How Kmart Went From Beating Walmart And Target To Bankruptcy
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- Опубліковано 19 гру 2018
- In October 2018, Kmart's parent company, Sears Holdings, filed for bankruptcy. Kmart first filed for bankruptcy in 2002, making this its second time in just 16 years. However, the struggling company used to be the biggest discount retailer of homegoods in the U.S. - even bigger than Target and Walmart.
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How Kmart Went From Beating Walmart And Target To Bankruptcy
Kmart survived the Great Depression and Two World Wars, but wasn't able to survive their own lack of innovation.
@Donald Kasper This is a good take. You also can't outsource/offshore labor in American retail stores.
They weren't their during the depression or either world war. What you talking bout?
@@Jakefrommaine1 0:37, since you couldn't listen, here's the transcript:
"Kmart's origins date back to 1899..."
That right there means Kmart goes back to 1899. And yes, Kmart DOES go back that far, because as shown at 1:42
"So, the company renamed itself Kmart Corporation"
See? Same company, and it goes back to 1899! Original poster is correct, Kmart survived both world wars, and the great depression.
Do y'all remember a big box store called Venture?
Michael Duke loved it!
My local Kmart felt like a time machine as soon as you stepped inside you were transported to the late 80s early 90s, it was so outdated.
LOL.
Outdated in what sense?
@@96213sam the way it was set up even the cash registers and computer were old and yellow looking running on Windows Me.
That’s actually why I liked going to Kmart lol. Nostalgia. I may be weird but I like the older stores and older offices etc. I even like the “institution” feel of some places. I even miss the older hospitals for that reason. I don’t like the newer buildings with all the plastic fixtures and faux this and faux that. Does anyone know what I mean?
Oh and I miss Woolworths. I remember one time though when I was starting at a new school, I was about 13, and my mum took me to Kmart for new clothes.
I was worried that someone would see me there because at that time only poor people shopped at Kmart. My mum said not to worry, because if someone did see me it was only because they to were shopping there lol
I preferred kmart as it wasn't huge and oversized like Walmart. Now it's like if it's not 20 acres long a store just cant make it. Now, Dollar General is as close as I get to a Kmart.
Fyi the IBM POS terminals were indeed lost in time. Not even windows. It was POSDos. A custom DOS made for point of sale systems. Before our kmart died, they were unable to take credit cards as the dial u network the system ran on was obsoleted.
@@prepperjonpnw6482 1950s through about 1982, had the best designs for businesses, stores, malls, hospitals etc. Now everything is always white, off white, dull colorless tones, plastic everything, recessed lighting, ugly, no character or style and almost always sterile looking and every place you go looks the same as the last place you were in. It's sickening. If I had a business, I would have different styles from the mids 50's to the late 70s in it. I know there are some people who like that.
My Mom worked at a Kmart for 20 years. She had worked every department worked in HR and Management. When they closed her store all her time meant nothing and she had to scrounge for work like the hundreds of other employees that lost their jobs.
😔
I actually shopped at Kmart more than Walmart; and I really liked their brand
route 66. My grandma would take us to Kmart and would get us hats, Gloves and purses for Easter. Years ago they had wigs and my sisters and I would try on different styles and colors of wigs - my mom would say you goofballs! And laugh. We had fun shopping at Kmart! They had a deli at ours and the Best cold cut subs marinated in mustard and vinegar overnight. Your Mom didn't waste her time or her life! Kmart was a great store; I am sad it's gone. All good things always go way of the dinosaur!
Love/ ❤️ Kmart 🍿 popcorn & layaway
@@yvonneemmert9185 Good products. Terrible company.
Here in Australia Kmart is more than huge....it's essential. And there are no coffee shops or food sales. It's just merchandised well and cheaper than anywhere else.
Our Kmart (in the town over from us) stayed pretty strong up until 2011. Ours never looked outdated or gross so it was really disappointing when they closed. Growing up poor it was great that struggling families could put back to school clothes and supplies on lay-a-way and pay it out. It really helped our family out and they always had in style clothes and home decor. Halloween was probably my favorite time of the year bc they seemed to have sooo many more costumes than Walmart
Most Walmart’s stores have a McDonald’s.
Most Target stores have a Starbucks.
Most Kmart stores have nothing.
Walmart has more than McDonalds these days. I've been in walmarts that had hair and nail salons and eye doctors.
Mines had a Little Caesars, bad move on them tho cause nobody goes to Kmart, they closed the Little Ceasars months later, Kmart is still open
my walmart has a nail and hair salon and a subway
I love bacon and target stores here in AZ have Pizza Hut
Kmart had Lil howies pizza
Rip radio shack, k mart, Sears, block buster, and toys r us.
Maybe rite aid.
WuzNab Sears is not a thing anymore?
Sears still survive in northern Virginia, I don't know for how long though.
Sears will not survive in the midwest
Blockbuster
There is a sears here in Florida
When Sears took over Kmart, they raised alot of prices and people went elsewhere for better prices. I even saw saw prices triple on a few things.
Kmart bought Sears. Sears was for sale, Kmart had closed some stores where they owned the buildings. Sears bought a lot of those buildings. Kmart used the money to buy Sears.
