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A FORMERLY prominent discount retailer has confirmed the closure of its last big box location, with liquidation sales starting this week.
It was iconic in the United States for years, with around 2,300 locations nationwide.
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Shoppers who still frequent the retailer — Kmart — in Bridgehampton, New York, about four miles from the Hamptons on Long Island, only have weeks left to do so.
The only remaining full-sized Kmart will close its doors for good on October 20, according to what an employee told The U.S. Sun.
Liquidation sales will be as high as 40% off for customers.
The store is located within a shopping center owned by Kimco Realty Corp, which also noted the Kmart location’s impending closure while speaking to Newsday.
Read More on Store Closures
The reasoning behind the closure has yet to be detailed.
Kmart’s store count in the United States has been down to the single digits for years, per NBC affiliate WJAR.
Only three stores were still operational in 2022.
FINANCIAL FALLOUT
That’s a stark difference compared to the 1990s, when Kmart had around 350,000 employees at around 2,300 locations.
Still, in 2002, K Mart Corporation filed for bankruptcy, citing significant debt, mismanagement issues, and struggling to keep competition with giants like Walmart and Target, per CNBC.
It later merged with Sears Holdings in 2005.
After Sears Holdings filed for bankruptcy in 2018, the remaining Kmart stores slowly started to shut down for good.
While there will no longer be any big-box Kmart’s in the United States after October 20, a Miami store will remain open.
It’s a much smaller version of the discount retailer, similar to CVS or Walgreens, per the Miami Herald.
The store reportedly sells only essentials and was even compared to the size and operations of a convenience store.
Brief History of Kmart
Kmart’s journey began over a century ago when entrepreneur Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a small store in Detroit, Michigan, per Transformco.
Kresge only sold merchandise for prices of five and ten cents, and the popularity among shoppers allowed him to expand to 85 locations by 1912 with an annual revenue of around $10 million.
He later founded the S.S. Kresge Company.
Because of the nature of the discount business model Kresge’s stores operated on, they remained open through The Great Depression and offered affordable merchandise and jobs to Americans.
Prices started to fluctuate a little more at Kresge’s stores over the years, increasing to $1 or less in the 1920s, but still offering the nickel and dime prices on some items.
The introduction of Kmart came courtesy of Harry B. Cunningham, who became S.S. Kresge Company’s president in 1959.
Cunningham helped open the first Kmart store in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan.
Seventeen more locations were opened the same year, accounting for yearly corporate revenue of $483 million.
By 1966, 162 Kmart stores and 753 Kresge stores were operational and brought in over $1 billion.
Kmart began accounting for 95% of sales by 1977, leading to S.S. Kresge Company becoming the Kmart Corporation and selling the remaining Kresge stores.
A new logo and business plan were revealed by the company in 1990, with $3.5 billion dedicated to more stores, modern updates, and supercenters.
Kmart and its 37 subsidiaries later filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 22, 2002, citing significant debt.
While it received $2 billion in exit financing in 2003 and moved forward with fewer locations and a focus on lower operating costs, it still struggled.
It merged with Sears Holdings in 2005, and some Kmarts remained open for years afterward.
After Sears Holdings Chapter 11 filing in 2018, only a few big box Kmarts remained in the United States, with only three left in 2022.
Kmart’s closure in Bridgehampton, New York, on October 20, 2024, will mark the shutdown of its last big box store.
Other big-box Kmart locations remain available internationally.
There are operational locations in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
RETAIL BLOODBATH
Several other retailers across the United States have undergone mass closures after bankruptcy filings this year.
Big Lots recently confirmed its Chapter 11 filing after weeks of speculation and detailed plans for around 545 store shutdowns.
LL Flooring will also close half of its over 400 locations after a quiet bankruptcy filing and revert to an old name under its new ownership.
Some clothing retailers also took similar actions.
Express filed for bankruptcy in April and confirmed nearly 100 locations would shutter for good.
Rue21 also submitted another bankruptcy filing after one in the early 2000s and confirmed it would shut down all of its remaining stores.
