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Wikipedia

Kmart

December 02, 2023

For the Australian retailer and flagship brand of Wesfarmers's Kmart Group, see Kmart Australia. For other uses, see Kmart (disambiguation).

Kmart Corporation (/ˈkeɪmɑːrt/ KAY-mart, doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart) is an American retail company that owns a chain of big-box department stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was incorporated in 1899 as S. S. Kresge Corporation and renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977.[3] The first store with the Kmart name opened in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan.[4] At its peak in 1994, Kmart operated 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States.[5][6][7][8] As of April 16, 2022, that number was down to nine, including just three in the continental United States.[1] From 2005 through 2019, Kmart was a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation.[9] Since 2019, Kmart has been a subsidiary of Transform SR Brands LLC, a privately held company that was formed in 2019 to acquire assets from Sears Holdings.

Kmart Corporation
Kmart store #3074 in Miami FL.
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Founded
  • July 31, 1899; 124 years ago (July 31, 1899) (as Kresge's)
  • November 23, 1977; 46 years ago (November 23, 1977) (as Kmart)
  • Garden City, Michigan
FounderS. S. Kresge
Headquarters
Number of locations
8 (2 of which are in the continental US) (November 2023)[1]
Areas served
United States, Puerto Rico since 1965, U. S. Virgin Islands since 1981, and Guam since 1996
Products
  • Clothing
  • shoes
  • linen and bedding
  • jewelry
  • accessories
  • health and beauty products
  • electronics
  • toys
  • food
  • drinks
  • sporting goods
  • automotive
  • hardware
  • appliances
  • housewares
  • pet products
  • pharmacy
  • garden center
RevenueUS$25.146 billion (2015 SHC)[2]
OwnerESL Investments
ParentTransformco
Websitekmart.com

History

Early years

 
This 1940s postcard shows the Kresge store in Springfield, Massachusetts (Store #26).

S. S. Kresge, the founder of the company that would become Kmart, met variety-store pioneer Frank Winfield Woolworth while working as a traveling salesman and selling to all 19 of Woolworth's stores at the time. In 1897, Kresge invested $6,700 saved from his job into a five-and-dime store in Memphis, Tennessee. He jointly owned the first store with his former tinware customer, John McCrory.[10] Kresge and McCrory added a second store in downtown Detroit the following year. These were the first S.S. Kresge stores.[11][12][13] After two years of partnership, he traded McCrory his share in the Memphis store, plus $3,000, for full ownership of the Detroit store, and formed the Kresge & Wilson Company with his brother-in-law, Charles J. Wilson.[12][13]

In 1912, Kresge incorporated the S.S. Kresge Company in Delaware with 85 stores. In 1916, Kresge incorporated a new S.S. Kresge Company in Michigan and took over the operations of the original company; the new company in Michigan is the modern day Kmart company. The company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange on May 23, 1918. During World War I, Kresge experimented with raising the limit on prices in his stores to $1. By 1924, Kresge was worth approximately $375 million and owned real estate of the approximate value of $100 million.[14][better source needed] Growth early in the 20th century remained brisk, with 257 stores in 1924, rising to 597 stores by 1929. Kresge retired as president in 1925. The Great Depression reduced profitability and resulted in store closings, but the number rose to 682 in 1940. After the war, shopping patterns changed and many customers moved out of the cities into the suburbs.

1960s–1970s

 
Kmart's longest lasting logo, used from 1969 to 1990.
 
The Kmart Foods logo used during the 1960s

Under the leadership of executive Harry Cunningham, S.S. Kresge Company opened the first Kmart-named store, at 27,000 square feet (2,500 square meters), which was referred to by Kresge as a "bantam" Kmart and was in fact originally intended to be a Kresge store until late in the planning process, on January 25, 1962, in San Fernando, California,[15] just six months before the first Walmart opened, while the first ground-up full-size Kmart with 80,000 square feet (7,400 square meters), opened on March 1, 1962, in Garden City, Michigan. Cunningham and Sam Walton were both inspired by Ann & Hope, which they each visited in 1961.[16][17] Sixteen more Kmart stores opened in 1962. Kmart Foods, a now-defunct chain of Kmart supermarkets, opened in that decade. Though the store chain continued to open Kmart branded stores, the store chain was still officially called S.S. Kresge Company.

 
A Big Kmart store in Willow Street, Pennsylvania (store #3810) as it appears on its last day of operation, April 18, 2021. This was one of the last two Kmart stores in Pennsylvania. This location is now Ocean State Job Lot.

Company founder Kresge died on October 18, 1966, at age 99.[18]

Around the time of the opening of the first Kmart, some poorly performing S.S. Kresge stores were converted to a new "Jupiter Discount Stores" brand, which was conceived as a bare-bones, deep discount outfit. During the 1970s, Kmart put a number of competing retailers out of business. Kresge, Jupiter and Kmart stores mainly competed with other store chains like Zayre, Ames, Bradlees, Caldor, Hills, and those that were operated by MMG-McCrory Stores (McCrory, McLellan, H.L. Green, J.J. Newberry, S.H. Kress, TG&Y, Silver's and eventually G.C. Murphy Co.). In 1977, S.S. Kresge Company changed its name to K Mart Corporation.

1980s

In 1980, Vice Chairman Bernard M. Fauber was elected as the chairman and as the CEO of Kmart.[19]

In 1981, the 2,000th Kmart store opened. By the end of 1981, there were 2,055 Kmart stores across the United States and Canada.[20]

In 1987, the Kmart Corporation sold its remaining 76 Kresge and Jupiter stores in the United States to McCrory Stores,[21] and the brands were almost entirely discontinued, although Canadian Kresge and Jupiter stores continued to operate until 1994.[22]

Kmart experimented with co-branding in 1985, when the in-store cafeteria at the store in Canton, Michigan, was converted to a Wendy's.[23][24][failed verification]

Until November 1990, when it was passed by Walmart, Kmart was the second-largest retailer in the United States, after Sears.[25] During the 1980s, the company's fortunes began to change; many of Kmart's stores were considered to be outdated and in decaying condition. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the corporate office shifted much of its focus from the Kmart stores to other companies it had acquired or created, such as Sports Authority, Builders Square, and Waldenbooks.

Blue Light Special

The Blue Light Special was a sale promotion within the store for a short period within store hours only. It was advertised using a rotating blue light, in the same style a police car used, and was announced over the store public address system with the phrase "attention Kmart shoppers", a phrase which became a pop culture reference.[26] The original concept for the Blue Light Special was a limited-time offer to sell slower-moving merchandise.[27] The sale was first introduced in 1965[28] and was retired in 1991.[29]

Starting in the 2000s, Kmart would repeatedly bring back the Blue Light Special. The first time Kmart brought back the Blue Light Special was in 2001, but was discontinued again in 2002. The sale was briefly revived in 2005, though Kmart at that time had no plans to use the concept long term.[30] Blue Light Specials were revived again in 2009 on Saturdays, offering surprise hour-long sales on selected merchandise, but they were again discontinued. Blue Light Specials were revived once again in November 2015.[28]

1990–2001: New image

 
The front of the Super Kmart Center store in Cambridge, Ohio (store #3555), as it appears before it was downsized in 2015 and closed in 2018. This location is now Rural King.

In 1990, in an effort to update its image, Kmart introduced a new logo. It dropped the old-style italic "K" with a turquoise "mart" in favor of a red block letter K with the word "mart" written in script and contained inside the "K". Kmart then began remodeling stores shortly thereafter. This logo was replaced in 2004 with the current logo. In 1990, Little Caesars Pizza opened its first in-store Kmart restaurant in Rochester, Michigan[31] (coincidentally, both Little Caesars and Kmart were founded in Garden City, Michigan, in 1959 and 1962 respectively). In 1995, Kmart also tried to reinvent itself by using the short-lived name Today's Kmart.[32]

In 1991, the company revised its name slightly to Kmart Corporation.[33]

In 1992, Kmart entered the Eastern European market with the purchase of 13 stores in the former Czechoslovakia.[34] These stores were sold off in 1996.[35]

The company also began to offer exclusive merchandise by Martha Stewart, Kathy Ireland, Jaclyn Smith, Lauren Hutton, and Thalía. Other recognizable brands included exclusively licensed merchandising of products relating to Sesame Street and Disney. Actress and television personality Rosie O'Donnell and actress/director and producer Penny Marshall became among the company's most recognized spokespersons.[36]

 
Kmart's red classic logo (1990–2004)
 
The Super Kmart Center logo that was used primarily in the early 1990s, but was also used for some stores that opened in 2001

Super Kmart Center (Super Kmart) opened an all-new location on July 25, 1991, in Medina Township, Ohio, featuring a full-service grocery with a full-service deli, seafood counter and bakery. It also had general merchandise like many Kmarts had.[37] However, this location was downsized in 2011 and was one of a number of Kmarts closed in early 2012 following poor Christmas 2011 sales.[38] The second ground-up Super Kmart Center opened in Copley Township, Ohio, featuring an in-store video rental center, and an in-store carryout Chinese restaurant.[39] This location has also shut down.[40] The last Super Kmart Center in Howland Township, Ohio, closed on April 8, 2018.[41] After the Medina and Copley stores opened, many more Super Kmarts opened nationwide. The largest super Kmart store was in Euclid, Ohio, as it was a former Hypermart.[citation needed]Big Kmart opened in Chicago, Illinois, on April 23, 1997.[42] The format focuses on home fashions, children's apparel, and consumables (The Pantry).[40] Most Kmart stores were remodeled to this format during the late 1990s and the early 2000s. During 1997 and 1998, Kmart converted 1,245 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores. Initially, the Big Kmart stores were successful, and by the end of 1997, Kmart sales numbers had grown by 10% thanks to their Big Kmart stores. In 1998, Kmart acquired 45 former Venture stores and converted them into Big Kmart stores.[43] By the end of 1998, 62% of Kmart's stores were Big Kmart stores. Kmart converted nearly 1,900 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores in 1999, resulting in further improvements in sales figures. The last Big Kmart in Marshall, Michigan, closed on November 22, 2021.[44]

 
This Super Kmart Center logo was used on the former Super Kmart Center stores in Mexico during the 1990s.

The Sports Authority was acquired by Kmart in 1990 and spun-off 5 years later.

Kmart's profitability and sales peaked in 1992, and the later decline is attributed to competition with Walmart, Target, and internet shopping.[3] In 1994, Kmart announced they would close 110 stores.[45] Unlike its competitors Walmart and Target, Kmart failed to invest in computer technology to manage its supply chain. Furthermore, Kmart maintained a high dividend, which reduced the amount of money that was available for improving its stores. Many business analysts also faulted the company for failing to create a coherent brand image.

In September 1995, Kmart sold its money-losing in-store auto repair centers to Penske Corporation for $112 million to operate them as Penske Auto Centers.[46][47] Penske later closed the auto repair centers in 2002 as a result of a payment dispute with Kmart.[48][49]

 
The second Super Kmart Center logo, spelled out as Super Kmart, was used for stores that opened in the late 1990s (1997-2002).
 
The Big Kmart logo, stylized as BIG Kmart, was used for stores that were opened or renovated in the late 1990s (1997-2002).

In 1997, Kmart launched the Kmart Cash Card as a replacement for the paper gift certificates and to facilitate the return process.[50] In July 1999, Kmart hired SuperValu and Fleming to distribute $3.9 billion worth of food and other related products to all Kmart stores.[51]

From 1999 to 2000 Kmart converted 150 regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores during the first half of 2000.[citation needed]

In 2000, Kmart and Capital One launched an all-new co-branded MasterCard as a replacement for the private label Kmart credit cards.[52]

Also in 2000, Kmart expanded the Martha Stewart Everyday Garden Collection to include live plants and seeds.[53] Kmart also launched the Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen, which is a complete line of housewares essentials.[54]

In July 2000, Kmart closed 72 underperforming stores, while opening 20 new Big Kmart stores, converting 12 regular Kmart stores into Super Kmart Center stores, and opening 5 new Super Kmart Center stores.[55] The company announced a planned major restructuring, in which Kmart would invest in new customer check-out and new inventory management technology and other related systems.[56]

In 2001, Kmart opened several new Super Kmart stores as part of Kmart's plan to expand their Super Kmart Center store portfolio and make groceries available at stores.[57] However, Kmart having filed for bankruptcy in January 2002, the company was unable to open any new Super Kmart Center stores, and construction was halted on others, no matter how close the stores were to completion.

