When it shuts on April 16, the number of Kmarts in the US - once numbering 2,323 at its peak in 1994 - will be down to just three holdouts in a retail world now dominated by Walmart, Target and Amazon. With fixtures and fittings up for sale (left and bottom right), the demise of the store in Avenel (top right) in the middle-class suburb, 15 miles (24 kilometers) south of New York City, is the tale of the death of the discount department store.
Kmart was founded by Sebastian Spering Kresge as the SS Krege Company in 1899 in the Detroit suburb of Garden City, as a dime store where shoppers could find daily needs such as housewares, clothes and and toys. In its heyday, Kmart sold product lines endorsed by celebrities Martha Stewart and Jaclyn Smith, sponsored NASCAR auto races and was mentioned in movies including Rain Man and Beetlejuice.
The chain cemented a place in American culture with its Blue Light Specials,
a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole that would beckon shoppers
to a flash sale in progress. Kmart's decline has been slow but steady, brought about by years of falling sales, changes in shopping habits and the looming shadow of Walmart. Kmarts continue to operate in Westwood, New Jersey; Bridgehampton, on New York's Long Island, and Miami.
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Bought my Mossberg 500 shotgun at Kmart back in 1980.
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