@@pick2568 borrowing from peter to pay paul
The sears and kmart closest to me were both inventory gluts, and both had computer/invoicing systems from the 80's. I still think they used the same machines in both until they both closed their doors. I stopped going to the sears for anything because it always took 10+ minutes to check out because the machines never worked
also, reduced the number of people working in the store. Trying to increase profits was a disaster!
Kmart with Sears after Kmart came out of their first bankruptcy.
My sears was still open till 2016 lol. It helped that it was at the edge of a big mall.
My dad work for Kmart/Sears for 30 years he raised 4 kids in that time..My first real job at 16 was working at Kmart , my sister also. Kmart was a big part of my life. It shall be missed.
They should regroup and lay low for awhile. Target had to reinvent itself too. I never understood the Wal-Mart thing..... I always preferred K-Mart
@@josephinetracy1485 Do you know if K-mart had produce like Wal-Mart? That would probably be one big reason.
They didn’t innovate, the stores looked old and outdated in the early 2000s, while target kept refreshing the stores with new items and a fresh look.
Agreed, and the cash box is an old IBM... WTF
My Wal-Mart keeps repainting the outside every few years to give it a nice look.
@@OldHoboManUA-cam Good for them! Walmart is always busy and updated periodically. They have more selection, plus a lot of people shop there for groceries.
@@curtisag24 also my walmart has their own personal Facebook where the people vote on what they want to see from the walmart.
When a store innovates it self it loses its charm I hate the minimalistic look brands have nowadays it looks lazy I miss the old Walmart logo I miss how Walmart stores used to look back in the 2000s.
They never had enough registers open and stores always seemed dirty
Walmart never has enough registers open, doesn't seem to be affecting them
jabber1990 walmart has finally put in self check out which is way better
That's the epitome of Walmart though. Except they have cash for millenniums
@Boco Corwin ....most people shop at walmart
where do you shop?
@@Tony-my3sy self check out is SLOWER! Only OK if you have less than 5 items.
One time I stopped by Kmart. I forgot why I quit going there. After looking around the store I realized I stopped going there because the store was very messy. Product seem to be strewn around almost everywhere. It looked like a mob had come through pickup items to look at them and randomly put the item back anywhere on a shelf or the floor.
the last sentence is exactly what happened. After working in the style department at target, i never get mad when i see a store that looks trashed. I realized its not the employees fault, its the customers who are 20+ years old and cant pick up the shirt they “accidentally” threw on the ground
I'm not surprised. So many teens and adults in my area steal from Kmart. Corporate is just not willing to hire more security.
For myself and family Kmart has a very special meaning to us. In the 80s my Father worked as an Assistant Manager of the shoe department for a year in the Twin Cities and then for eight years back home in southern Minnesota. He worked very hard long hours to provide for his young family. My Father found out in 1985 three weeks before Christmas that he had a brain tumor and only had a few years to live. in the late 80s it was tough for him to go to work but somehow through the pain of chemo he try his best to be at Kmart because he was proud of his work. Six months before he died Kmart employees from around the country chipped in to send our family to Disney World in Orlando. We had a wonderful time and i will never forget it. Two months after the trip my father was working a normal shift at Kmart but in the late morning he had a sesher. It was the final time he went out the front doors of Kmart. But it was on a streacher to an ambulance. He fought his final months at home with his family and hospice care by his side. He died on Sunday July 30, 1989 at the age of 30. I was six years old. His memorial service had alot of Kmart employees and customers who loved his warmth and outgoingness to make Kmart a wonderful store to shop at. Over the years it was sad to go into Kmart and see the store go down hill. It also was hard in the fall of 2016 to see the store closed for good that my father worked hard at. The brightside is the former building was turned into a medical clinic. So I believe that people having cancer treatments are getting some spirtual help from my father. R.I.P. Dad I love you and miss you. :)
I'm so sorry! I am happy to know that you felt cared for! Kmart was a good store and your dad made it that way! I miss Kmart. I shopped at Kmart more than Walmart!
I worked at Kmart in high school the day a Walmart opened in our city. It went from being busy af to a ghost town, literally overnight.
Okay but your profile picture is everything 😂😂😂
@@lockheart619 bruh
they changed the name to KNOTTS BEERY FARM,the gunfights at the blue light special were legendary i heard.
I bought a pregnancy test at K-mart when I was in college because I knew there was absolutely no chance I would run into any of my peers there because no one ever went there
ok but how did the story end?
So, now you're a single parent?
sarahfrances1025 TWINS.
Am I the farher tho?
wow nosey much?
My Kmart store was on Hacienda Blvd , hacienda Calif . They shut down years ago , it's a empty lot now my late wife and I used to eat are lunch there . When I pass the lot it always brings back memories.
I still remember sometimes going to the Hot Wheels car event at the Kmart in Diamond Bar, CA (now it's a Sprouts).
Thats nice, very sweet. I never had a wife, shoot me a prayer if you have one to spare.
While in high school I worked in Kmart. Loved it so much.
I never understood the Wal-Mart thing..... I always preferred K-Mart
“Attention Kmart shoppers” ahh I’m gonna miss that😭
cringe asf 😂
"service is speeded with layaway"
Blue light special
Why do you think I recorded one at a non-closing Kmart in 2018? It made it here at 2:17
Same
It's hard to believe there's still Kmart stores hanging around in 2019. I worked at a Kmart store in 2007, and it was by far the most depressing job I've ever had. We've had shelves that were literally empty. Packages all over the store. It's like you go to Kmart just to feel depressed.