In 2001, Kmart signed a $4.5 billion arrangement with Fleming, making them the sole food and consumables distributor for the company's stores.[58]

In February 2001, Japanese video game company Sega sued Kmart for failure to pay $2.2 million of $25.9 million for Sega Dreamcast game systems.[59]

In August 2001, Target sued Kmart because the company's "Dare to Compare" advertising campaign inaccurately compared its own prices with those of Target a majority of the time on in-store signs.[60]

2002–2009: Collapse and merger with Sears

 
Kmart's lime green logo that was used only at five prototype locations in 2002

On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the leadership of its then-chairman Charles Conaway and president Mark Schwartz.[61][62] Conaway, who successfully expanded CVS Corporation, accepted an offer to take the helm at Kmart along with a loan of $5 million (equivalent to $8.14 million in 2023). In a scandal similar to that involving Enron, Conaway and Schwartz were accused of misleading shareholders and other company officials about the company's financial crisis while making millions and allegedly spending the company's money on airplanes, houses, boats and other luxuries. At a conference for Kmart employees on January 22, Conaway accepted "full blame" for the financial disaster. As Kmart emerged from bankruptcy, Conaway was forced to step down, and was asked to pay back all the loans he had taken.

After dismissing Conaway and Schwartz, Kmart closed more than 300 stores in the U.S., including all the Kmart stores in Alaska, and laid off around 34,000 workers as part of the restructuring process.[63] Kmart introduced five prototype stores with a new logo, layout, and lime green and gray color scheme, one in White Lake, Michigan, and four in central Illinois: (Peoria, Pekin, Morton and Washington). The new layout was touted as having wider aisles and improved selection and lighting, and the city or town's name was featured under the new Kmart logo at the front entrance. However, Kmart could not afford a full-scale rollout.[64] The lime green prototype was abandoned for the new Kmart "Orange" concept that rolled out at several of its locations throughout the United States in 2006.

While Kmart was going through bankruptcy, a significant amount of Kmart's outstanding debt was purchased by ESL Investments, a hedge fund controlled by Edward Lampert. Lampert worked to accelerate the bankruptcy process.[65]

 
Big Kmart store #3979 in Levittown, New York held its liquidation sale in September 2004. This location was a former TSS.

On January 13, 2003, Kmart closed 326 stores due to a lack of profitability and poor sales.[66]

On May 6, 2003, Kmart emerged from bankruptcy protection as a subsidiary of the new Kmart Holding Corporation. On June 10, 2003, Kmart began trading on the NASDAQ stock market with the ticker symbol of KMRT with Lampert serving as the chairman and with ESL Investments controlling 53% of the new company for an investment of less than $1 billion.[67][68] Lampert dismissed his concerns that the smaller company would be at a disadvantage, stating "The focus that a lot of people have in retail revolves around sales, but sales without profit do not allow a business to be successful in the long term."[69] He began to improve the company's balance sheet by reducing inventory, cutting costs, and closing underperforming stores. By the fourth quarter of 2003, Kmart posted its first profitable quarter in three years, although it has since returned to an operating loss.

On July 23, 2004, a new Kmart logo featuring a large red "K" with "kmart" in small block letters underneath it was announced.[70] On August 12, 2004, Kmart and E! Entertainment Television announced a new, exclusive, cross-promotional clothing brand called Attention. Attention was launched as a new clothing brand that would be sold only at Kmart stores and would be used to promote E! News Live.[71] Kmart had previously signed a similar deal with the WB Network to have the cast of five WB shows wear Kmart branded clothing during shows.[72]

On November 8, 2004, Kmart launched the Kmart Rewards credit card that is managed by HSBC Bank.[73]

 
The third Super Kmart Center logo, spelled out as Kmart Supercenter, was only used for printed ads and street signs (2004–2018).
 
The KDollar logo (November 2004–2012)

On November 17, 2004, Kmart's management announced its intention to purchase Sears for $11 billion.[67] As part of the merger, the Kmart Holding Corporation (the company that owns Kmart) would be transferred to the new Sears Holdings Corporation and Sears would be purchased by the new Sears Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands.[74] Around this time, Kmart changed its logo from a red K with the script "mart" inside, to the same K with the chain's name in lowercase letters below it. Kmart's headquarters were relocated to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and in 2012 the sprawling headquarters complex in Troy, Michigan, was acquired by the Forbes Company, which owns the nearby upscale mall, Somerset Collection.[75] No concrete plans for redevelopment of the site had been announced. In 2005, Sears Holdings Corporation introduced the Sears Essentials store format, which would serve as a Kmart-Sears hybrid. Sears Essentials stores were freestanding (not located at a shopping mall) stores. In 2006, the company discontinued the Sears Essentials name, and renamed all of the Sears Essentials stores as Sears Grand stores.[76]

Kmart started remodeling stores to the "Orange" prototype in 2005.[77] In 2006, the typical white and blue interior of the stores was changed to orange and brown, and shelf heights were lowered to create better sightlines. The remodeled stores contain an appliance department with Kenmore Appliances and most have hardware departments that sell Craftsman tools, which prior to the merger had been exclusive to Sears stores.[78] Some auto centers left vacant by Penske after Kmart filed for bankruptcy had been converted to Sears Auto Centers.[79] As of 2009, 280 stores had been remodeled to this new prototype.[citation needed]

In July 2009, Sears Holdings opened its first Sears-branded appliance store inside a Kmart.[80] The 4,000 sq ft (370 m2) store-within-a-store opened inside the former garden department of a Birmingham, Alabama, Kmart. It was two-thirds the size of the appliance department in most Sears stores, but larger than the 2,500 sq ft (230 m2) appliance department in remodeled Kmart stores.

In October 2009, it was reported that Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia failed to come to a new agreement. This came after Stewart made remarks on CNBC that her line at Kmart had deteriorated, particularly after the Sears merger.[81]

In November 2009, Kmart reported its first year-over-year sales increase of 0.5% since 2005, and only the second such increase since 2001.[82]

2010–2018: Decline

On December 27, 2011, after a disastrous holiday sales season, Sears Holdings announced that 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores would close.[83]

In 2014, news reports indicated that Kmart was liquidating dozens of stores across the United States.[84][85] Kmart's parent company, Sears Holdings Corporation, underwent financial distress throughout the year, sparking an unspecified number of closings of Sears and Kmart locations amid vendors' and lenders' concerns about its liquidity.[86] Along with store closings, measures included the spinning off its Lands' End division, selling most of its stake in Sears Canada, issuing debt and taking on loans that cumulatively put it on track to raise $1.445 billion in cash in 2014.[86] Howard Riefs, a company spokesman who has often spoken on behalf of Kmart, said, "Store closures are part of a series of actions we're taking to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model."[87][88]

On October 10, 2014, Kmart was a victim of a data breach concerning customers' credit and debit card information.[89] On October 19, Kmart stated, "Based on the forensic investigation to date, no personal information, no debit card PIN numbers, no email addresses and no social security numbers were obtained by those criminally responsible. There is also no evidence that kmart.com customers were impacted. This data breach has been contained and the malware has been removed. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our members and customers."[90]

In January 2015, Kmart agreed to pay $102,048 and other consideration to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disability discrimination lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, Kmart offered a job at its Hyattsville, Maryland, store to a candidate with kidney disease on dialysis. The candidate advised the hiring manager that he could not provide a urine sample for the company's mandatory pre-employment drug screening because of his medical condition, and requested a reasonable accommodation such as a blood test or other drug test that did not require a urine sample; Kmart had refused to provide an alternative test and denied the candidate employment.[91]

In April 2016, Kmart announced that it was liquidating 68 stores.[92] The chain announced in September 2016 that 64 more stores in 28 states would close by mid-December 2016.[93] Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert stated in October 2016 that there were not and never had been plans to close the Kmart format and that they are working hard to make it a "more fun, engaging place to shop, powered by our integrated retail innovations and Shop Your Way".[94] In December 2016, at least 25 Kmart locations were targeted for closure in early 2017.[95][96][97]

 
The original Kmart store in Garden City, Michigan (store#4000), which closed in 2017 (pictured in 2016). It was demolished in 2020.[98]

In January 2017, Kmart announced that 78 more stores would close, including the first Kmart location in Garden City, Michigan.[99] Financial analysts began warning that the fate of Sears Holdings was nearing its end.[100] In May 2017, Kmart announced the upcoming closure of 18 more stores.[101] Sears Holdings admitted uncertainty regarding the survival of both Sears and Kmart.[102] In early June 2017, Kmart announced that an additional 49 stores across the U.S. were to be shuttered by September 2017.[103] In early July 2017, Kmart had announced that 35 more stores would close by early October 2017.[104] In late August 2017, Kmart announced another 28 store closures, including the last Rhode Island location, in Cranston.[105] On October 11, 2017, with no closing sale held, the Kmart store in Santa Rosa, California, was apparently burnt down by wildfires in the Bay Area, adding to the list of closed stores.[106] On October 17, 2017, Kmart announced the liquidation of an unspecified number of locations by late November.[107] On November 3, 2017, it was announced that a further 45 Kmarts (along with 18 Sears stores) were to close, effective by January 2018, including Kmart's last store in Alabama, in Albertville.[108][109]

 
The smaller Big Kmart #9274 was located in Greenwich, New York, in a former Big N in 2017. This store closed in March 2019 along with 79 other Kmart and Sears stores. This location is now a Big Lots.

According to Fortune.com, Kmart and Sears did not run any television advertisements during the 2017 holiday season in order to focus on digital marketing after evaluating the effectiveness of its various marketing efforts.[110]

On January 4, 2018, after yet another disappointing holiday sales season, Kmart announced the liquidation of 64 more stores in the spring of 2018. This included Kmart's only remaining Super Kmart location in Warren, Ohio, which officially discontinued the Super Kmart format.[111] According to MSN Money, Kmart along with sister company Sears had an extremely high chance of disappearing in 2018, such that 2017 would have marked its final holiday season as an independent brand.[112]

On March 15, 2018, Sears Holdings announced that a small profit was made in the fourth quarter of 2017.[113] However, investors claimed that it was due to tax refunds and that sales were still falling for both Kmart and Sears.[114] On March 26, 2018, CEO Eddie Lampert said, "I'm not sure Kmart on its own could ever be a great retailer," implying that the company was trying to shift to online shopping as opposed to brick and mortar stores.[115] On April 12, 2018, Sears announced plans to close and auction 16 of its Sears stores, and close several more Kmart locations, but did not specify how many. Two known locations on the list were Kmart stores in Brandon, Florida, and Saugus, Massachusetts.[citation needed] In early May, Sears announced the liquidation of several more Kmarts, including the last Kmart in Vermont, in Bennington.[116]

 
Kmart store closing sale in Gillette, Wyoming (store #4863) in 2018. This location is now Hobby Lobby, Ulta Beauty, Shoe Dept. Encore and Harbor Freight Tools.

