K-Mart, one of the most popular retail chains in the United States, plans to close its last full-size stores in the United States this fall.
An employee at The Shape, a store in Bridgehampton, New York, on the South Fork of Long Island, confirmed that it will close its doors for good on October 20. Neighbor.
Real estate investment firm Kimco Realty Corp., which owns the shopping center that houses the chain’s location, confirmed that the store will also close, according to Newsday.
Kimco Realty Corp. did not share any details about why the store was closed.
A smaller K-Mart store in Miami, Florida, will remain open, but it pales in comparison to the stores the chain operated in its heyday.
According to an August FBI report, the Miami location is closer in size to a CVS or other convenience store. Miami Herald.
However, Kmart has several stores outside the 50 states that will remain open in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, WJAR reported.
Kmart’s origins date back to 1899 when Sebastian Spearing Kresge established his first store, a modest five-and-dime store, in Detroit, according to Transformcothe investment holding company that currently owns Kmart.
Kresge expanded rapidly over the next decade under the name S.S. Kresge Company, and by 1912 had 85 stores across the United States.
The first Kmart store officially opened in Garden City, Michigan, in 1962. That same year, 17 additional stores opened across the United States.
Just four years later, in 1966, there were 162 Kmart stores located in cities and towns across the country, and it quickly began to form one of the largest discount retailers in the country.
In 1977, SS Kresge officially changed its name to K Mart Corporation.
By the 1990s, Kmart had 2,300 stores across the United States and 350,000 employees.
However, K Mart Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002, and then merged with Sears Holdings in 2005.
Sears Holdings declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018.
Illinois-based Transform Holdco LLC, also known as Transformco, has been the owner of Kmart and Sears since acquiring the assets of Sears Holdings in 2019.
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