Just out of curiosity: when shelves were empty or the presentation of products were otherwise in disarray, why didn't the staff do anything about it? Was there any effort from the lowest level of staff to upper management to make sure products and services were presented in a decent and visually attractive format and that customers got what they asked for? Were you ordered to just leave things as they were and not worry about it? I used to walk into their stores and would sense that the staff just didn't care and a huge part of the reason why customers were turned off from the retailer altogether was because it no longer seemed attractive as Walmart or Target. Some analysts will say it is more complicated to operate a business of that scale than just it being an "image" or "presentation" issue, but this clip demonstrates how important it really is. Both Walmart, and especially Target offer customers great experiences from the moment you walk in to to check-out.
That's how the Kmart around my house was before they close. Junk just everywhere, empty shelves in half the store, just looking like flea market.
@@paranoidhumanoid tbh one employee cant run a store like K-Mart even if you care. Plus at that point theres probably employees in that job just clocking in to do nothing of work and will probably bully or try to talk to the other employees on not to try to work on any improvements unless management asked. I been in Jobs where ppl try to stop you from working hard because they want to take it easy and management doesnt care if you do work or dont work. And most times its managements fault in the first place. This is why K-mart in New Zealand and Australia are doing great because of good management unlike in the US
Ross is becoming the same way you see empty shelves, open boxes because people steal stuff inside, clothes on floors and cheap clothes.
@@danielgarcia9945 I think Ross has mostly always been like that since its a discount store too, Kmart was more higher end then Ross
I worked at Kmart during college. Always a mess and unorganized aisles but man we had some loyal shoppers!
By far my favorite CNBC mini-doc, which says a lot considering how well done they all are! Never would have thought this could be so interesting.
Okay, in Australia Kmart is our GO-TO store. We have no Walmart and target is WAAAAY to expensive. Kmart is nearly everyone's favourite store...
Kmart is awesome. Target is if you feel fancy but not david Jones fancy
@@pilot1721 so true!
I was just going to comment that!! Kmart is the best, target is pricey and big W is meh
You don't want a Wal-Mart most of their stuff is more expensive
That’s the one 🤙🤙
Its mainly the executives that get paid millions and dont want to upgrade their stores because they are greedy for money. They still get millions after the company closes
Exactly! So many companies are failing because of greedy management that would rather watch the ship sink, than to stuff some of those hard un-earned dollars in the leaking hole.
In finance it’s called the agency problem
Funny! All the regional managers, high positions from sears and Kmart are moving to Walmart! We’ll see Walmart’s fate against Amazon!
@@Mr.Legend_Speaks ikr
@Monster "They still get millions after the company closes"
Actually it will cost them millions per the video.
I miss kmart so much!!! Thats where i bought my first gameboy back in 97' i saved up the whole summer with my salary from being a farm hand 😭
I worked at K-Mart around age 16 in the mid 90s and even employees didn't shop there. The prices never rang up correctly based on the signs/ price labels/ sales flyers. They always rang up higher in the company's favor. If you needed to buy more than a few items, it was impossible NOT to miss a few and get overcharged. Even if items had rang up correctly, the prices were higher than competitors and the quality wasn't very good. Plus my store manager was constantly yelling at employees for things we had zero control over so employee morale was pretty much nil after a few days. I think I lasted less than 6 months and I lasted longer than most. K-MART put itself out of business long before Target even hit the scene in my area.
Rip to k-mart and sears
😶😶
Walmart is a rip off store people need to quit shopping there period Walmart needs to be shut down cuz they have the worst employees there and cheap product there from Mexico anything you buy there doesn't last long i quit shopping there two years ago and i would never buy food there cuz it is all bad for even dogs to eat
@@robertmartinez8576 Even if your wish was granted, some other Walmart clone would just immediately replace the original. Redundant & cheap merchandise is what paying shoppers want most of all.
Craftsman tools can be found in Lowes now.
I still have a Sears near my house where I get all my oil changes done, so not RIP yet.
I feel bad for Kmart. I feel bad for every store that closes down 😞
Ghina it’s business
Ghina IT’S BUSINESS
NOT IN AUSTRAILA
Ghina 😞😞😞😞
Ghina so you feel bad for a gun shop that closed down cause it supplied shooter
I remember being a little girl in the 80’s and the blue light specials. Everyone would stand around the booth and watch the demo for knives or kitchen appliance. And we could take our popsicles into the store in the summer time while we shopped for summer clothes. Many of my childhood shopping memories are from Kmart 💗
I wonder how CostCo would compare today in terms of demonstrations on kitchen stuff and food in general.
I worked at the main office for 28 years, and it was terrible towards the end.. Kmart targeted employees they wanted to let go without a severance package. My husband and myself were let go on the same day. Destroyed him, he had 17 years, and ruined my marriage. They spent tons of money on the golden parachute for management…
Both KMart and Sears were victims of terrible upper management. They treated their employees like crap, couldn't hold talented non-executive employees, and it showed in their stores.
Their employees stopped caring, because the top guys didn't care about them. Executives and CEO's should never lose sight of the fact that ultimately, it's all the little guys that are making them their money. A business will thrive if they get us little guys on their side.