On May 21, 2018, Sears Holdings announced yet another round of liquidation sales in forty Sears and Kmart stores across 24 states.[117] These stores were closed by July 4, 2018. On May 31, Sears Holdings announced the liquidation of an additional 16 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores,[118] including the last Kmart in Hawaii, in Līhuʻe.[119] The closings announced May 31, 2018, were from among 100 unprofitable stores in Sears Holdings and the remaining 28 unprofitable stores were, "a small group of stores that was pulled from the closing list ... as they are being evaluated further," meaning even more store closings could occur later in the year. Sears Holdings did not disclose those locations at the time.[118] On June 28, 2018, Sears Holdings disclosed 10 of the stores being evaluated and announced they would close by September 2018. Liquidation sales began on the same day.[120] On July 13, 2018, news came through from multiple sources that even more Kmart stores were set to liquidate across the nation.[121][122] On August 23, 2018, it was announced that 13 more stores would close by November.[123]

2018–2019: Second bankruptcy

On October 15, 2018, Sears Holdings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would close 142 stores, including 63 Kmart stores, which included the last Kmart in Arkansas, in Russellville, the last two Kmarts in Georgia, in Covington and Peachtree City, and the last two Kmarts in Kansas, in Kansas City and Salina.[124] Sears Holdings' bankruptcy also marked Kmart's second bankruptcy in 16 years. On November 8, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close an additional 40 stores, including 11 Kmart stores.[125] On November 23, 2018, Sears Holdings released a list of 505 stores, including 239 Kmart stores, to be presented for sale in the bankruptcy process while all other stores were holding liquidation sales.[126] However, the stores for sale were not guaranteed to be protected from liquidation in the future. On December 28, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close 80 additional stores, consisting of 37 Kmart stores.[127]

In a proposal announced in early January, Sears Holdings planned only to keep 202 Kmart stores along with 223 Sears stores open, assuming that it would survive the bankruptcy process. Most of the proposed locations were in highly populated coastal regions.[128]

 
Former Kmart Cafe in the Chesapeake, Virginia Kmart store (store #3471), in a former Robert Hall Village. This store permanently closed on December 15, 2019. It was one of the last two Kmarts in Virginia.

On January 15, 2019, when it had appeared that Kmart's parent, Sears Holdings, was preparing to file for Chapter 7 liquidation, the bankruptcy court judge ordered the company to return to the negotiating table and work out a new deal with Eddie Lampert to prevent the liquidation from occurring. A new deal was struck at the last minute that would keep up to 400 Sears and Kmart stores operating.[129] On January 19, 2019, Sears Holdings officially announced that they had won the auction, and that some of the then existing stores were to remain open.[130]

On January 24, 2019, a group of unsecured creditors, which included Simon Property Group, filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to overturn the deal Sears Holdings had recently made with Lampert, claiming Lampert had been "engaged in serial asset stripping" of the company at the expense of suppliers and landlords. The creditors had requested that the bankruptcy court rule to liquidate the company instead of allowing reorganization so that the creditors would be able to recover more money that was still owed to them.[131] On January 28, the federal government-operated Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced that they were not in favor of Sears Holdings' current agreement with Lampert since that agreement would create a $1.7 billion funding gap in the employee pension fund, requiring American taxpayers to cover the shortfall.[132] In papers filed on February 1 with the bankruptcy court, ESL "outlined plans to close three Kmart stores per month in 2019" if the court would decide to accept ESL's purchase bid.[133]

In February 2019, it was announced that a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the most lucrative part of Sears Holdings to Edward Lampert, allowing the surviving part of the company that operated both Sears and Kmart to remain in business at the expense of suppliers, landlords, employees, pensioners, the U.S. government, and other creditors. Kmart would have 202 locations after the sale was to be completed.[134]

2019–present: New management and further decline

The sale of 202 Kmart stores to Transform Holdco was finalized in February 2019, with the remaining Kmart locations liquidated to partially pay off Sears Holdings creditors.[135]

In May 2019, it was revealed that Kmart would close its store in Walla Walla, Washington in July, making it the first post-bankruptcy closure for the brand since being bought by ESL.[136] On August 6, 2019, TransformCo announced plans to close five additional stores by October 2019. At the time of the announcement, TransformCo also added that it "cannot rule out additional store closures in the near term".[137] Between August 5 and 23, 2019, it was later announced that four more Kmarts would close.

In late 2019, the massive closure of 120 Kmart stores was announced.[138][139]

In November 2019, Kmart announced the closing of 45 stores in February 2020. The Wall Street Journal reported that Transformco "would continue to evaluate its retail footprint, suggesting that additional closures are possible".[140] On February 6, 2020, Kmart announced it would close 15 more stores.[141]

As of April 2022, only 3 locations remained in the continental United States: in Miami, Florida; Westwood, New Jersey; and Bridgehampton, New York.[142] The Westwood location was announced to be closing in September or October of 2023.[143][needs update]

Headquarters

 
The Kales Building in downtown Detroit as shown in 2007, formerly the S.S. Kresge Co. headquarters from 1914 to 1930.

The owner of Kmart, Transform Holdco LLC, had its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, just outside of Chicago since 1993 when it moved out of the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago.[144] Kmart's headquarters had been in Hoffman Estates since Kmart bought Sears in 2005, but in December 2021, Transformco announced that it intended to put its corporate headquarters and 120 surrounding acres in the Northwest suburb on the market at the start of the new year.[145]

The headquarters were formerly located in the Kmart International Headquarters at 3100 W. Big Beaver Road in Troy, Michigan, in Metro Detroit.[146][147] The facility had 23 interconnected modules. Each had three stories, except for one module, which was one story. Based on the layout, Norm Sinclair of DBusiness concluded that it was "a study in inefficiency".[146]

Subsidiaries

Current

 
Big Kmart store in Carlisle, Pennsylvania (store#7746), December 2012. It was later converted into a regular Kmart with the current logo. This store closed in December 2018, along with 141 other Kmart and Sears stores. This location is now a U-Haul.
  • Kmart is a chain of discount department stores that are usually free-standing or located in strip malls. They carry compact discs (CDs), DVDs, TV shows on DVD, electronics, bedding, household hardware, sporting goods, clothing, toys, jewelry, office supplies, health and beauty products, over-the-counter medications, home decor, and a limited selection of food items. Many also once held garden centers, Jackson Hewitt tax centers, pharmacies, and/or a K-Cafe or delicatessen. Kmart stores range from 80,000–110,000 sq ft (7,400–10,200 m2). Most of them were either converted to or rebranded as Big Kmart while some were converted into Super Kmart stores.
 
A Super Kmart Center store in Lorain, Ohio (store #3910) in February 2013. This store closed on September 18, 2016. This location was demolished and is now a Meijer.

Former

 
A Big Kmart store in Webster, Massachusetts (store #9692) in December 2017, opened in 1980 in a former Grant City. This store was closed in December 2019. This location is now U-Haul.
 
A Kmart Express gas station in Cleveland, Ohio in February 2013. The Super Kmart (store #4966) near it, as well as this Kmart Express, closed in 2014. These buildings were demolished and the location is now a Menards.
  • American Fare was a chain of hypermarkets that operated from 1989 to 1994. It was a joint venture involving Kmart, which owned 51 percent of the store, and Birmingham, Alabama-based Bruno's Supermarkets, which owned 49 percent of the stores. The first store opened in Stone Mountain, Georgia, near Atlanta, on January 29, 1989. American Fare's 244,000 sq ft (22,700 m2) of retail space included 74,550 sq ft (6,926 m2) of groceries, 104,000 sq ft (9,700 m2) of general merchandise, and 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) of clothing (including apparel, footwear, and accessories). An area in the front of the store housed a music and video store, a food court, bank, hair salon, pharmacy and a card store. Charlotte, North Carolina, was home to the second American Fare, which opened on April 1, 1990, with 160,000 sq ft (15,000 m2) of retail space. A third and final store opened in Jackson, Mississippi in August 1990, with plans for a fourth store in Birmingham, Alabama never coming to fruition. In June 1992, Bruno's announced the termination of its partnership with the Kmart Corporation, and that Kmart would assume ownership of the three stores. The three stores closed by May 1994. The Stone Mountain store would be split into two parcels, a Kmart and a Cub Foods store. The building now houses the DeKalb County Board of Education. The Charlotte store was converted to Super Kmart, then a Steve & Barry's, before closing in 2009. It now houses a Verizon call center, and the Jackson store's parking lot became a Carmax in 2007, while the building itself is now owned by Comcast.[148] The American Fare brand is used on some Kmart store-brand consumable products.
  • Big Kmart was a chain of discount department stores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries, but emphasizes home decor, children's clothing, and more food items such as meat and poultry, baked goods, frozen foods and an extended, but limited section of garden produce. Big Kmart stores ranged from 84,000 to 120,000 sq ft (7,800 to 11,100 m2). Big Kmart stores also featured a garden center, a pharmacy, a branch of a local bank, a Jackson Hewitt tax center, an Olan Mills portrait studio, an arcade, a K-Café or Little Caesars Pizza Station, and sometimes a Kmart Express gas station. As noted above, Kmart introduced the Big Kmart brand company-wide when it was introduced in 1997. Some Big Kmart locations were either closed or converted to normal Kmart stores. The final Big Kmart store in Marshall, Michigan closed permanently on November 21, 2021.
  • BlueLight Internet service. In 1999 Kmart began offering a dial-up Internet service called BlueLight, which was eventually spun off as an independent company. BlueLight was initially free and supported by banner ads. BlueLight dropped the free service in February 2001 and was reacquired by Kmart in July 2001. In 2002 United Online, which also owns NetZero and Juno, bought the BlueLight service after Kmart filed for bankruptcy. In August 2006, Bluelight dropped the banners. In August 2006, the service cost $14.95 a month and had around 165,000 subscribers.
  • Borders Books was a chain of bookstores acquired by Kmart in 1992. In 1994, Borders merged with the Kmart chain Waldenbooks to form Borders-Walden Group, which was sold in 1995. In February 2011, Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to liquidate in July after failing to find a buyer to keep the chain's remaining 399 stores in operation. The remaining stores closed in September.
  • Builders Square was a home improvement superstore. In 1997, it was sold to Hechinger, which went out of business in 1999.
  • Designer Depot: A discount clothing store chain operated in Metro Detroit in the 1980s.[149] The first opened in a former S. S. Kresge dime store in St. Clair Shores, Michigan in 1982, selling brand names such as Yves Saint Laurent, Izod Lacoste, and Calvin Klein at discount prices.[150]
  • K-Café was an in-store restaurant that served a fairly standard menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks. They also offered a full breakfast menu of baked goods, bagels and egg platters with bacon or sausage and such snacks as nachos, pretzels, popcorn and ice cream. In addition to the café's menu, hot food items could also be purchased at the deli and eaten in the Deli Café at Super Kmart Center stores. However, K-Café has been discontinued in all of their stores.[when?] Most restaurants that were located at Super Kmart Center stores were instead known as Super K-Café. However, some Kmart stores have Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eateries and Little Caesars Pizza Stations instead of K-Cafés.[citation needed]
  • KDollar was a chain of discount stores/dollar stores that sold Kmart merchandise at a discount. The stores were often former Kmart or Big Kmart stores. Sears Brands filed for a trademark on the KDollar name on November 6, 2012.[151] The first opened in a former regular Kmart store in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 2013.[152] A second KDollar store opened in Waukegan, Illinois.
  • Kmart Chef restaurants were a small chain of free-standing fast-food restaurants owned by Kmart, started in 1967 with the first location on the parking lot of a Kmart in Pontiac, Michigan. The "limited, high-turnover menu" (as Kmart founder S.S. Kresge put it) consisted of hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, and soft drinks. The Kmart Chef chain folded in 1974 after peaking at 11 locations.[153]
  • Kmart Dental was an in-store dental office located in Kmart stores. There was only one such prototype in a Kmart store, in Miami, Florida. Despite the name, Kmart Dental was never technically owned by Kmart.[154]
  • Kmart Express was a chain of gas stations/convenience stores located in out-parcels at some Kmart and Super Kmart stores, particularly in the Midwest. In the early 2000s, there were plans to expand this concept to most Kmarts, but the plan for more locations was canceled after Kmart's bankruptcy in 2002. The final Kmart Express, in Ionia, MI, closed in 2017.
  • Kmart Food Stores was a supermarket chain founded in 1962. Most Kmart Food locations were paired with Kmart stores, often operated by a local grocery chain but always branded as Kmart Food. The chain was discontinued in the early 1980s.
  • Kwash was an attached-to-store laundromat launched in May 2010. Only one such prototype existed. It was in a former auto bay in Iowa City, Iowa. It featured a separate entrance, laundromat attendants and free wi-fi along with a limited selection of laundry goods available for purchase. The Kwash closed along with the Kmart in 2017.[155]
  • Makro, a Dutch warehouse club chain, operated locations in the U.S. from February 1981 to 1989, in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. suburb of Largo, Maryland.[156] Kmart bought the chain's entire American holdings in 1989, having owned a 49 percent share before.[157] The Makro stores were later converted to Pace or closed in 1990.[158]
  • Office Square was a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was a spin-off of Builders Square. In 1991, OfficeMax was acquired by Kmart and Office Square was merged into OfficeMax stores.
  • OfficeMax is a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was acquired in 1991 and sold in 1995. It was acquired by Office Depot in 2013.
  • Pace Membership Warehouse was Kmart's warehouse club brand, until the chain was purchased by Walmart. In 1993, Walmart converted most of the stores into its Sam's Club brand, and sold others to chains such as Bradlees.
  • PayLess Drugs was a chain of drug stores acquired by Kmart in 1985[159] and later sold to TCH Corporation in 1994.[160] The resulting entity, Thrifty PayLess, was acquired by Rite Aid in 1996, which converted all of the PayLess and Thrifty stores into Rite Aid stores in 1999. The PayLess division also owned Bi-Mart, which was spun off along with sister stores such as Pay 'n Save.
  • The Sports Authority was a chain of sporting goods stores which was acquired in 1990 and sold in 1995. The Sports Authority went out of business in 2016.
  • Super Kmart Center was a chain of superstores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries, but also had a full grocery section with meat and poultry, baked goods, a delicatessen, garden produce, and fresh seafood. Super Kmart Centers ranged from 140,000 to 190,000 sq ft (13,000 to 18,000 m2). The first store opened in Medina, Ohio on July 25, 1991, which downsized to a regular Kmart before closing for good in 2012. In 1997 a few days after Kmart opened its first Big Kmart store in Chicago, the Super Kmart Center brand was renamed to Super Kmart. Super Kmart Center stores also featured a garden center, a video rental store, a branch of a local bank, an arcade, a portrait studio, a Jackson Hewitt tax center, a pharmacy, and usually a deli café or Little Caesars Pizza Station. Many of these services were closed and discontinued in recent years. Several locations also included Kmart Express gas stations, and most had an auto center. Most Super Kmarts were closed during the two rounds of closures in 2002 and 2003, and many had their groceries removed, converting them into regular Kmart locations.[161] A typical Super Center sold around $30 million of merchandise during one fiscal year. In 2015, some stores were converted into a regular Kmart with a concept called K-Fresh. These stores feature an expanded pantry and a fresh-food department, though these types of items are no longer prepared on-site and are now prepackaged. The deli, butcher and bakery operations were also closed. Kmart gradually closed its Super Kmart stores; the last location was in Warren, Ohio and closed on April 8, 2018. It was replaced by Meijer.[162]
  • U-Pak was a single "no-frills" supermarket which sold items out of boxes instead of on shelves, and featured reduced hours. It opened adjacent to a Kmart on Opdyke Boulevard in Pontiac, Michigan in 1979 and closed less than a month later due to poor sales.[163]
  • Variety Outlet. A closeout chain, typically operated out of closed Kmart stores. The first opened in Rome, Georgia in 1994.[164][165]
  • Waldenbooks was a chain consisting primarily of shopping-mall–based book stores which was acquired in 1984. In 1994, Kmart chain Borders merged with Waldenbooks to form Borders-Walden Group, which was sold in 1995 (the company was subsequently renamed Borders Group, and went out of business in 2011).

