Kmart, the once-competitive major retail chain, is set to shut down its final full-scale store in New York Sunday.
The soon-to-be-shuttered Kmart location in Bridgehampton will join the graveyard of previously popular retailers like Toys R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond and Sears as its shelves are empty and last-chance sales are underway, CNN reported.
“This was our go-to when we were growing up,” Cherry, a customer who visited the Kmart store before its closure, told the outlet. “Whatever we needed, come back here multiple times a week, sometimes in the same day. We’d come to hang out here with our friends.”
The former retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials is shuttering its last full-scale store in the mainland United States. https://t.co/PRkYLC7TOP
— WFAA (@wfaa) October 19, 2024
Discounts at the closing Kmart are advertised at up to 70% off, and sales are extremely limited, according to the outlet.
“I always liked the prices. I’m sad to see it go,” shopper Sarah Bullock told CNN. “It’s the bargains I think about when I think of Kmart.”
The Kmart brand began in 1962 when founder Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five-and-time store in Detroit, according to the outlet. The last-standing Kmart store in Bridgehampton opened in 1992. (RELATED: Walgreens To Close 1,200 Stores)
Kmart made several bold financial decisions in the early 1990s, such as its purchasing of Sports Authority, most of OfficeMax and book retailer Borders. In 2002, Kmart filed for bankruptcy when it had 2,100 stores in what was the largest U.S. retailer bankruptcy at the time, CNN reported.
Kmart, which had roughly 1,400 stores, merged with the nearly 900-store retailer Sears — this led to a bankruptcy filing in 2018. After emerging from bankruptcy, Sears had 231 stores, while Kmart had 191 stores, according to the outlet. Only a handful of Sears stores remain today.
“We need a store like this,” Arnone, who went to Kmart ahead of its closure, told CNN. “There’s nothing in the Hampton for regular people to shop in.”
Other last-time customers reflected on Kmart’s low prices and shopping at the store with their families.
“I remember going shopping at Kmart with my dad. We used to buy everything here,” shopper Jessica Cohan, who had her four-year-old son in her cart, said. “But now, like everyone else, I do a lot of my shopping online. It’s a lot more convenient.”
“Everything is very expensive out here,” Victoria Black, another last-time customer, told CNN. “We needed a store like this.”