Willis Tower KWO39, programmed by the National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office in Chicago, is equipped with Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME), which sets off a siren on specially-programmed weather radios to alert of an impending hazard, such as a tornado or civil emergency. The building has appeared in numerous films and television shows set in Chicago such as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", where Ferris and company watch the streets of Chicago from the observation deck. The television show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" introduced a character called The Sears Tower Dressed In Sears Clothing when the show visited Chicago in 2006.
Sears Canada of Distinctive Appliances and the sale was due to be completed in December 2017. The headquarters were in Downtown Toronto, inside an eight-story complex which was formerly the home to Sears' flagship location within the Toronto Eaton Centre until 2014. The headquarters moved there from 222 Jarvis Street after that building was sold in 2007. The lower four floors of the Eaton Centre location remained in use for retail, including a three-floor Nordstrom store from fall 2016 onwards, while the upper four floors continued as Sears Canada headquarters. This headquarters remained active until the retailer completed liquidation on January 14,