Philanthropy

Kmart for Kids was the umbrella program for Kmart's philanthropic initiatives. The program had helped children across the country live happier, healthier lives through the support of: March of Dimes, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and American Diabetes Association.[166] At one time, Kmart was March of Dimes' number one corporate sponsor, having raised $114 million for the charity over more than 30 years.[167][168]

On July 29, 2008, Don Germano, SVP/GM of Kmart stores, was elected to a five-year term on the national Board of Trustees of the March of Dimes Foundation.[169]

Kmart for Kids had supported St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital through its annual Thanks and Giving campaign, an opportunity for Kmart customers to give thanks for the healthy children in their lives and give to help those who are not. Kmart had been a partner of the campaign since 2006, and as of December 2008, had raised more than $59.2 million (equivalent to $80.5 million in 2023) for St. Jude's.[170] A record $21.9 million (equivalent to $27.5 million in 2023) was donated for the tenth annual fundraising campaign during the 2013 holiday season.[171]

In 2008, Kmart earned the "Outstanding Corporate Citizen" Award for its support of the American Diabetes Association's "Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes" program.[172] The tribute honored Kmart for the most well-developed, proactive program in the areas of charity, community development, diversity, philanthropy, and associate development. In 2008, Kmart became a national sponsor of "Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes" and over the past two years, Kmart's customers and associates have raised approximately $1.5 million (equivalent to $2.18 million in 2023) through its in-store campaigns.

Environmental record

On May 9, 2007, Kmart was penalized $102,422 (equivalent to $144,551 in 2023) for violations of federal hazardous waste, clean water, emergency planning and preparation regulations at 17 distribution centers.[173] Kmart corrected the violations by preparing and implementing spill-prevention control and countermeasure plans, applying for appropriate storm-water permits, complying with hazardous-waste-generator requirements, and submitting reports to state and local emergency-planning and response organizations informing them of the presence of hazardous substances.[174] The Environmental Protection Agency also accused Kmart of not maintaining adequate information and failing to act in accordance with hazardous-waste-storage and disposal requirements.[175] For instance, the EPA reported having discovered improperly labeled oil-storage drums at a location in Falls, Pennsylvania.[175]

Kmart promoted battery recycling.[176] In 1990, Kmart proposed spending about $80 million (equivalent to $179 million in 2023) on full-page newspaper advertisements offering to recycle junk batteries for $2 (equivalent to $4.00 in 2023) each.[177]

Animal welfare concerns

In 2012, Mercy for Animals, a non-profit organization working against cruelty to farmed animals, conducted an infiltration at Christensen Farms, a pork supplier to Kmart, Walmart and Costco, obtaining hidden-camera footage of pigs confined in small gestation crates and cruelty to piglets.[178] In response to Mercy for Animals' infiltration, Kmart announced it would begin requiring its pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.[179]

Racing sponsorships

Kmart was a prominent sponsor in NASCAR and the now-defunct CART series. They were a longtime sponsor of Newman/Haas Racing, owned by actor Paul Newman and former racer Carl Haas. Their CART drivers included Nigel Mansell and the father-son duo of Michael and Mario Andretti. Michael Andretti and Mansell won championships under Kmart sponsorship in 1991 and 1993, respectively. When Michael Andretti moved to Formula One in 1993, Kmart sponsored his McLaren for the season. The store also sponsored the NASCAR-sanctioned Kmart 400 at Michigan and North Carolina Speedway. Lake Speed garnered Kmart's first win in NASCAR in 1988 at the Darlington Raceway. Kmart sponsored three-time champion Darrell Waltrip in 1999 and 2000, his last two full-time seasons. Most recently, in NASCAR, the store sponsored Boris Said's #60 No Fear Ford Fusion in 2006.[180][181]

International

Australia and New Zealand

Main article: Kmart Australia
 
Kmart Australia logo

The first Kmart store in Australia opened in 1969 in Burwood East, Victoria; the site was renovated in 2010 to be a shopping mall known as Burwood One.[182]

Kmart Australia was born out of a joint venture between G.J. Coles & Coy Limited (Coles) and the S.S. Kresge Company (Kresge), with Kresge owning 51% of the common stock in the company and the remaining 49% being owned by Coles. The first New Zealand store opened in Henderson, a suburb of Auckland, in 1988.[183] Kresge later exited this partnership in 1994 selling their ownership in the company to Coles Myer, the successor to G. J. Coles & Coy Limited.[184] Since the dissolution of Coles Myer in 2007, the Australian and New Zealand Kmart stores are owned by Wesfarmers.[185]

Canada

 
Former Kmart Store in Bayers Lake, Nova Scotia (Store #5551) shown in 1994. Canadian Tire now operates in its place.

Kmart opened their first store in Canada in Huron Heights, Ontario on March 14, 1963, followed by a second location in Windsor, Ontario on May 9, 1963.

Kmart closed five Montreal stores and several other Quebec stores in 1983 due to the company restructuring.[citation needed] Kresge ceased to exist in Canada in 1994.[186] In December 1997, it was announced that ten of the existing 122 stores were to be closed.[187] However, as a result of Kmart's ongoing financial difficulties, the Canadian division comprising 112 stores was sold to competitor Zellers of the Hudson's Bay Company in May 1998,[188] after which the stores were either closed or converted to Hudson's Bay Company brands, mostly Zellers.[189]

Slogans

  • The Saving Place 1960s–1990
  • Your Lowest Price is a Kmart Price 1990–1998

Caribbean

In the early 2000s, Kmart tried to expand into Caribbean countries where Wal-Mart and Target had no presence, but ultimately none of the proposed stores advanced beyond the construction stage and none opened by the time Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002 when it stopped paying its construction contractors.[190]

Kmart started construction of a Super Kmart in 2001 in Trinidad,[190] but halted it in 2002 when the store was 80 percent complete. There were plans for more stores to be built in Trinidad, as well as in Millennium Heights in Barbados, five stores in the Dominican Republic, and a potential foray into Jamaica.[191] The unfinished Super Kmart store in Trinidad and Tobago is now a Tru Value Supermarket.[citation needed]

Europe

 
Kmart in Bratislava, Slovakia, during the early 1990s. This location is now a Tesco.

In 1992, Kmart purchased several communist-era department stores in Eastern Europe, including 13 in the former Czechoslovakia that were bought from the former Czechoslovak government.[192] One of those stores was the old MÁJ department store on Národní Třída in Prague.[citation needed] Many of these outlets were quite profitable, with the Bratislava location setting a single-store sales record for the company. In March 1996, due to its troubles in the U.S., the Kmart Corporation announced that it had agreed to sell the six Kmart stores in the Czech Republic and the seven in Slovakia to Tesco of Britain for about $117.5 million (equivalent to $219 million in 2023), to focus on its core operations in North America.[193][194]

Mexico

 
Super Kmart Center, Cuernavaca, México in 1995. This location has been a Mega hypermarket since 1997.

In the 1990s, Kmart opened four stores in Mexico, in partnership with the Mexican retailer Liverpool.[195][196] All were supercenters located in suburbs of Mexico City. About half of the store area was devoted to groceries, and this part of the stores resembled those in the US with some adjustments to the local market.[197] These plus an unfinished store were sold in 1997 to the Mexican hypermarket chain Mega (part of Comercial Mexicana)[198] and remain open under that name, except the store in Tlalnepantla, which was demolished in 2004 to build a Costco.

Singapore

In 1994, Kmart opened a 9,700-square-metre (104,000 sq ft) store in the Marina Square Shopping Center in a joint venture with Metro (Private) Limited. The joint venture with Singapore was dissolved in 1996.[199][200] The Marina Square location became MegaMart, then as NTUC FairPrice and Giant.

Management

See also

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Bibliography

Further reading

  • Archived at Ghostarchive and the : How Kmart Went From Beating Walmart And Target To Bankruptcy. CNBC. December 20, 2018.