I ended up hating going to these stores in the end, staff seemed miserable, managers would argue with you, and everyone seemed completely disengaged.
At Sears they cut staff from departments and put all the registers in the front. I would wander around desperately looking for someone to help me.
So sad, I loved those stores.
Shiba Lover true I went to those stores once and the vibe is depressing Kmart just closed a few months ago in my area,and Sears looks like an old factory I was looking for help but there’s no employees just the ones in the registers.
yet amazon is in the same boat yet is still thriving, i guess it'll take another massive competitor like walmart was for kmart for amazon to change or die
They drove the stores to bankruptcy to cash in big on real estate and other things. They were crooked, just like the current sears CEO. If they were legit and wanted to save the companies they would've taken a pay cut and paid employees more to care
that's sear's CEO was a real piece of work at the end there, huh? Sucks, my grandpa was the Craftsman manager for decades when he returned from world war II and made a good living, enough to own a home in the affluent area of Seattle, to buy his children at home, and he retired from there before he was 65 back in the 80s, having plenty of time left to spend with us grandkids while we traveled in his RV across the United States. He made enough money working at Sears to get himself and grandma a nice new RV, buy my parents an RV for their ten year anniversary, buy my mom a car every five years or so for her birthday, etc. of course he invested a lot of money and they had hooked him up with a terrific 401k. Complete opposite of my situation, I live paycheck to paycheck right now and am currently struggling like no other, even working in healthcare I still can't afford to live in seattle on a single income. Life was so much better back then.
Our Sears here in Yakima is still open :D
The only Kmart near me has had a clearance and a closing sign for the past 5 years
Lol
SkRT -hell at least you got a Kmart near you. In a couple months there won’t be a Kmart probably within 4-5 hours of me 😞. I got my first Sony Walkman from Kmart.
Me too
The last Kmart went out of business where I live.
When I was a kid my mom won money from a fishbowl drawing. They announced it on the intercom, and we were so excited. This happened twice in a row. I thought it was good luck. Now, I realize it was because we were pretty much the only people in the store.
I have some Kmart clothes that have lasted well over 10 years. Some are 14-15 years old and I wear them regularly. When I knew the end was near for KMart I stocked up on 30 shirts and 15 pairs of pants. I might be set for life??? lol
Meanwhile in Aus, Kmart is huge!
And Target is more aimed at middle class. Like they have nice stuff (like Kmart but better quality) but quite a bit more expensive
Em Radford IKR I just moved from aus to the USA they have no Kmarts
Target AU is closing. Yay!
agreed, here in australia k mart is normally our first choice, they have cheap prices, aesthetic items, and you can find stores everywhere
Here in Canada target stayed less than 18 months. Empty shelves all the time. The closed all 150 stores in May 2015.
Big W is the best
Combining Kmart and Sears is like combining water and oil
That's how margarine is made.
More like throwing water on a grease fire.
new name: kmart and sears = smart
perfect combo for boiling pasta without it sticking?
Pretty lame analogy
I remember when I was a kid, there was a Kmart near our old house, and a little cesar's pizza was inside it. I still remember eating pizza while my mom was shopping for a toaster. Memories.
Same mann
From 1966 until the late 1970's, my family lived at K-Mart. We got our school clothes there, and we were in ecstasy when the 'Blue Light Special' was announced over the PA system. The wheels on my Mom's shopping cart would practically smoke as she raced and picked up speed to be the first to get 'Six steak knives for just $3.99'. The toy section was superb. I was able to buy fuel powered control line airplanes, model rockets, whatever. They had a cafeteria which served great grilled cheese sandwiches. What a place.
I prefer target because it not crowded not like Walmart where everybody block the aisle
You must be white
Target looks so much better, cleaner and more upscale compared to Walmart!
Dwight Kurt Schrute III my local target got rid of hot dog and popcorn store now they have Starbucks
Walmart has wider aisles though, compared to Target.
LOL...LOL....
Wait, so you're telling me that the executives would rather stuff the money in there pockets than to reinvest the money into the company? I'm shocked.
Shock?? Lol where have you been????
@@glow1815 that’s the joke
They don't call him Fast Eddie for nothing.
@@NealB123
Let me guess... he doesn’t celebrate Christmas & says “Happy Holidays.”
Sad to say it but most companies die this way if u can get past the 2 to 5 yr start up & start making sustainable revenue & keep loyal customers its really all up to u & your team how long u want to make your company last McDonald's has colleges that ppl go to so when the graduate they'll help involve the company & keep it going that way McDonald's should basically never die💯
Thanks for sharing..keep it up
I visited kmart when i visited Australia on 2020
Kmart was my childhood store 😔 i used to love going there as a kid. So many fond memories. I wanna go to kmart now 😭😭😭
wtf, in Australia, if you need a snack at 5 in the morning, kmart has your back, kmart is like walmart, but cheaper
musicalpanda10 big w reminds me of Walmart
How is Kmart cheaper than Walmart? Walmart is literally so cheap
@@alli3822 yea right amazon and yard sales are the best or go to the thrift store
Kmart is Legendary
I just went to kmart in Australia it was literally like walmart😂😂. I loved it and yes it was cheaper, WAYY CHEAPER!!! I got so many snacks for 50 dollars (yes i know, very american😂😂).
