The last full-size Kmart store in the mainland United States is set to close its doors for good on October 20, 2024. Located in Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island, the store's employees confirmed the closure to local broadcaster WJAR and CNN.
Once a dominant force in American retail, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 and was later acquired by Sears in 2005. Sears itself went bankrupt in 2018, and the remaining Kmart and Sears stores were bought by hedge fund ESL Investments.
After the Bridgehampton closure, only a convenience-store-style mini-Kmart in Miami and full-size branches in Guam and the US Virgin Islands will remain. At its peak, Kmart operated over 2,000 stores across the US and Canada.
Founded in Detroit in 1899 as the SS Kresge Company by hardware salesman Sebastian Kresge, the chain expanded rapidly in the 1960s and enjoyed its heyday in the 1970s and 1980s. It was famous for its 'Blue Light Specials', which offered sudden 15-minute discounts on specific items.
Retail historian Michael Lisicky told the Associated Press in 2022: 'Kmart was part of America. Everybody went to Kmart, whether you liked it or not. They had everything.' However, competition from Walmart and other big-box stores eventually led to its decline.