External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kmart.
  • Official website
    • Historical business data for Kmart:
    • SEC filings

December 02, 2023
kmart, australian, retailer, flagship, brand, wesfarmers, group, australia, other, uses, disambiguation, corporation, ɑːr, mart, doing, business, stylized, kmart, american, retail, company, that, owns, chain, department, stores, company, headquartered, hoffman. For the Australian retailer and flagship brand of Wesfarmers s Kmart Group see Kmart Australia For other uses see Kmart disambiguation Kmart Corporation ˈ k eɪ m ɑːr t KAY mart doing business as Kmart and stylized as kmart is an American retail company that owns a chain of big box department stores The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates Illinois United States The company was incorporated in 1899 as S S Kresge Corporation and renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977 3 The first store with the Kmart name opened in 1962 in Garden City Michigan 4 At its peak in 1994 Kmart operated 2 486 stores globally including 2 323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States 5 6 7 8 As of April 16 2022 that number was down to nine including just three in the continental United States 1 From 2005 through 2019 Kmart was a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation 9 Since 2019 Kmart has been a subsidiary of Transform SR Brands LLC a privately held company that was formed in 2019 to acquire assets from Sears Holdings Kmart CorporationKmart store 3074 in Miami FL TypeSubsidiaryIndustryRetailFoundedJuly 31 1899 124 years ago July 31 1899 as Kresge s November 23 1977 46 years ago November 23 1977 as Kmart Garden City MichiganFounderS S KresgeHeadquartersTroy Michigan 1962 2005 Hoffman Estates Illinois since 2005 Number of locations8 2 of which are in the continental US November 2023 1 Areas servedUnited States Puerto Rico since 1965 U S Virgin Islands since 1981 and Guam since 1996ProductsClothingshoeslinen and beddingjewelryaccessorieshealth and beauty productselectronicstoysfooddrinkssporting goodsautomotivehardwareapplianceshousewarespet productspharmacygarden centerRevenueUS 25 146 billion 2015 SHC 2 OwnerESL InvestmentsParentTransformcoWebsitekmart wbr com Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 1960s 1970s 1 3 1980s 1 4 Blue Light Special 1 5 1990 2001 New image 1 6 2002 2009 Collapse and merger with Sears 1 7 2010 2018 Decline 1 8 2018 2019 Second bankruptcy 1 9 2019 present New management and further decline 1 10 Headquarters 1 11 Subsidiaries 1 11 1 Current 1 11 2 Former 1 12 Philanthropy 1 13 Environmental record 1 14 Animal welfare concerns 1 15 Racing sponsorships 2 International 2 1 Australia and New Zealand 2 2 Canada 2 2 1 Slogans 2 3 Caribbean 2 4 Europe 2 5 Mexico 2 6 Singapore 3 Management 4 See also 5 References 5 1 Bibliography 5 2 Further reading 6 External linksHistoryEarly years nbsp This 1940s postcard shows the Kresge store in Springfield Massachusetts Store 26 S S Kresge the founder of the company that would become Kmart met variety store pioneer Frank Winfield Woolworth while working as a traveling salesman and selling to all 19 of Woolworth s stores at the time In 1897 Kresge invested 6 700 saved from his job into a five and dime store in Memphis Tennessee He jointly owned the first store with his former tinware customer John McCrory 10 Kresge and McCrory added a second store in downtown Detroit the following year These were the first S S Kresge stores 11 12 13 After two years of partnership he traded McCrory his share in the Memphis store plus 3 000 for full ownership of the Detroit store and formed the Kresge amp Wilson Company with his brother in law Charles J Wilson 12 13 In 1912 Kresge incorporated the S S Kresge Company in Delaware with 85 stores In 1916 Kresge incorporated a new S S Kresge Company in Michigan and took over the operations of the original company the new company in Michigan is the modern day Kmart company The company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange on May 23 1918 During World War I Kresge experimented with raising the limit on prices in his stores to 1 By 1924 Kresge was worth approximately 375 million and owned real estate of the approximate value of 100 million 14 better source needed Growth early in the 20th century remained brisk with 257 stores in 1924 rising to 597 stores by 1929 Kresge retired as president in 1925 The Great Depression reduced profitability and resulted in store closings but the number rose to 682 in 1940 After the war shopping patterns changed and many customers moved out of the cities into the suburbs 1960s 1970s nbsp Kmart s longest lasting logo used from 1969 to 1990 nbsp The Kmart Foods logo used during the 1960sUnder the leadership of executive Harry Cunningham S S Kresge Company opened the first Kmart named store at 27 000 square feet 2 500 square meters which was referred to by Kresge as a bantam Kmart and was in fact originally intended to be a Kresge store until late in the planning process on January 25 1962 in San Fernando California 15 just six months before the first Walmart opened while the first ground up full size Kmart with 80 000 square feet 7 400 square meters opened on March 1 1962 in Garden City Michigan Cunningham and Sam Walton were both inspired by Ann amp Hope which they each visited in 1961 16 17 Sixteen more Kmart stores opened in 1962 Kmart Foods a now defunct chain of Kmart supermarkets opened in that decade Though the store chain continued to open Kmart branded stores the store chain was still officially called S S Kresge Company nbsp A Big Kmart store in Willow Street Pennsylvania store 3810 as it appears on its last day of operation April 18 2021 This was one of the last two Kmart stores in Pennsylvania This location is now Ocean State Job Lot Company founder Kresge died on October 18 1966 at age 99 18 Around the time of the opening of the first Kmart some poorly performing S S Kresge stores were converted to a new Jupiter Discount Stores brand which was conceived as a bare bones deep discount outfit During the 1970s Kmart put a number of competing retailers out of business Kresge Jupiter and Kmart stores mainly competed with other store chains like Zayre Ames Bradlees Caldor Hills and those that were operated by MMG McCrory Stores McCrory McLellan H L Green J J Newberry S H Kress TG amp Y Silver s and eventually G C Murphy Co In 1977 S S Kresge Company changed its name to K Mart Corporation 1980s In 1980 Vice Chairman Bernard M Fauber was elected as the chairman and as the CEO of Kmart 19 In 1981 the 2 000th Kmart store opened By the end of 1981 there were 2 055 Kmart stores across the United States and Canada 20 In 1987 the Kmart Corporation sold its remaining 76 Kresge and Jupiter stores in the United States to McCrory Stores 21 and the brands were almost entirely discontinued although Canadian Kresge and Jupiter stores continued to operate until 1994 22 Kmart experimented with co branding in 1985 when the in store cafeteria at the store in Canton Michigan was converted to a Wendy s 23 24 failed verification Until November 1990 when it was passed by Walmart Kmart was the second largest retailer in the United States after Sears 25 During the 1980s the company s fortunes began to change many of Kmart s stores were considered to be outdated and in decaying condition In the late 1980s and into the 1990s the corporate office shifted much of its focus from the Kmart stores to other companies it had acquired or created such as Sports Authority Builders Square and Waldenbooks Blue Light Special The Blue Light Special was a sale promotion within the store for a short period within store hours only It was advertised using a rotating blue light in the same style a police car used and was announced over the store public address system with the phrase attention Kmart shoppers a phrase which became a pop culture reference 26 The original concept for the Blue Light Special was a limited time offer to sell slower moving merchandise 27 The sale was first introduced in 1965 28 and was retired in 1991 29 Starting in the 2000s Kmart would repeatedly bring back the Blue Light Special The first time Kmart brought back the Blue Light Special was in 2001 but was discontinued again in 2002 The sale was briefly revived in 2005 though Kmart at that time had no plans to use the concept long term 30 Blue Light Specials were revived again in 2009 on Saturdays offering surprise hour long sales on selected merchandise but they were again discontinued Blue Light Specials were revived once again in November 2015 28 1990 2001 New image nbsp The front of the Super Kmart Center store in Cambridge Ohio store 3555 as it appears before it was downsized in 2015 and closed in 2018 This location is now Rural King In 1990 in an effort to update its image Kmart introduced a new logo It dropped the old style italic K with a turquoise mart in favor of a red block letter K with the word mart written in script and contained inside the K Kmart then began remodeling stores shortly thereafter This logo was replaced in 2004 with the current logo In 1990 Little Caesars Pizza opened its first in store Kmart restaurant in Rochester Michigan 31 coincidentally both Little Caesars and Kmart were founded in Garden City Michigan in 1959 and 1962 respectively In 1995 Kmart also tried to reinvent itself by using the short lived name Today s Kmart 32 In 1991 the company revised its name slightly to Kmart Corporation 33 In 1992 Kmart entered the Eastern European market with the purchase of 13 stores in the former Czechoslovakia 34 These stores were sold off in 1996 35 The company also began to offer exclusive merchandise by Martha Stewart Kathy Ireland Jaclyn Smith Lauren Hutton and Thalia Other recognizable brands included exclusively licensed merchandising of products relating to Sesame Street and Disney Actress and television personality Rosie O Donnell and actress director and producer Penny Marshall became among the company s most recognized spokespersons 36 nbsp Kmart s red classic logo 1990 2004 nbsp The Super Kmart Center logo that was used primarily in the early 1990s but was also used for some stores that opened in 2001Super Kmart Center Super Kmart opened an all new location on July 25 1991 in Medina Township Ohio featuring a full service grocery with a full service deli seafood counter and bakery It also had general merchandise like many Kmarts had 37 However this location was downsized in 2011 and was one of a number of Kmarts closed in early 2012 following poor Christmas 2011 sales 38 The second ground up Super Kmart Center opened in Copley Township Ohio featuring an in store video rental center and an in store carryout Chinese restaurant 39 This location has also shut down 40 The last Super Kmart Center in Howland Township Ohio closed on April 8 2018 41 After the Medina and Copley stores opened many more Super Kmarts opened nationwide The largest super Kmart store was in Euclid Ohio as it was a former Hypermart citation needed Big Kmart opened in Chicago Illinois on April 23 1997 42 The format focuses on home fashions children s apparel and consumables The Pantry 40 Most Kmart stores were remodeled to this format during the late 1990s and the early 2000s During 1997 and 1998 Kmart converted 1 245 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores Initially the Big Kmart stores were successful and by the end of 1997 Kmart sales numbers had grown by 10 thanks to their Big Kmart stores In 1998 Kmart acquired 45 former Venture stores and converted them into Big Kmart stores 43 By the end of 1998 62 of Kmart s stores were Big Kmart stores Kmart converted nearly 1 900 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores in 1999 resulting in further improvements in sales figures The last Big Kmart in Marshall Michigan closed on November 22 2021 44 nbsp This Super Kmart Center logo was used on the former Super Kmart Center stores in Mexico during the 1990s The Sports Authority was acquired by Kmart in 1990 and spun off 5 years later Kmart s profitability and sales peaked in 1992 and the later decline is attributed to competition with Walmart Target and internet shopping 3 In 1994 Kmart announced they would close 110 stores 45 Unlike its competitors Walmart and Target Kmart failed to invest in computer technology to manage its supply chain Furthermore Kmart maintained a high dividend which reduced the amount of money that was available for improving its stores Many business analysts also faulted the company for failing to create a coherent brand image In September 1995 Kmart sold its money losing in store auto repair centers to Penske Corporation for 112 million to operate them as Penske Auto Centers 46 47 Penske later closed the auto repair centers in 2002 as a result of a payment dispute with Kmart 48 49 nbsp The second Super Kmart Center logo spelled out as Super Kmart was used for stores that opened in the late 1990s 1997 2002 nbsp The Big Kmart logo stylized as BIG Kmart was used for stores that were opened or renovated in the late 1990s 1997 2002 In 1997 Kmart launched the Kmart Cash Card as a replacement for the paper gift certificates and to facilitate the return process 50 In July 1999 Kmart hired SuperValu and Fleming to distribute 3 9 billion worth of food and other related products to all Kmart stores 51 From 1999 to 2000 Kmart converted 150 regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores during the first half of 2000 citation needed In 2000 Kmart and Capital One launched an all new co branded MasterCard as a replacement for the private label Kmart credit cards 52 Also in 2000 Kmart expanded the Martha Stewart Everyday Garden Collection to include live plants and seeds 53 Kmart also launched the Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen which is a complete line of housewares essentials 54 In July 2000 Kmart closed 72 underperforming stores while opening 20 new Big Kmart stores converting 12 regular Kmart stores into Super Kmart Center stores and opening 5 new Super Kmart Center stores 55 The company announced a planned major restructuring in which Kmart would invest in new customer check out and new inventory management technology and other related systems 56 In 2001 Kmart opened several new Super Kmart stores as part of Kmart s plan to expand their Super Kmart Center store portfolio and make groceries available at stores 57 However Kmart having filed