Kmart will always have a place in our memories for those of us who grew up in the 60s - 90s
Kmart was big from the 60s until the early to mid 2000s; i remember when they had great deals for clothes and toys, i bought most of my toys from Kmart. This new generation will never get to experience Kmart in it's heyday
@@NFSMAN50 I'm still using a tea kettle that I purchased at KMart about 35 years ago. I have a set of cast iron skillets that I purchased about 28 years ago. I finally had to get rid of my toaster that was about 25 years old. I loved their lay-a-way, too. I remember going to the lay-a-way counter with a shopping cart full of items, including six boxes of Crunch'N'Munch. The cashier was about to put my Crunch'N'Munch on lay-a-way. My cousin was with me. We both had a good laugh about that. I told the cashier that I was going to pay for that. She said it was OK if I wanted to put it on lay-a-way.I will never forget that.
Yeah, mine has been in town since I was a kid
And mine are all very fine memories on this play they do take a long time at checkout but it's a fine place when they had the little restaurant coffee shop like thing in there that was okay me and my girlfriend would meet there and then we go shopping and come and have another break or a fountain drink or something and and Christmas time with crazy but we loved it
Kmart shopping trips with Mom. I let Kmart go in my mind nearly two decades ago because in the early 2000s they became the butt of a lot of retail jokes. I still would like to visit one if any still exists.
What really became Kmart's downfall, was the higher management becoming highminded. They began treating their lower employees like dirt or parts in a machine. Easily replaced (firing and constant new hiring). That hurt their customer service. Wal-Mart's #1 rule, is respecting the individual. The individual is everyone, customers and associates. Treat both like dirt and you lose them. Kmart proved that true. I know, because my first job, was Kmart. I was a rookie and all rookies make mistakes. They never told me mine and fired me, after just two days. 25 years after they fired me, their store I worked for closed permanently. If it was poetic justice, I'll let others make that call.
Perfectly put!!
Walmart operates the same way.
Kmart gives me childhood nostalgia. My parents and I were frequent customers. I remember that one of the Kmarts in our area had a Little Cesar's in it.
What Eddie Lampert did to both Sears and Kmart after the merger is criminal. He drove both companies into the ground to squeeze as much money as he could out of it and refused to update the stores that badly needed it.
he is suposse to be in jail, he got stocks, ceo and his company is a lender
That's not Illegal it's wrong yes but it's not Illegal to buy a corporation to close it afterwords if you're buying a company it's already struggling.
Brian Your comment is the closest to the reality of what is happening to these stores and how it is taking place. even closer than the video. the videos take on what and why they are failing is off course and quite lacking in reality.
It's a theory happening all over if you notice. A huge accident happened in an amusement park in Australia based on your theory. CEO went from Fashion to Theme Parks and cut maintence costs way way low... Everything is a cash grab these days.
If a company shuts down its not someone elses fault.
Kmart just digged itself into bankruptcy because of the lack of innovation and dirty stores, high prices and they just never evolved with the time! If they really liquidate all their stores I’ll be torn since Kmart was the store my parents always took me as a child, now I just do my shopping at Target or Amazon.. Kmart, you’ll be missed! Thanks for those 90s memories ❤️
@N A bruh someone smart???
Wow that’s literally the opposite of kmart here in australia. They’ve been so innovative with their products that it’s literally everyone’s go to place now
Eddie Lamperts fault
Eddie lampert only wanted the Real Estate of both Kmart and Sears...his intentions was never to actually run them both for long. But, he was stuck when the US real estate crashed in 2008 then he let them die a slow death as he spun off as much as he could for cash.
I hear you buddy. Having been born in 1980 KMart was the place parents shopped and actually dressed up to go. I remember spending almost every weekend 3 hours at Kmart eating their huge subs and nachos and the shopping again. It was heaven to me. I always got a toy, every now and then a He-man or Thundercat. It was awesome!
Kmart used to be my favorite place to shop for non-groceries. Now it's Target.
My first pair of leather gloves came from Kmart. They used to have quality items.
Once Kmart started looking worse than Walmart and yet still had higher prices they killed themselves.
Lol i remember when I was younger, the places to go were jcpenney, Kmart and Sears
TG&Y was popular in some areas. Gibson was popular in Texas. Sam Walton once attempted to open a Gibson store. Gibson once had nearly 700 stores
Lambert didn't care about the customer or either companies. He left both companies to rot
He should be in jail
Lampert...
I miss Kmart is was part of my childhood 😭😭
Sounds like a boring childhood.
We still have ours
You can visit it it’s like stuck in the 80s
I used to go there just to get an ICEE
@@stza16 better than hipster Walmart
Me too and toys r us.
I remember their Christmas displays were wonderful up to the late 1990s and it started to go down hill!
I remember shoplifting at Kmart with a bunch of kids in the late 90’s one of the kids I was with got kick in the ass by 3 of the undercover security in the back of the Kmart then everyone got scared and tried climbing over a large snow bank but kept sliding back down
Lol 😂
The KMart where I live in just closed a few months ago, getting replaced into 3 stores.
It was a huge Kmart anyways,
But the fact that the store smelled like the sewers, made me not like the store
Just a question. How the hell do you know what the sewers smell like?
