Big chain of the ’70s is down to one store in mainland U.S.

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New York (CNN) — Kmart, once one of America’s leading discount retailers, is closing its last full-size store in the mainland United States, leaving just a scaled-down outlet in Miami.

The store in Bridgehampton, N.Y., on Long Island, is due to close Oct. 20, according to an employee who answered the phone at the store on Monday, Sept. 23. She did not want to give her name. Transformco, the company that bought the remains of Sears and Kmart out of the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings in 2019, did not return an email requesting comment.

The chain still has stores in Guam and the US Virgin Islands, where it does not face as much competition.

The Miami-area store, in the suburb of Kendale Lakes, was described in a recent Miami Herald feature as “roughly the size of a neighborhood CVS” and featuring random and spotty inventory.

Kmart was doomed by competition with more successful big box competitors such as Walmart and Target, which offered shoppers groceries as well as clothing, household goods and tools sold at Kmart and Sears, along with the growth of online shopping.

At the time of the 2005 merger, Kmart had about 1,400 stores and Sears nearly 900 full-line US stores. When the retailer emerged from bankruptcy it still had 231 Sears and 191 Kmart stores. Today only a handful of Sears stores remain, although it has outlets that operate under the Sears Hometown brand.

Kmart started in the late 19th century when founder Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five-and-dime store in downtown Detroit bearing his name. The Kmart brand didn’t come about until 1962.

The chain grew rapidly for several decades, claiming the discount segment of the market that big box stores now dominate.

Kmart became known for its 15-minute-long “blue light specials”: A store would flash a blue light and reveal a discounted item in an announcement beginning “Attention, Kmart shoppers.” The promotions started in 1965 and were discontinued in 1991.

Originally Published: September 23, 2024 at 9:35 a.m.

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