for bankruptcy in January 2002 the company was unable to open any new Super Kmart Center stores and construction was halted on others no matter how close the stores were to completion In 2001 Kmart signed a 4 5 billion arrangement with Fleming making them the sole food and consumables distributor for the company s stores 58 In February 2001 Japanese video game company Sega sued Kmart for failure to pay 2 2 million of 25 9 million for Sega Dreamcast game systems 59 In August 2001 Target sued Kmart because the company s Dare to Compare advertising campaign inaccurately compared its own prices with those of Target a majority of the time on in store signs 60 2002 2009 Collapse and merger with Sears nbsp Kmart s lime green logo that was used only at five prototype locations in 2002On January 22 2002 Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the leadership of its then chairman Charles Conaway and president Mark Schwartz 61 62 Conaway who successfully expanded CVS Corporation accepted an offer to take the helm at Kmart along with a loan of 5 million equivalent to 8 14 million in 2023 In a scandal similar to that involving Enron Conaway and Schwartz were accused of misleading shareholders and other company officials about the company s financial crisis while making millions and allegedly spending the company s money on airplanes houses boats and other luxuries At a conference for Kmart employees on January 22 Conaway accepted full blame for the financial disaster As Kmart emerged from bankruptcy Conaway was forced to step down and was asked to pay back all the loans he had taken After dismissing Conaway and Schwartz Kmart closed more than 300 stores in the U S including all the Kmart stores in Alaska and laid off around 34 000 workers as part of the restructuring process 63 Kmart introduced five prototype stores with a new logo layout and lime green and gray color scheme one in White Lake Michigan and four in central Illinois Peoria Pekin Morton and Washington The new layout was touted as having wider aisles and improved selection and lighting and the city or town s name was featured under the new Kmart logo at the front entrance However Kmart could not afford a full scale rollout 64 The lime green prototype was abandoned for the new Kmart Orange concept that rolled out at several of its locations throughout the United States in 2006 While Kmart was going through bankruptcy a significant amount of Kmart s outstanding debt was purchased by ESL Investments a hedge fund controlled by Edward Lampert Lampert worked to accelerate the bankruptcy process 65 nbsp Big Kmart store 3979 in Levittown New York held its liquidation sale in September 2004 This location was a former TSS On January 13 2003 Kmart closed 326 stores due to a lack of profitability and poor sales 66 On May 6 2003 Kmart emerged from bankruptcy protection as a subsidiary of the new Kmart Holding Corporation On June 10 2003 Kmart began trading on the NASDAQ stock market with the ticker symbol of KMRT with Lampert serving as the chairman and with ESL Investments controlling 53 of the new company for an investment of less than 1 billion 67 68 Lampert dismissed his concerns that the smaller company would be at a disadvantage stating The focus that a lot of people have in retail revolves around sales but sales without profit do not allow a business to be successful in the long term 69 He began to improve the company s balance sheet by reducing inventory cutting costs and closing underperforming stores By the fourth quarter of 2003 Kmart posted its first profitable quarter in three years although it has since returned to an operating loss On July 23 2004 a new Kmart logo featuring a large red K with kmart in small block letters underneath it was announced 70 On August 12 2004 Kmart and E Entertainment Television announced a new exclusive cross promotional clothing brand called Attention Attention was launched as a new clothing brand that would be sold only at Kmart stores and would be used to promote E News Live 71 Kmart had previously signed a similar deal with the WB Network to have the cast of five WB shows wear Kmart branded clothing during shows 72 On November 8 2004 Kmart launched the Kmart Rewards credit card that is managed by HSBC Bank 73 nbsp The third Super Kmart Center logo spelled out as Kmart Supercenter was only used for printed ads and street signs 2004 2018 nbsp The KDollar logo November 2004 2012 On November 17 2004 Kmart s management announced its intention to purchase Sears for 11 billion 67 As part of the merger the Kmart Holding Corporation the company that owns Kmart would be transferred to the new Sears Holdings Corporation and Sears would be purchased by the new Sears Holdings Corporation The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands 74 Around this time Kmart changed its logo from a red K with the script mart inside to the same K with the chain s name in lowercase letters below it Kmart s headquarters were relocated to Hoffman Estates Illinois and in 2012 the sprawling headquarters complex in Troy Michigan was acquired by the Forbes Company which owns the nearby upscale mall Somerset Collection 75 No concrete plans for redevelopment of the site had been announced In 2005 Sears Holdings Corporation introduced the Sears Essentials store format which would serve as a Kmart Sears hybrid Sears Essentials stores were freestanding not located at a shopping mall stores In 2006 the company discontinued the Sears Essentials name and renamed all of the Sears Essentials stores as Sears Grand stores 76 Kmart started remodeling stores to the Orange prototype in 2005 77 In 2006 the typical white and blue interior of the stores was changed to orange and brown and shelf heights were lowered to create better sightlines The remodeled stores contain an appliance department with Kenmore Appliances and most have hardware departments that sell Craftsman tools which prior to the merger had been exclusive to Sears stores 78 Some auto centers left vacant by Penske after Kmart filed for bankruptcy had been converted to Sears Auto Centers 79 As of 2009 280 stores had been remodeled to this new prototype citation needed In July 2009 Sears Holdings opened its first Sears branded appliance store inside a Kmart 80 The 4 000 sq ft 370 m2 store within a store opened inside the former garden department of a Birmingham Alabama Kmart It was two thirds the size of the appliance department in most Sears stores but larger than the 2 500 sq ft 230 m2 appliance department in remodeled Kmart stores In October 2009 it was reported that Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia failed to come to a new agreement This came after Stewart made remarks on CNBC that her line at Kmart had deteriorated particularly after the Sears merger 81 In November 2009 Kmart reported its first year over year sales increase of 0 5 since 2005 and only the second such increase since 2001 82 2010 2018 Decline On December 27 2011 after a disastrous holiday sales season Sears Holdings announced that 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores would close 83 In 2014 news reports indicated that Kmart was liquidating dozens of stores across the United States 84 85 Kmart s parent company Sears Holdings Corporation underwent financial distress throughout the year sparking an unspecified number of closings of Sears and Kmart locations amid vendors and lenders concerns about its liquidity 86 Along with store closings measures included the spinning off its Lands End division selling most of its stake in Sears Canada issuing debt and taking on loans that cumulatively put it on track to raise 1 445 billion in cash in 2014 86 Howard Riefs a company spokesman who has often spoken on behalf of Kmart said Store closures are part of a series of actions we re taking to reduce on going expenses adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model 87 88 On October 10 2014 Kmart was a victim of a data breach concerning customers credit and debit card information 89 On October 19 Kmart stated Based on the forensic investigation to date no personal information no debit card PIN numbers no email addresses and no social security numbers were obtained by those criminally responsible There is also no evidence that kmart com customers were impacted This data breach has been contained and the malware has been removed I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our members and customers 90 In January 2015 Kmart agreed to pay 102 048 and other consideration to settle a U S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disability discrimination lawsuit According to the lawsuit Kmart offered a job at its Hyattsville Maryland store to a candidate with kidney disease on dialysis The candidate advised the hiring manager that he could not provide a urine sample for the company s mandatory pre employment drug screening because of his medical condition and requested a reasonable accommodation such as a blood test or other drug test that did not require a urine sample Kmart had refused to provide an alternative test and denied the candidate employment 91 In April 2016 Kmart announced that it was liquidating 68 stores 92 The chain announced in September 2016 that 64 more stores in 28 states would close by mid December 2016 93 Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert stated in October 2016 that there were not and never had been plans to close the Kmart format and that they are working hard to make it a more fun engaging place to shop powered by our integrated retail innovations and Shop Your Way 94 In December 2016 at least 25 Kmart locations were targeted for closure in early 2017 95 96 97 nbsp The original Kmart store in Garden City Michigan store 4000 which closed in 2017 pictured in 2016 It was demolished in 2020 98 In January 2017 Kmart announced that 78 more stores would close including the first Kmart location in Garden City Michigan 99 Financial analysts began warning that the fate of Sears Holdings was nearing its end 100 In May 2017 Kmart announced the upcoming closure of 18 more stores 101 Sears Holdings admitted uncertainty regarding the survival of both Sears and Kmart 102 In early June 2017 Kmart announced that an additional 49 stores across the U S were to be shuttered by September 2017 103 In early July 2017 Kmart had announced that 35 more stores would close by early October 2017 104 In late August 2017 Kmart announced another 28 store closures including the last Rhode Island location in Cranston 105 On October 11 2017 with no closing sale held the Kmart store in Santa Rosa California was apparently burnt down by wildfires in the Bay Area adding to the list of closed stores 106 On October 17 2017 Kmart announced the liquidation of an unspecified number of locations by late November 107 On November 3 2017 it was announced that a further 45 Kmarts along with 18 Sears stores were to close effective by January 2018 including Kmart s last store in Alabama in Albertville 108 109 nbsp The smaller Big Kmart 9274 was located in Greenwich New York in a former Big N in 2017 This store closed in March 2019 along with 79 other Kmart and Sears stores This location is now a Big Lots According to Fortune com Kmart and Sears did not run any television advertisements during the 2017 holiday season in order to focus on digital marketing after evaluating the effectiveness of its various marketing efforts 110 On January 4 2018 after yet another disappointing holiday sales season Kmart announced the liquidation of 64 more stores in the spring of 2018 This included Kmart s only remaining Super Kmart location in Warren Ohio which officially discontinued the Super Kmart format 111 According to MSN Money Kmart along with sister company Sears had an extremely high chance of disappearing in 2018 such that 2017 would have marked its final holiday season as an independent brand 112 On March 15 2018 Sears Holdings announced that a small profit was made in the fourth quarter of 2017 113 However investors claimed that it was due to tax refunds and that sales were still falling for both Kmart and Sears 114 On March 26 2018 CEO Eddie Lampert said I m not sure Kmart on its own could ever be a great retailer implying that the company was trying to shift to online shopping as opposed to brick and mortar stores 115 On April 12 2018 Sears announced plans to close and auction 16 of its Sears stores and close several more Kmart locations but did not specify how many Two known locations on the list were Kmart stores in Brandon Florida and Saugus Massachusetts citation needed In early May Sears announced the liquidation of several more Kmarts including the last Kmart in Vermont in Bennington 116 nbsp Kmart store closing sale in Gillette Wyoming store 4863 in 2018 This location is now Hobby Lobby Ulta Beauty Shoe Dept Encore and Harbor Freight Tools On May 21 2018 Sears Holdings announced yet another round of liquidation sales in forty Sears and Kmart stores across 24 states 117 These stores were closed by July 4 2018 On May 31 Sears Holdings announced the liquidation of an additional 16 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores 118 including the last Kmart in Hawaii in Lihuʻe 119 The closings announced May 31 2018 were from among 100 unprofitable stores in Sears Holdings and the remaining 28 unprofitable stores were a small group of stores that was pulled from the closing list as they are being evaluated further meaning even more store closings could occur later in the year Sears Holdings did not disclose those locations at the time 118 On June 28 2018 Sears Holdings disclosed 10 of the stores being evaluated and announced they would close by September 2018 Liquidation sales began on the same day 120 On July 13 2018 news came through from multiple sources that even more Kmart stores were set to liquidate across the nation 121 122 On August 23 2018 it was announced that 13 more stores would close by November 123 2018 2019 Second bankruptcy On October 15 2018 Sears Holdings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would close 142 stores including 63 Kmart stores which included the last Kmart in Arkansas in Russellville the last two Kmarts in Georgia in Covington and Peachtree City and the last two Kmarts in Kansas in Kansas City and Salina 124 Sears Holdings bankruptcy also marked Kmart s second bankruptcy in 16 years On November 8 2018 Sears Holdings announced it would close an additional 40 stores