Aura idk
Like im not saying i’ve been to the sewers before
lol_eddypogi mine got turned into a Ross, savemart, and I think sprint and something else
Mine is getting replaced to a gym
@@giovanna2868 mine got changed to, target, Ross and another store that i don't know
I have many memories shopping as a child at Kmart with my mom...
I do too!!
Me too!
Me to King. Blue light special. And eating at the restaurant lol
Same, even though I'm young (14), it was my childhood store. So sad to see them go. There's still one near me in chicago although no one goes to it and it's definitely closing soon. There was another k-mart near me but they closed and it turned into a Seafood City and Jollibee.
@@kevin4428 WHERE IS THIS JOLIBEE U SPEAK OF? IN CHICAGO?!
That headline is messing with my head. It's written like one store beat the others to bankruptcy. 🤣
The Kmart in my hometown closed a year ago. Only shopping option in town. Walmart is in the next city over, 20 minutes away. It was outdated but was the go-to store for last minute options and, at least in my opinion, had a pretty good Christmas display every year.
I remember going to Kmart back in the '80s and it was the place to go. But by the time the '90s came around Target was much more appealing. A cleaner, fresher, more modern look and feel, plus great prices. Then in the 2000s Walmart crashed the whole party! Nobody could touch Walmart's prices, although Target was still a much more pleasant experience. Meanwhile Kmart remained stuck in the '80s, with no upgrades, evolution or innovation. Their demise is not a shock to anyone.
You have to change with the times to remain relevant.
try the 90's. Big Kmart wasn't from 80's: www.nytimes.com/1997/04/24/business/kmart-introduces-prototype-for-new-store-layout.html
@@pika62221 I wasn't talking about Big Kmart, just Kmart. Big Kmart was a last ditch, failed '90s experiment. But Kmart was a huge retail player in the '70s and '80s.
David Duarte - and 60s.
Don't forget Target's popcorn! :D
it all started because you wanted a toaster...
Say you need a shirt and you have to buy it in a physical store. Where would you buy it? JcPenney? Burlington? Or perhaps Gucci if you're feeling fancy. What about Mervyns? No? Mervyns may have not occured to you and it doesn't surprise me because that store shut down over a decade ago.
I should start making my own videos about stores shutting down.
@@miguell4835 u truly should. U should report all the big and small chain stores going out of business or merging or simply just changing names and rebranding. And u should include actual facts as to what led to company shut down. This whole retail business just seems like a big monopoly estate games. They build these building and then run them for a couple years and suddenly just shut down the store and they build these big chain stores in these lonely low population cities where they almost did it on purpose to fail and have a excuse to close business. Once they close they continue to have these abandoned warehouse size stores just empty and usless and taking up useful land where home development can grow. These rich greedy evil elite are taking up and claiming ownership to land and the american people are homeless or are living over crowded on top of each other and keep ua secluded to sections of land that they choose for us.
damn toaster lovers
lmfaoo
When we were kids in the 90's, there was a Wal-Mart(not a supercenter, no groceries) about 1/2 mile across the street from the K-Mart. We shopped both places, but I always remember the K-mart being kind of dirty/disorganized, shelves not stocked, store was always kind of empty, not a lot of people. Go to the Wal-Mart across the street, store was cleaner, shelves stocked, better selection of stuff, especially in sewing/fabrics/arts/crafts/automotive/sporting goods/fishing gear, man Wal-Mart had everybody beat in the 90's in those categories. Place was always bustling, it was a total madhouse if you went there on Saturday or Sunday. K-mart floundered and was gone by the 2008 recession, Wal-Mart outgrew their existing space and built a new "supercenter" in 2002, which is still there to this day. Also the last item I ever bought from a K-mart was a toaster lol, it was the display model for half off on their store closing sale, had them plug it in at the register to make sure it worked.
Last Kmart I've been to (around 2006) 3/4 of the customers looked like prison convicts.
Kmart was my childhood I would go there with my parents since in the store there was a ceasers pizza place 😭😭
Same
Not long ago because I go back to the restaurant The Little Restaurant it become like a little Maid-Rite type thing not Little Caesars but I do remember Little Caesars that was probably the late 90s early 2000s
I never understood the Wal-Mart thing..... I always preferred K-Mart
Too slow to adapt! Also, poor customer service!
Walmart probably have worst customer service but no one give a f....
@@xeevang1023 Customer Service is the least of their worries. Have you not been to. Target or Walmart?
customer service doesn't matter
just look at the Airline Industry, the McDonalds in Potosi, or any Walmart
@@3hreeoshortsvideos8 i only buy online from walmart and never shop the store itself. I go straight to orange pick up area, no lines.
jabber 1990 that's right
I remember Kmart being the place my mom used to go shopping when I was a kid. Lots of memories there. I'd hit the electronics section and check out the computers and tech as a kid. I also remember those blue light specials. For years Kmart was king, till Walmart came into the neighborhood in the 90's.
I had wondered....thanks for the report!
There used to be a Kmart in the shopping center near me.
Then they replaced it with a Target.
RetardNation there was a little "plaza" with a chuck e cheese payless k mart and some auto shop I think they shut all of it down payless was the last one I don't think it was still open
Mine is now a Pet co and ULTA beauty lol
Junk target
They replaced mine with a Ross
Same
Bad investments, terrible business decision and major corruption at the corporate level.
- Truth
You nailed it.
