebuck and Company Administration Building is a broad five-story masonry building, occupying about 3/4