KMart is like the crazy aunt of mega-stores. You have to deal with it every once in a while, and each time you do, it's either a really good or a really bad experience. I honestly think that the stigma attached to the KMart name is so bad that they'd benefit from a re-launch under a new name.
Yeah, Kmart has pretty much lost it's relevance. There are only two in New York, and they're both looking pretty run down these days.
There was a time long ago that I loved Kmart, and thought their products were good quality and something unique as compared to Walmart. Over the past few years, they have gone downhill. Our local Kmart appears as though it has just been let go. It is dirty and disorganized. The products are not that unique anymore, and usually over-priced when compared to Walmart. I did shop there around last Christmas when looking for a specific toy for my daughter, and luckily found it. I was extremely lucky that day, as I haven't had any good finds in a Kmart since. I only go there every 4-5 months, and those visits are growing even more and more spaced out.
I think we may be neighbors because this sounds just like our Kmart!! I refuse to go to it anymore. Walmart has its issues too, but Kmart is a dying store by far. Things are always more expensive in Kmart and you can never find what you are looking for anymore as their selection is horrible. Oh and we too have the big pot holes and lack of lines for parking spots.
Kmart doesn't have a unique "thing" that sets them apart. Walmart's thing is having low prices and some very good clearance deals, and having everything a person could need, from pets to fishing gear. Target's "thing" is having a cool image, fabulous TV commercials, famous designers that do budget lines for them, exclusive cosmetics from makeup artist Sonia Kashuk, and celebrities that shop there. Kmart isn't cool like Target or cheap like Walmart, so they don't have a thing. If they don't create some kind of identity or niche for themselves, they're going to go out of business.
I'm so disappointed with Kmart. My mom only shopped there when I was a kid, so I have always felt someone loyal to them. I hadn't shopped there for years, but after we moved last year, we were much closer to one so I decided to give them a try. They were out of almost everything in the sales flyer. Nothing was where it should be. The worst part were the employees. Several were even swearing while they restocked a shelf. I have a 3 year old and I realize he'll hear some of those words while we are out but not from store employees. I'm not going back.
What a sad experience at KMart. It true, though, KMart stores all over have been going down hill for quite some time. I cannot tell you how many times they've opened, closed, re-opened, closed, renovated, and yet again re-opened the KMart in my area. What's really sad is that the stores are the same every time! They are not very clean, organized, friendly, or well priced. It used to be more convenient to go to KMart than WalMart because of traffic, but one bag of stale cookies and bad dog food and I was driving the extra miles! I went on a trip to New York and thought for sure the KMart there would be more presentable, but nope, it was the same old store just a different location!
It seems that kmart never updates their stores. I can't remember the last time I went to a kmart that didn't feel old and run down. It also feels empty of customers, a total mess, and like employees are fairly absent. I would be afraid to buy food there due to low turn over. There is actually an old abandoned kmart building across the street from my apartment complex. I heard recently that Walmart is moving there. I think I prefer the abandoned building to Walmart, but at least they are using an existing space, rather than building new among countless empty storefronts in my area.
Sorry you had to experience this with Kmart. I have not visited a Kmart store in years. I have visited their website a few times, but the most I have ever purchased from them is women sandals. I think Kmart is heading towards closing for good.