Not long before the local Kmart closed where I live, I decided to pick up a few items, like bandaids and such. I was disturbed by the grimness of the Kmart. The clothes were piled in big heaps here and there not folded or stacked. I couldn't find any of the items I needed. No dental floss, no nothing. It was difficult to get in and out of the store, with no automatic doors and a maze forcing one through the checkout line, even to get a cart. There were less than twenty customers there. It resembled a crime scene.
I walked into a Kmart in Puerto Rico and immediately felt liike a child. It still had the same look from when I was a child.
Kmart is *VERY* popular here in New Zealand. And there sales are poppin
Kallys Awesome I heard that they are doing good in Australia too
But the owners of Kmart in American are different
Their
Its still open in Australia
Same for Guam....
Kmart New Zealand and Australia are own by the same company, it's an Australian company
Video: “let’s say u have to buy a toaster”
Me- “Amazo-“
Video- “and it has to be in a physical store”
Amazon go
I hate amazon an iteam cost like 7 dollars tax makes it 14 dollars shipping makes it 17 wtf? And also i just dont like odering online
dark hero plus they're an immoral mega-corporation
@@zaksharaz5105 Not yet available everywhere. Well, off to Wally World!
dark hero god you don't like oding
In the town I grew up in, not only the K mart but nearly every business in town that used to be there has vanished.It makes me depressed whenever I go back.....
I remember K-mart being the talk-of-the-town when I was an infant. My older brother worked there and it was always busy. Then Walmarts popped up and WOOSH. K-mart lost & every K-mart employee moved to work at a Walmart. I remember my mother shopped there because of the blue light specials. Everyone went crazy over those deals. Never visited again after it became a ghost town/brother left. It wasn’t until late 2017 December we re-visited that same famous K-mart because the Walmart was closed and we needed to buy my aunt a new kitchen appliance and it seemed like it never changed. It didn’t change. The prices on a lot of items are still high.
K-mart was my generations Walmart.
GustavoFring Caldor was my generations K-Mart.
Rui Wang perhaps that was just Gustavo’s creative writing style. A play on letters. Don’t get your panties in a knot about it.
Kimberly how old are you?
Enony Muz 40
all this from a spelling mistake...... Some humans....
i got hired at kmart in 1989, i was 19, and was there during the height, and it was great. i was electronics manager and our dept was the best in the district, but i saw the flaws even then, we never had the ad merch. and rainchecks were a joke, but if you were smart, you used their system against themselves. I couldn't get product that i needed, but if i keyed a raincheck request, i usually got it, i had to use the system to get product to sell, it was pretty insane and the ceo and his buds, they lived the high life, with 6 corporate jets and nice golden parachutes while we were sent packing in the end with nothing. I miss kmart, and my family there, they let us down.
Kmart was my favourite store when I was a child. They always seemed to have the best toy selection in my town and it was just a treat to go there.
I was 13 (1977) when they built the Kmart a few blocks away from my house. We went there for everything. Later when they started shutting down stores I made out like a bandit. Soon after Sears was shutting down stores and once again I bought tons of stuff for pennys on the dollar. I was able to sell everything at flea markets because all my merchandise was new in box. Between the two chains closing down I made an extra $50,000.
Nice
Didnt adopt internet. Stuck to an old business model
They did. It was too late though. They also had a CEO that was horrible and tried gutting the company for self gain.
Didn't adopt the Internet?!?!-Actually, they were there at the start! Did you know that "way back" in the "day" KMart actually had their own Internet Service Provider ("BlueLight")?searsholdings.com/press-releases/pr/1657
@Torrance "Didnt adopt internet."
That wouldn't explain 1991 to 2001.
@Donald Kasper " It is hard to browse online. People tend to go online for exact things they want already."
Go to Amazon or EBay and type "toaster". There's plenty to browse. Amazon doesn't spends millions a year maintaining their review sections for nothing.
@@wisenber - It's awfully hard to shop for a gift online- I always had to actually see the items rather than a picture.
From 1982-1986 all I had to do was cross the street to go to K-Mart. I thought my aunt created the way people would say Target.
The only thing I remember about Kmart was the hot pretzels 🥨
All these stores like Kmart, Sear, ToysRUs, Circuit City came out of our artificially inflated economy. They've been riding on low interest rates for decades, which kept them afloat.
Huh...
Both kmart and Sears will be gone by 2021.
@Retro "All these stores like Kmart, Sear, ToysRUs, Circuit City came out of our artificially inflated economy. "
Sears and KMart predated the Great Depression. Has the economy been "artificially inflated" for over 100 years?
No the market wanted them.
No DUMB-DUMB; in retail, there will always be winners and losers as long as there is open honest or dishonest competition.
K-Mart near me were always super ghetto and marked up in pricing.
Taka yes same here...except our employees are ghetto too..they won't help u...
Ghetto? How?
Only in getho towns...only low life and criminals shop there..Walmart the same
There's a Kmart 5 minutes from where I live and it was never ghetto. I loved it more than Walmart just bc it was less crowded and more chill to shop. But Walmart has better prices and more variety.
@@FranciscoElNeneGalan - Shopping Walmart is like slumming no matter where they are. And it has nothing to do with the race of the shoppers- it's a matter of class.
I miss Kmart. Had some good memories shopping there.
I used to buy groceries at a Super Kmart store circa 2004. It was one of the closest places to me for groceries.
