This is something that happened at the beginning of the year and I am still finding it hard to believe. Last year Kmart announced as many of you know that they were closing some of their stores. I guess this was a sign that the store is having problems. But at the time I didn't think that the closures would affect the Kimart in my area. Why did I feel this way? Because this was the only department store in my area. The only other one even remotely closer was Target which was around ten more miles away. Also, this Kmart always seem to have plenty of customers and seem to do great business. But in December I found out that they were closing our Kmart down, and now we don't have a department store in our area any longer. I really have to wonder now just how long Kmart will actually stay in business. It could be facing extinction just like Radio Shack.
Kmarts are kind of like cockroaches, while other stores have been shutting down left and right, they've managed to weather through it and stay open even though many of their stores are empty. It's kind of the same story for Sears, which owns Kmart. As someone who was born in the mid 70's, we shopped at Kmart constantly during what I would suppose was it's heyday - the 70's and 80's. I definitely remember them being a lot more packed with customers when I was a kid, and their shelves were always stocked with the latest merchandise. But by the early 90's they lost their "cool" factor, as newer chains of stores with bigger selections came on the scene. Whereas Kmart was an "all purpose" department store that carried a little bit of everything, specialty stores like Best Buy, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Office Max were like twice the size of your typical Kmart and carried a far bigger selection than any of Kmarts departments did. The other all purpose department stores, like Ames, Hills, Best, Murphy's, and others didn't survive the 90's - which is why I was amazed Kmart was able to stick it out for this long. The Martha Stewart stuff probably helped them for a while there though. When I moved out on my own in 2002, I actually lived near one of their "Super Kmarts" and I would go there quite often, after many years of not stepping foot in one, because they added a whole grocery section. They had great prices, and they weren't nearly as crowded as the other big chain grocery stores, so that was a huge plus. And they were open 24 hours, so if I really wanted to get my grocery shopping done in peace without people getting in my way and driving me nuts, plus standing in long checkout lines, I would go shopping at Kmart around 11 o'clock or so, while everyone else was asleep. I would love to see them make a comeback, but they've let their brand die off in recent years, so I'm not expecting one.
Sadly, the big yellow & black "STORE CLOSING" sign just went up on my local Kmart too. It's right across the street from Walmart, which I know had to hurt their business. I'm just really hoping that something else goes in there, and we aren't left with 1) an empty store front and 2) no alternative to Walmart. As I shopped there the other day, I commented to a salesperson how busy the parking lot was when I pulled in. She replied with the general sentiment of: Yeah, where have these people been - we wouldn't be going out if they'd shopped here before! This is a big reminder to support the stores we want to keep, by shopping there whenever possible. There is a small grocery near my home that I make a point to visit, because I love the convenience of having them there!
I was bummed when I found out the KMart where I'm from closed down. It was there since before I was born and was in close proximity to my neighborhood. I have memories there from as early as I could remember shopping with my mom. As an adult I appreciated it because with a Wal-Mart practically across the street, there was a better chance of me going to KMart to avoid crowds, long lines and people I knew. There is one close to where I live now but I've never been to it.
One of our KMart has been there for years is closing there doors also. It is sad to see things we have grown accustom to see going out of business as we know it. When Sears purchase KMart there was a hope that it would help improve the business but more and more people are shopping online and not going to the local stores to purchase which is what keeps the doors open.
Kmart doesn't have nicer things like Target or super cheap things like Walmart, so they're not special in at way and can't compete. Let's say I want to buy a coffeemaker. I can go to Target and get a cool, modern ,cute one in a designer color or I can go to Walmart and get a Rival coffeemaket for $8. Kmart neither has super cute stuff nor super cheap stuff, so they're just mediocre and I'm never tempted to buy anything there.
We do not have very many K-Marts open in my area. Most of them have closed down. I didn't shop at them very often when they were open. I think Target and Wal-Mart has pretty much wiped them out. It's sad though because they are pretty decent stores. They just didn't market very well or have the resources to compete with Wal-Mart and other big retailers.
