Shop Talk

Sears, Roebuck is looking to spark holiday sales by bringing back its famed Wish Book catalog after a 14-year absence.

The Wish Book (cover shown), set for release this week, has been redesigned and differs from its predecessor. With 188 pages, the new catalog is much smaller than the older version, which had 800 pages and was one-inch thick.

“We’ve had a lot of customer requests for it over the last 14 years,” said Kirsten Whipple, a spokeswoman for Sears Holdings, the parent of Sears, Roebuck that also operates the Kmart chain.

The bigger Wish Book was discontinued in 1993 as shopping habits began to change, Whipple said. In recent years, Sears had released a smaller toy catalog for the holidays, she added.

While the new Wish Book doesn’t include everything carried in Sears stores, much of it is devoted to toys and other gift goodies such as home electronics, kitchen gadgets, clothing and appliances. It includes gift items sorted by theme and some products that are available only on the Internet.

Photo: Sears Holdings