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RetailRetail

Last full-scale Kmart closes its doors in US

By
Anne D'Innocenzio
Anne D'Innocenzio
and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
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By
Anne D'Innocenzio
Anne D'Innocenzio
and
The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 23, 2024, 5:43 PM ET
Store signs announcing a store closing sale are on display on the windows of a Kmart store that is scheduled to close back in 2003.
In its heyday, there were more than 2,000 Kmarts in the U.S.Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Attention, Kmart shoppers, the end is near!

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The erstwhile retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials — featuring a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole enticing shoppers to a flash sale — is shuttering its last full-scale store in mainland United States.

The store, located in swank Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island, is slated to close Oct. 20, according to Denise Rivera, an employee who answered the phone at the store late Monday. The manager wasn’t available, she said.

That will leave only a small Kmart store in Miami. It has a handful of stores in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Transformco, the company that bought the assets of Sears and Kmart out of the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings in 2019, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

In its heyday, there were more than 2,000 Kmarts in the U.S.

Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 — becoming the largest U.S. retailer to take that step — and announced it would close more than 250 stores.

A few years later, hedge fund executive Edward Lampert combined Sears and Kmart and pledged to return them to their former greatness. But the 2008 recession and the rising dominance of Amazon contributed in derailing that mission. Sears filed for Chapter 11 in 2018 and now has just a handful of stores left in the U.S., where it once had thousands.

The Fortune 500 Innovation Forum will convene Fortune 500 executives, U.S. policy officials, top founders, and thought leaders to help define what’s next for the American economy, Nov. 16-17 in Detroit. Apply here.
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By Anne D'Innocenzio
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