Kmart to close its last full-size US store, only 1 location remaining
Another once strong American retail chain is set to fall to one store in the U.S., not dissimilar to Blockbuster.
Straight Arrow News
Discount brand Kmart will soon shutter the doors on its last full-sized store in the continental U.S.
The Bridgehampton, New York store is set to close Oct. 20, USA TODAY reported. The impending closure will leave a smaller Miami location the last Kmart in the continental U.S.
Here’s a look at the history of Kmart, including its origins right here in Michigan.
Kresge beginnings
The company’s roots date to 1899, when Sebastian Spering Kresge opened the first S.S. Kresge store on Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
The business quickly expanded, growing to 85 stores with $10.3 million in sales by 1912, according to the Kresge Foundation.
S.S. Kresge Co. opened the first official Kmart big-box store in 1962 in Garden City, marking the start of the Kmart brand. Kresge died four years later in 1966, but the Kmart brand lived on.
The rise of Kmart Corp.
The company quickly grew from its Michigan origins, becoming an American retail staple.
In 1962, the company ran over 820 Kresge and Kmart stores, with sales over $450 million, according to the Kresge Foundation. Ensuing decades saw continued growth, rising to over 2,100 stores and $31 billion in sales worldwide by 1996.
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In December 1969, the company broke ground at a new headquarters in Troy. Kmart operated out of the building until 2006, when it moved operations to Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Bankruptcies and merger
The company began encountering challenges in the 1990s, leading to its decline.
Company leaders bought other chains, which went out of business, and competitors began surpassing Kmart in sales. The company began to close stores in recent decades, including 72 in 2000 alone.
By 2002, Kmart’s finances had steeply declined, leading the company to bankruptcy.
Kmart then merged with Sears into Sears Holding Corp. but faced financial issues.
Sears Holding Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and stores continued to close across the country.
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End of an era
The original Garden City Kmart store closed in 2017, marking the final decline for the retail chain. Kmart closed its Marshall store, its final store in Michigan, in 2021. The shuttering marked the end of an era for a company that once got its start in the mitten state.
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Publish date : 2024-09-24 07:39:00
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