I quickly smartened up because their grocery prices were absurd.
That store was not too bad on the inside, but I couldn’t justify the grocery bill.
Eddie Lampert should be in jail for what he's done to Sears.
That is a fact Chris, I loved being able to exchange broken Craftsman tools at Sears, never a question and they sold Craftsman to Stanley and just squandered 600 million dollars!
@@xx2345000 so cringe when you call someone you don't know on the internet by their first name
he abused sears....😭😭😂😭😂
@ipmala Don't forget Ross :D
ipmala jc penny sill exist 🤔
Kmart Woolworths and Sears were awesome. Sadness.
I fully agree!!
Woolworth's in Chicago had a pet store and an ice cream counter downstairs.. sometimes my mom would take me and my sister there for a chocolate malt and a replacement goldfish lol #memories
I enjoyed shopping at Kmart... loved their Submarine Sandwiches and Cherry Icees,
The Blue light Specials and their music .😢
The Michigan headquartered company who paid fair wages got beat by the southern low wage and low standing Walmart
I have a Target, Walmart and Kmart near me. Surprisingly, the Kmart's not doing that bad. The only reason I would choose Kmart is if I don't feel like dealing with Walmart or Target's busy parking lot.
What state you in?
nyxxie023
Do you live in New York?
California
Please go to kmart. #SAVETHEKMARTS
True
Why am I watching this I don't even live in america lol
Dwayne Kirby is it really bad? I’ve been America many times I want to live there.
Yuyugt 86 thanks
Christopher Chinchilla what states are good?
1dogissky some parts gotta pick the right place to live, I live in AZ and I love it but there are alot of problema
@@1dogissky Go anywhere except for the big city here in the state. I use to lived in Pella, Iowa such a nice calm beautiful place flat road, Wise, Virginia peaceful and quiet you can go out at night and ghost hunt, and now I lived here in Cranston, Rhode Island I like it cuz everything so close together city to city I can get to Boston, Massachusetts in like 45 minutes from here since the State are small but I won't recommended living here though tax way too expensive, route 95 always traffic, unlike Virginia or Tennessee where you can see a nice beautiful Appalachian Mountains but you will need a car since everything so far away. Just go to the place in State with a good nature and avoid big city at all cost.
I worked at Kmart in Key West Florida and working that was quite entertaining. Registers were beyond old technology and I'd often hit several buttons at once to freeze the registers (so I didn't have to deal with customers). I also worked the layaway department which was fun but not very well organized. The store overall was very dated and employees often had conflicts with management.
What is bizarre is I didn’t make a conscious decision to stop shopping at Kmart it just sort of happened. Two Walmarts were in town easier to get in and out of. You’re right in the 1970s and 1980s I was at Kmart all the time. I didn’t think about Kmart until people said they were closing the store somewhere around 2016
At the rate we are going amazon will take over soon
ESGAR MONTALVO they already did
yeah until it goes bankrupt
iKingRPG Amazon is not going bankrupt anytime soon, have u seen how much their stock is worth? They will put other many companies out of business before they go bankrupt
@@Duni4ever22 Inevitably Amazon will go bankrupt. Not soon, maybe 2050?
Samuel T. White for that to happen there would have to be another rival company with lower prices, not impossible but I do not see another company that can put Amazon out of business. Maybe in the future or maybe a current company like Walmart and their current use of the internet with Walmart.com. However Walmart does have over two million employees where as Amazon has around 660,000 less wages and benefits that Amazon has to pay out, increasing their profit margins.
I worked at a Kmart back in 2013-14 while i was in school.. Even I questioned why people shopped there...
they were still reasonable in their selection. They let video games go, and that along with Martha Stewart was the final straw, they were toast when they let their biggest sellers leave.
This is a prime example of a company full of yes men managers all happy about lining their pockets but not telling their managers of floors and issues within the company
I worked for Kmart in the early 70's in the Los Angeles area. We had a Sears store near us that was fully computerized in 1973. They could scan price tags, do inventory. and do automatic replenishment even then. Kmart was still using mechanical registers and doing inventory by hand at that time which meant that we were always trying to sell empty peg hooks. When I talked to a district manager about why we didn't get into computers more he just said that we have so many stores it would be too expensive. He later quit Kmart and went to work for Walmart.
There was a kmart on my side of town and i shopped there and at sears pretty regularly because you could work their rewards program to get some crazy good deals on products but when they closed the Kmart near me, I refused shopping at sears after that (which is also now closing in our town). The one thing I would always tell my wife was that kmart needed to update its infrastructure. Their registers were straight out of the 80’s and were slow, they asked 5,000 questions before you finished checking out, and their receipts were a mile long. They made it painful to purchase rather than simple which is what the modern shopper wants imo...
I remember K Mart but then it also feels like a fever dream😂
There was a Kmart in the small town I live in. It closed not long after Walmart opened.
Wish we still had our Kmart store here in Mt. Airy! Held so many great memories for me and my husband!
I remember going into Kmart when I was little and I could tell at a preteen age that the stores didn't seem like they cared anymore. Everything was mismatched on shelves, shelves with DVDs were empty, there's always just screaming children lying on the floor and long lines not enough employees... Good times👍
i remember dog biscuits were on the cookie shelves,wonder why they didnt taste so good but i got shiney head of hair.