Kmart still exists, barely, not a glorious battlefield death, just fading away

Outside The Beltway
1

Kmart peaked out in 1994 with 2,486 stores world wide. For years the United States top retailer.

They have been dying the death of a thousand cuts, literally. :smile:

The last locations in Colorado, Texas and Nevada just closed in April. And several of the extant stores will be closing in the next month or so.

Just strange to see a retail chain die out so slowly and haphazardly, rather than just folding en mass.

50 stores are left in 14 States and 3 Territories

California - 8 locations
Florida - 5 locations
Guam - 1 location
Maryland - 2 locations
Massachusetts - 1 location
Michigan - 2 locations
Minnesota - 1 location
Montana - 1 location
New Hampshire - 1 location
New Jersey - 5 locations
New York - 6 locations
North Carolina - 1 location
North Dakota - 1 location
Pennsylvania - 4 locations
Puerto Rico - 6 locations
Virgin Islands - 4 locations
Virginia - 1 location

2

There was one that lingered on in my momā€™s northern Wisconsin small town for years, it only closed in the last few years. We used to go in just to laugh at how little they even tried to be a functioning retail store. It was ridiculous.

3

That is the situation with most of them. The last time I went to the Kmart in Kingston, Pennsylvania, the last location in northeast Pennsylvania, it was pretty much in the same shape.

But to be fair, management and employees both know the end is coming, so they have long since stopped trying.

4

Oh, I agree, who can blame them? It was just entertaining. When we needed a break from heat and mosquitoes and went into town. :slight_smile:

5

Walmart and Target grabbed most of their market share.

6

Not a huge fan of Target, except for their electronics sectionā€¦

7

My local kmart just closed within last year. I used to go in for mostly nostalgia. It was like the kmart my parents used to go to when I was a kid. The blue light, small isles. Over all a small square footage store compared to todayā€™s standards.

8

Looks like we are going to become a society of agoraphobia shut ins. Was just reading on realtor that to sell your house it helps to have a dedicated office space to fill the demand for people who will be transitioning to working from home.

9

The Kmart close to me closed about 3 years ago. Target pretty much took itā€™s place.

My nephews will never know the joy of jokes we made growing up about getting driverā€™s licenses at a blue light special.

Blue light special now means something entirely different

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10

Working from home does not lead to a society of agoraphobic shut-ins. The gain in time from not commuting means more time walking, biking, gardening, shopping, socializing with family and friends.

11

I am old enough to remember Kmart in its glory days.

When I was a child/teenager/young adult it was the go to place.

12

LOL, your counts are off dude. You canā€™t go off that Kmart website, as they have old information. NC, MN, and VA have zero Kmarts. The website lists several closed stores including the MN, NC, VA stores, as well as HOLLYWOOD FL, MENOMINEE MI, WALL NJ, BATH NY, and probably some others I forgot. Anyway I maintain a list of active Kmart stores. Here it is. Not to be rude, but itā€™s good to do some research before posting inaccurate information.

We are now at 43 Kmarts total, 32 of which are in the US. I have changed my map to reflect this as well:

Alabama
X
Alaska
X
Arizona
X
Arkansas
X
California
1. Big Bear Lake
2. Costa Mesa
3. Freedom -P
4. Grass Valley -P
5. Long Beach
6. Mckinleyville
7. Ramona
8. South Lake Taco (LOL)

Colorado
X

Connecticut
X
Delaware
X

Florida
1. Key Largo
2. Key West
3. Marathon
4. Miami

Georgia
X
Hawaii
X
Idaho
X
Illinois
X
Indiana
X
Iowa
X
Kansas
X
Kentucky
X
Louisiana
X
Maine
X
Maryland
1. Edge Water
2. Silver Spring -P

Massachusetts
1. Hyannis

Michigan
1. Marshall -P

Minnesota
X
Mississippi
X
Missouri
X
Montana
1. Hamilton

Nebraska
X
Nevada
X
New Hampshire
1. West Lebanon

New Jersey
1. Avenel
2. Belleville
3. Kearny
4. West Wood

New Mexico
X
New York
1. Bridgehampton
2. Bronx
3. Bronx -P
4. NY -P
5. White Plains

North Carolina
X

North Dakota
1. Minot

Ohio
X
Oklahoma
X
Oregon
X

Pennsylvania

 1.  Columbia           -P 
 2.  Kingston            -P
 3.  Walnutport      -P 
 4.  Willow Street -P

Rhode Island
X
South Carolina
X
South Dakota
X
Tennessee
X
Texas
X
Utah
X
Vermont
X
Virginia
X
Washington
X

West Virginia
X
Wisconsin
X

Wyoming
X

Territories:
Guam
1. Tamuning, GU
Puerto Rico
1. Bayamon
2. Guaynabo
3. Hato Rey
4. Mayaguez
5. Ponce
6. Rio Piedra

USVI
1. St. Croix
2. St. Croix
3. St. Thomas
4. St. Thomas

ā€”Statistics: Kmart absent in 39 states. 5 states, MA, MI, MT, NH, ND, have only 1 each. 32 Kmarts in US States total. Of those in the US, 10, marked with letter ā€œPā€, have pharmacies.
Puerto Rico has 6 Kmarts, USVI has 4, Guam has 1, so 11 total stores outside of the US. 43 total Kmarts left as of now that are not closed or closing.
States with more than 1 Kmart:
CA: 8
FL: 4
MD: 2
NJ: 4
NY: 5
PA: 4

13

Itā€™s going to become more and more common for any and all businesses that can do it.

14

True that.

Iā€™m like the only person I know that likes commuting. But thatā€™s because I get to drive country back roads to work with almost no traffic.

If I lived in a large city Iā€™d change my tune real quick.

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