It seems like that good night is slowly vanishing into the blue light. According to numerous media reports, discount retailer Kmart will close its last full-sized location in the continental United States on October 20.
Although Transformco, the holding company that owns both the Sears and Kmart brands, has not released an official statement, the owner of the Long Island shopping center where the store is located has also verified the closing.
The closure of this Kmart branch on Long Island signals a new phase in the chain’s downfall, even if the company still runs a smaller convenience store in Miami and has outposts in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where it sees little competition from other businesses of a similar nature.
Kmart found it difficult to compete with big-box stores like Walmart and Target, and it was unable to withstand the growth of internet shopping.
After the chain merged with Sears in 2005 for $11 billion, under the direction of hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, its demise picked up speed. Lampert seemed more interested in offloading assets, such as real estate and the Craftsman tool brand, than he did in making investments in the businesses. Kmart and Sears had both declared bankruptcy by the year 2018. There used to be over 1,400 Kmart locations, but now there are just a handful.
Kmart found it difficult to compete with big-box stores like Walmart and Target, and it was unable to withstand the growth of internet shopping.
After the chain merged with Sears in 2005 for $11 billion, under the direction of hedge fund manager Eddie Lampert, its demise picked up speed. Lampert seemed more interested in offloading assets, such as real estate and the Craftsman tool brand, than he did in making investments in the businesses. Kmart and Sears had both declared bankruptcy by the year 2018. There used to be over 1,400 Kmart locations, but now there are just a handful.
Sebastian Spering Kresge established Kmart, one of the nation’s oldest stores, as a five-and-dime store in Detroit in the late 1800s. Before finally declining, the Kmart brand itself flourished for decades after its 1962 inception.