including 11 Kmart stores 125 On November 23 2018 Sears Holdings released a list of 505 stores including 239 Kmart stores to be presented for sale in the bankruptcy process while all other stores were holding liquidation sales 126 However the stores for sale were not guaranteed to be protected from liquidation in the future On December 28 2018 Sears Holdings announced it would close 80 additional stores consisting of 37 Kmart stores 127 In a proposal announced in early January Sears Holdings planned only to keep 202 Kmart stores along with 223 Sears stores open assuming that it would survive the bankruptcy process Most of the proposed locations were in highly populated coastal regions 128 nbsp Former Kmart Cafe in the Chesapeake Virginia Kmart store store 3471 in a former Robert Hall Village This store permanently closed on December 15 2019 It was one of the last two Kmarts in Virginia On January 15 2019 when it had appeared that Kmart s parent Sears Holdings was preparing to file for Chapter 7 liquidation the bankruptcy court judge ordered the company to return to the negotiating table and work out a new deal with Eddie Lampert to prevent the liquidation from occurring A new deal was struck at the last minute that would keep up to 400 Sears and Kmart stores operating 129 On January 19 2019 Sears Holdings officially announced that they had won the auction and that some of the then existing stores were to remain open 130 On January 24 2019 a group of unsecured creditors which included Simon Property Group filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to overturn the deal Sears Holdings had recently made with Lampert claiming Lampert had been engaged in serial asset stripping of the company at the expense of suppliers and landlords The creditors had requested that the bankruptcy court rule to liquidate the company instead of allowing reorganization so that the creditors would be able to recover more money that was still owed to them 131 On January 28 the federal government operated Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced that they were not in favor of Sears Holdings current agreement with Lampert since that agreement would create a 1 7 billion funding gap in the employee pension fund requiring American taxpayers to cover the shortfall 132 In papers filed on February 1 with the bankruptcy court ESL outlined plans to close three Kmart stores per month in 2019 if the court would decide to accept ESL s purchase bid 133 In February 2019 it was announced that a U S bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the most lucrative part of Sears Holdings to Edward Lampert allowing the surviving part of the company that operated both Sears and Kmart to remain in business at the expense of suppliers landlords employees pensioners the U S government and other creditors Kmart would have 202 locations after the sale was to be completed 134 2019 present New management and further decline The sale of 202 Kmart stores to Transform Holdco was finalized in February 2019 with the remaining Kmart locations liquidated to partially pay off Sears Holdings creditors 135 In May 2019 it was revealed that Kmart would close its store in Walla Walla Washington in July making it the first post bankruptcy closure for the brand since being bought by ESL 136 On August 6 2019 TransformCo announced plans to close five additional stores by October 2019 At the time of the announcement TransformCo also added that it cannot rule out additional store closures in the near term 137 Between August 5 and 23 2019 it was later announced that four more Kmarts would close In late 2019 the massive closure of 120 Kmart stores was announced 138 139 In November 2019 Kmart announced the closing of 45 stores in February 2020 The Wall Street Journal reported that Transformco would continue to evaluate its retail footprint suggesting that additional closures are possible 140 On February 6 2020 Kmart announced it would close 15 more stores 141 As of April 2022 only 3 locations remained in the continental United States in Miami Florida Westwood New Jersey and Bridgehampton New York 142 The Westwood location was announced to be closing in September or October of 2023 143 needs update Headquarters nbsp The Kales Building in downtown Detroit as shown in 2007 formerly the S S Kresge Co headquarters from 1914 to 1930 The owner of Kmart Transform Holdco LLC had its headquarters in Hoffman Estates Illinois just outside of Chicago since 1993 when it moved out of the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago 144 Kmart s headquarters had been in Hoffman Estates since Kmart bought Sears in 2005 but in December 2021 Transformco announced that it intended to put its corporate headquarters and 120 surrounding acres in the Northwest suburb on the market at the start of the new year 145 The headquarters were formerly located in the Kmart International Headquarters at 3100 W Big Beaver Road in Troy Michigan in Metro Detroit 146 147 The facility had 23 interconnected modules Each had three stories except for one module which was one story Based on the layout Norm Sinclair of DBusiness concluded that it was a study in inefficiency 146 Subsidiaries Current nbsp Big Kmart store in Carlisle Pennsylvania store 7746 December 2012 It was later converted into a regular Kmart with the current logo This store closed in December 2018 along with 141 other Kmart and Sears stores This location is now a U Haul Kmart is a chain of discount department stores that are usually free standing or located in strip malls They carry compact discs CDs DVDs TV shows on DVD electronics bedding household hardware sporting goods clothing toys jewelry office supplies health and beauty products over the counter medications home decor and a limited selection of food items Many also once held garden centers Jackson Hewitt tax centers pharmacies and or a K Cafe or delicatessen Kmart stores range from 80 000 110 000 sq ft 7 400 10 200 m2 Most of them were either converted to or rebranded as Big Kmart while some were converted into Super Kmart stores nbsp A Super Kmart Center store in Lorain Ohio store 3910 in February 2013 This store closed on September 18 2016 This location was demolished and is now a Meijer Former nbsp A Big Kmart store in Webster Massachusetts store 9692 in December 2017 opened in 1980 in a former Grant City This store was closed in December 2019 This location is now U Haul nbsp A Kmart Express gas station in Cleveland Ohio in February 2013 The Super Kmart store 4966 near it as well as this Kmart Express closed in 2014 These buildings were demolished and the location is now a Menards American Fare was a chain of hypermarkets that operated from 1989 to 1994 It was a joint venture involving Kmart which owned 51 percent of the store and Birmingham Alabama based Bruno s Supermarkets which owned 49 percent of the stores The first store opened in Stone Mountain Georgia near Atlanta on January 29 1989 American Fare s 244 000 sq ft 22 700 m2 of retail space included 74 550 sq ft 6 926 m2 of groceries 104 000 sq ft 9 700 m2 of general merchandise and 35 000 sq ft 3 300 m2 of clothing including apparel footwear and accessories An area in the front of the store housed a music and video store a food court bank hair salon pharmacy and a card store Charlotte North Carolina was home to the second American Fare which opened on April 1 1990 with 160 000 sq ft 15 000 m2 of retail space A third and final store opened in Jackson Mississippi in August 1990 with plans for a fourth store in Birmingham Alabama never coming to fruition In June 1992 Bruno s announced the termination of its partnership with the Kmart Corporation and that Kmart would assume ownership of the three stores The three stores closed by May 1994 The Stone Mountain store would be split into two parcels a Kmart and a Cub Foods store The building now houses the DeKalb County Board of Education The Charlotte store was converted to Super Kmart then a Steve amp Barry s before closing in 2009 It now houses a Verizon call center and the Jackson store s parking lot became a Carmax in 2007 while the building itself is now owned by Comcast 148 The American Fare brand is used on some Kmart store brand consumable products Big Kmart was a chain of discount department stores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries but emphasizes home decor children s clothing and more food items such as meat and poultry baked goods frozen foods and an extended but limited section of garden produce Big Kmart stores ranged from 84 000 to 120 000 sq ft 7 800 to 11 100 m2 Big Kmart stores also featured a garden center a pharmacy a branch of a local bank a Jackson Hewitt tax center an Olan Mills portrait studio an arcade a K Cafe or Little Caesars Pizza Station and sometimes a Kmart Express gas station As noted above Kmart introduced the Big Kmart brand company wide when it was introduced in 1997 Some Big Kmart locations were either closed or converted to normal Kmart stores The final Big Kmart store in Marshall Michigan closed permanently on November 21 2021 BlueLight Internet service In 1999 Kmart began offering a dial up Internet service called BlueLight which was eventually spun off as an independent company BlueLight was initially free and supported by banner ads BlueLight dropped the free service in February 2001 and was reacquired by Kmart in July 2001 In 2002 United Online which also owns NetZero and Juno bought the BlueLight service after Kmart filed for bankruptcy In August 2006 Bluelight dropped the banners In August 2006 the service cost 14 95 a month and had around 165 000 subscribers Borders Books was a chain of bookstores acquired by Kmart in 1992 In 1994 Borders merged with the Kmart chain Waldenbooks to form Borders Walden Group which was sold in 1995 In February 2011 Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to liquidate in July after failing to find a buyer to keep the chain s remaining 399 stores in operation The remaining stores closed in September Builders Square was a home improvement superstore In 1997 it was sold to Hechinger which went out of business in 1999 Designer Depot A discount clothing store chain operated in Metro Detroit in the 1980s 149 The first opened in a former S S Kresge dime store in St Clair Shores Michigan in 1982 selling brand names such as Yves Saint Laurent Izod Lacoste and Calvin Klein at discount prices 150 K Cafe was an in store restaurant that served a fairly standard menu of hamburgers hot dogs French fries grilled cheese sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks They also offered a full breakfast menu of baked goods bagels and egg platters with bacon or sausage and such snacks as nachos pretzels popcorn and ice cream In addition to the cafe s menu hot food items could also be purchased at the deli and eaten in the Deli Cafe at Super Kmart Center stores However K Cafe has been discontinued in all of their stores when Most restaurants that were located at Super Kmart Center stores were instead known as Super K Cafe However some Kmart stores have Nathan s Famous Hot Dog Eateries and Little Caesars Pizza Stations instead of K Cafes citation needed KDollar was a chain of discount stores dollar stores that sold Kmart merchandise at a discount The stores were often former Kmart or Big Kmart stores Sears Brands filed for a trademark on the KDollar name on November 6 2012 151 The first opened in a former regular Kmart store in Bloomfield Hills Michigan in 2013 152 A second KDollar store opened in Waukegan Illinois Kmart Chef restaurants were a small chain of free standing fast food restaurants owned by Kmart started in 1967 with the first location on the parking lot of a Kmart in Pontiac Michigan The limited high turnover menu as Kmart founder S S Kresge put it consisted of hamburgers French fries hot dogs and soft drinks The Kmart Chef chain folded in 1974 after peaking at 11 locations 153 Kmart Dental was an in store dental office located in Kmart stores There was only one such prototype in a Kmart store in Miami Florida Despite the name Kmart Dental was never technically owned by Kmart 154 Kmart Express was a chain of gas stations convenience stores located in out parcels at some Kmart and Super Kmart stores particularly in the Midwest In the early 2000s there were plans to expand this concept to most Kmarts but the plan for more locations was canceled after Kmart s bankruptcy in 2002 The final Kmart Express in Ionia MI closed in 2017 Kmart Food Stores was a supermarket chain founded in 1962 Most Kmart Food locations were paired with Kmart stores often operated by a local grocery chain but always branded as Kmart Food The chain was discontinued in the early 1980s Kwash was an attached to store laundromat launched in May 2010 Only one such prototype existed It was in a former auto bay in Iowa City Iowa It featured a separate entrance laundromat attendants and free wi fi along with a limited selection of laundry goods available for purchase The Kwash closed along with the Kmart in 2017 155 Makro a Dutch warehouse club chain operated locations in the U S from February 1981 to 1989 in Atlanta Philadelphia and the Washington D C suburb of Largo Maryland 156 Kmart bought the chain s entire American holdings in 1989 having owned a 49 percent share before 157 The Makro stores were later converted to Pace or closed in 1990 158 Office Square was a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was a spin off of Builders Square In 1991 OfficeMax was acquired by Kmart and Office Square was merged into OfficeMax stores OfficeMax is a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was acquired in 1991 and sold in 1995 It was acquired by Office Depot in 2013 Pace Membership Warehouse was Kmart s warehouse club brand until the chain was purchased by Walmart In 1993 Walmart converted most of the stores into its Sam s Club brand and sold others to chains such as Bradlees PayLess Drugs was a chain of drug stores acquired by Kmart in 1985 159 and later sold to TCH Corporation in 1994 160 The resulting entity Thrifty PayLess was acquired by Rite Aid in 1996 which converted all of the PayLess and Thrifty stores into Rite Aid stores in 1999 The PayLess division also owned Bi Mart which was spun off along with sister stores such as Pay n Save The Sports Authority was a chain of sporting goods stores which was acquired in 1990 and sold in 1995 The Sports Authority went out of business in 2016 Super Kmart Center