Last full-size Kmart closing tomorrow

[joeekaitis]

"Look up and look around, Kmart Shoppers!  It's one last Blue Light Special!"

Kmart To Shut Down Last Full-Scale Store

Kmart, the once-competitive major retail chain, is set to shut down its final full-scale store in New York Sunday.

dailycaller.com

 

[gizmo]

Wow.

 

Kmart in Australia (A separate company, Australian owned, though it started as a licensing agreement with Kmart US in the 1970s) is still hugely successful. They are well known for "better than you would expect for the price" - that isn't their slogan, but it is how they are perceived. There are even online groups (facebook etc) of fan-customers who boast about their cheap decorating or fashion tips and tricks using stuff bought at Kmart. They have also expanded into New Zealand, where they are giving some strong competition to The Warehouse, the NZ equivalent.

 

Kmart here has one store brand for almost everything - Anko. Just about everything in the store is Anko. They tried expanding into the USA with stores branded as Anko, but they only opened in Washington state and it wasn't successful for whatever reason - they have now closed.

 

https://www.kmart.com.au/

 

https://www.thewarehouse.co.nz/

 

And before you start gasping about the prices, AUD $1 is currently 67 US cents. NZD $1 is currently 61 US cents.

And our retail prices include any sales taxes - we don't add on taxes at the register, the advertised price is the price you pay. (Legislated.)

 

[petek]

Poor journalism

"The Kmart brand began in 1962 when founder Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five-and-time store in Detroit, according to the outlet. The last-standing Kmart store in Bridgehampton opened in 1992.

I'm sure Mr. Kresge was long dead by 1962 LOL.

 

[william8]

S.S. Kresge didn't die until 1966, so he was around for Kmart's opening.

S. S. Kresge - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[petek]

Well dang it I'm wrong LOL. I must be losing it because I looked at that before I even made the post.

 

[william8]

Well it was worded poorly. He opened his five & dime stores long before Kmart in 1962.

We actually had an S.S Kresge store in our downtown for a few years after the Kmart here opened in 1976, So we had both.

I always used the Kmart pharmacy. Why? Because it was near where I worked, and the store was always completely dead after 2000 or so. Never had to wait in line! Ours died in 2017.

 

[goatfarmer]

Worked in the auto service at the local KMart about 30 years ago. Not a bad place to work, had to work every Saturday, but got a day off during the week. But you only got 40 hrs a week, no more. If it was the middle of your shift, and you reached 40 hrs, you were sent home.

 

[steved]

Last location

The Bridgehampton store lies at the edge of the tony Hamptons, home to zillionaires. It’s where all their help ( housekeepers, gardeners, etc) could afford to shop as zoning is so restrictive that there’s no chance of a Walmart or Target nearby.