was a chain of superstores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries but also had a full grocery section with meat and poultry baked goods a delicatessen garden produce and fresh seafood Super Kmart Centers ranged from 140 000 to 190 000 sq ft 13 000 to 18 000 m2 The first store opened in Medina Ohio on July 25 1991 which downsized to a regular Kmart before closing for good in 2012 In 1997 a few days after Kmart opened its first Big Kmart store in Chicago the Super Kmart Center brand was renamed to Super Kmart Super Kmart Center stores also featured a garden center a video rental store a branch of a local bank an arcade a portrait studio a Jackson Hewitt tax center a pharmacy and usually a deli cafe or Little Caesars Pizza Station Many of these services were closed and discontinued in recent years Several locations also included Kmart Express gas stations and most had an auto center Most Super Kmarts were closed during the two rounds of closures in 2002 and 2003 and many had their groceries removed converting them into regular Kmart locations 161 A typical Super Center sold around 30 million of merchandise during one fiscal year In 2015 some stores were converted into a regular Kmart with a concept called K Fresh These stores feature an expanded pantry and a fresh food department though these types of items are no longer prepared on site and are now prepackaged The deli butcher and bakery operations were also closed Kmart gradually closed its Super Kmart stores the last location was in Warren Ohio and closed on April 8 2018 It was replaced by Meijer 162 U Pak was a single no frills supermarket which sold items out of boxes instead of on shelves and featured reduced hours It opened adjacent to a Kmart on Opdyke Boulevard in Pontiac Michigan in 1979 and closed less than a month later due to poor sales 163 Variety Outlet A closeout chain typically operated out of closed Kmart stores The first opened in Rome Georgia in 1994 164 165 Waldenbooks was a chain consisting primarily of shopping mall based book stores which was acquired in 1984 In 1994 Kmart chain Borders merged with Waldenbooks to form Borders Walden Group which was sold in 1995 the company was subsequently renamed Borders Group and went out of business in 2011 Philanthropy This section needs to be updated The reason given is All of the information in this section is over a decade old Has the company did anything that was philanthropic in light of the massive number of store closings during the more recent past Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information January 2019 Kmart for Kids was the umbrella program for Kmart s philanthropic initiatives The program had helped children across the country live happier healthier lives through the support of March of Dimes St Jude Children s Research Hospital and American Diabetes Association 166 At one time Kmart was March of Dimes number one corporate sponsor having raised 114 million for the charity over more than 30 years 167 168 On July 29 2008 Don Germano SVP GM of Kmart stores was elected to a five year term on the national Board of Trustees of the March of Dimes Foundation 169 Kmart for Kids had supported St Jude s Children s Research Hospital through its annual Thanks and Giving campaign an opportunity for Kmart customers to give thanks for the healthy children in their lives and give to help those who are not Kmart had been a partner of the campaign since 2006 and as of December 2008 update had raised more than 59 2 million equivalent to 80 5 million in 2023 for St Jude s 170 A record 21 9 million equivalent to 27 5 million in 2023 was donated for the tenth annual fundraising campaign during the 2013 holiday season 171 In 2008 Kmart earned the Outstanding Corporate Citizen Award for its support of the American Diabetes Association s Step Out Walk to Fight Diabetes program 172 The tribute honored Kmart for the most well developed proactive program in the areas of charity community development diversity philanthropy and associate development In 2008 Kmart became a national sponsor of Step Out Walk to Fight Diabetes and over the past two years Kmart s customers and associates have raised approximately 1 5 million equivalent to 2 18 million in 2023 through its in store campaigns Environmental record On May 9 2007 Kmart was penalized 102 422 equivalent to 144 551 in 2023 for violations of federal hazardous waste clean water emergency planning and preparation regulations at 17 distribution centers 173 Kmart corrected the violations by preparing and implementing spill prevention control and countermeasure plans applying for appropriate storm water permits complying with hazardous waste generator requirements and submitting reports to state and local emergency planning and response organizations informing them of the presence of hazardous substances 174 The Environmental Protection Agency also accused Kmart of not maintaining adequate information and failing to act in accordance with hazardous waste storage and disposal requirements 175 For instance the EPA reported having discovered improperly labeled oil storage drums at a location in Falls Pennsylvania 175 Kmart promoted battery recycling 176 In 1990 Kmart proposed spending about 80 million equivalent to 179 million in 2023 on full page newspaper advertisements offering to recycle junk batteries for 2 equivalent to 4 00 in 2023 each 177 Animal welfare concerns In 2012 Mercy for Animals a non profit organization working against cruelty to farmed animals conducted an infiltration at Christensen Farms a pork supplier to Kmart Walmart and Costco obtaining hidden camera footage of pigs confined in small gestation crates and cruelty to piglets 178 In response to Mercy for Animals infiltration Kmart announced it would begin requiring its pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates 179 Racing sponsorships Kmart was a prominent sponsor in NASCAR and the now defunct CART series They were a longtime sponsor of Newman Haas Racing owned by actor Paul Newman and former racer Carl Haas Their CART drivers included Nigel Mansell and the father son duo of Michael and Mario Andretti Michael Andretti and Mansell won championships under Kmart sponsorship in 1991 and 1993 respectively When Michael Andretti moved to Formula One in 1993 Kmart sponsored his McLaren for the season The store also sponsored the NASCAR sanctioned Kmart 400 at Michigan and North Carolina Speedway Lake Speed garnered Kmart s first win in NASCAR in 1988 at the Darlington Raceway Kmart sponsored three time champion Darrell Waltrip in 1999 and 2000 his last two full time seasons Most recently in NASCAR the store sponsored Boris Said s 60 No Fear Ford Fusion in 2006 180 181 InternationalThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section Unsourced material may be challenged and removed January 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Australia and New Zealand Main article Kmart Australia nbsp Kmart Australia logoThe first Kmart store in Australia opened in 1969 in Burwood East Victoria the site was renovated in 2010 to be a shopping mall known as Burwood One 182 Kmart Australia was born out of a joint venture between G J Coles amp Coy Limited Coles and the S S Kresge Company Kresge with Kresge owning 51 of the common stock in the company and the remaining 49 being owned by Coles The first New Zealand store opened in Henderson a suburb of Auckland in 1988 183 Kresge later exited this partnership in 1994 selling their ownership in the company to Coles Myer the successor to G J Coles amp Coy Limited 184 Since the dissolution of Coles Myer in 2007 the Australian and New Zealand Kmart stores are owned by Wesfarmers 185 Canada nbsp Former Kmart Store in Bayers Lake Nova Scotia Store 5551 shown in 1994 Canadian Tire now operates in its place Kmart opened their first store in Canada in Huron Heights Ontario on March 14 1963 followed by a second location in Windsor Ontario on May 9 1963 Kmart closed five Montreal stores and several other Quebec stores in 1983 due to the company restructuring citation needed Kresge ceased to exist in Canada in 1994 186 In December 1997 it was announced that ten of the existing 122 stores were to be closed 187 However as a result of Kmart s ongoing financial difficulties the Canadian division comprising 112 stores was sold to competitor Zellers of the Hudson s Bay Company in May 1998 188 after which the stores were either closed or converted to Hudson s Bay Company brands mostly Zellers 189 Slogans The Saving Place 1960s 1990 Your Lowest Price is a Kmart Price 1990 1998Caribbean In the early 2000s Kmart tried to expand into Caribbean countries where Wal Mart and Target had no presence but ultimately none of the proposed stores advanced beyond the construction stage and none opened by the time Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002 when it stopped paying its construction contractors 190 Kmart started construction of a Super Kmart in 2001 in Trinidad 190 but halted it in 2002 when the store was 80 percent complete There were plans for more stores to be built in Trinidad as well as in Millennium Heights in Barbados five stores in the Dominican Republic and a potential foray into Jamaica 191 The unfinished Super Kmart store in Trinidad and Tobago is now a Tru Value Supermarket citation needed Europe nbsp Kmart in Bratislava Slovakia during the early 1990s This location is now a Tesco In 1992 Kmart purchased several communist era department stores in Eastern Europe including 13 in the former Czechoslovakia that were bought from the former Czechoslovak government 192 One of those stores was the old MAJ department store on Narodni Trida in Prague citation needed Many of these outlets were quite profitable with the Bratislava location setting a single store sales record for the company In March 1996 due to its troubles in the U S the Kmart Corporation announced that it had agreed to sell the six Kmart stores in the Czech Republic and the seven in Slovakia to Tesco of Britain for about 117 5 million equivalent to 219 million in 2023 to focus on its core operations in North America 193 194 Mexico nbsp Super Kmart Center Cuernavaca Mexico in 1995 This location has been a Mega hypermarket since 1997 In the 1990s Kmart opened four stores in Mexico in partnership with the Mexican retailer Liverpool 195 196 All were supercenters located in suburbs of Mexico City About half of the store area was devoted to groceries and this part of the stores resembled those in the US with some adjustments to the local market 197 These plus an unfinished store were sold in 1997 to the Mexican hypermarket chain Mega part of Comercial Mexicana 198 and remain open under that name except the store in Tlalnepantla which was demolished in 2004 to build a Costco Singapore In 1994 Kmart opened a 9 700 square metre 104 000 sq ft store in the Marina Square Shopping Center in a joint venture with Metro Private Limited The joint venture with Singapore was dissolved in 1996 199 200 The Marina Square location became MegaMart then as NTUC FairPrice and Giant ManagementS S Kresge Founder 1899 1925 president 1925 1966 CEO 201 Charles Belden Van Dusen 1925 1938 president 202 Robert R Williams 1938 1946 president 203 204 205 D C Fisher 1946 1953 president 10 206 203 Franklin P Williams 1953 1958 president 203 207 208 Harry Blair Cunningham 1959 1972 president and general manager 1966 1972 CEO 208 209 Robert E Dewar 1970 president 1972 1980 CEO 209 Ervin Wardlow 1972 president 209 Bernard Fauber 1980 1987 chairman CEO 209 Joseph E Antonini 1987 May 1995 CEO 209 Floyd Hall June 1995 April 2000 president chairman June 1995 March 2002 CEO 209 Charles Conaway 2000 2002 chairman CEO 209 210 Mark Schwartz January 2003 president COO 210 James B Adamson 2002 January 2003 president chairman CEO 209 210 Julian Day March 2002 president COO January 2003 September 2004 president COO CEO 210 211 Aylwin Lewis October 2004 December 2007 president CEO W Bruce Johnson January 2008 February 2011 212 Herman Darling March 2011 December 2012 Eddie S Lampert January 2013 October 2018 still on board after filing for bankruptcy See also nbsp Michigan portal nbsp Companies portalKmart Australia Sears Holdings TransformcoReferences a b Tyko Kelly April 11 2022 Kmart store closings 2022 Just three Kmarts remain after new round of closures USA Today 2015 Form 10 K Sears Holding Company PDF Sears Holdings January 30 2016 Archived PDF from the original on May 21 2016 Retrieved May 15 2016 a b Kmart Corporation History FundingUniverse n d Archived from the original on March 12 2015 Retrieved December 10 2014 The first Kmart includes related articles 30 Years of K Mart Cover Story Discount Store News February 17 1992 Archived from the original on July 9 2012 via FindArticles https www sec gov ArchivesA edgar data 56824 0000950124 97 002230 txt permanent dead link KMART CORP Annual Report Fiscal Year Ending January 29th 2000 U S Securities and Exchange Commission January 29 2000 Archived from the original on October 3 2018 Retrieved March 14 2017 Top Ten Reasons Customers Love to Shop Kmart for Valentine s Day Sears Holdings Corporation searsholdings com Archived from the original on October 15 2018 Retrieved November 30 2018 Sears ex ceo closes deal to buy Sears and Kmart USA Today January 11 2019 Archived from the original on December 27 2019 Retrieved February 12 2019 Will Phillips January 31 2022 One Is the Loneliest Number The Last Kmart in New York Wour com Retrieved March 8 2022 a b Kresge Stores Observe Golden Anniversary Dunkirk Evening Observer May 9 1949 p 9 Archived from the original on September 22 2017 Retrieved July 10 2017 via Newspapers com Barmash Isadore April 4 1988 A Kresge McCrory Reunion The New York Times Archived from the original on August 30 2016 Retrieved 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Icon Hoboken New Jersey John Wiley amp Sons ISBN 978 0 471 43593 8 Archived from the original on February 18 2012 Retrieved September 30 2011 Further reading Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine How Kmart Went From Beating Walmart And Target To Bankruptcy CNBC December 20 2018 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kmart Official website Historical business data for Kmart SEC filings Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kmart amp oldid 1187503815, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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