The irony of Kmart is how they were "the Walmart" of the 1960's and 1970's. The opened bright and clean new stores everywhere, ran small specialty stores out of business due to their one-stop shopping (often teaming up with a grocery store next door) and were the anchor in countless small strip malls. Forward 40 years and they are dead, and really they killed themselves as much as let WalMart run them over. Makes me wonder if the same will happen to WalMart some day.
I agree. Amazon is changing and it is for the worse. Their prime membership is reasonable only if you have a Fire TV and discontinue another service such as Netflix. If WalMart does decline, I suspect their poor customer service and poor shopping experience will be their weak point. It took Kmart decades to implode. Not sure if the 1%'rs in Bentonville can see the trend.
I agree, even if my post above didn't make that clear. Amazon is an incredibly smart corporation, and some of the things they do just don't make sense over the short term - but over the long term they know what they are doing. I just sometimes wonder if Walmart knows what they are doing. They are out to beat down Amazon, but at what cost? Where I am at , the Walmarts are actually nice stores with nice employees. But when I travel, I just shake my head at the horrible stores they have.
Where I live, the mega mall has Sears, JCPenney and Macy's as anchors. The mall is not dead, and JCPenney is hanging in there with customers, but the other two are closer to being on total deathwatch nationwide. The lack of competition is all that has kept that mall alive - other large enclosed mall was torn down long ago after it died. BTW I am in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
our local Kmart is doing good. the parking lot is always full. and there is always shoppers in there. I enjoy shopping at Kmart over Wal-Mart any day. I hope they stay open.
Mace Crawford l liked shopping at kmart because i sometimes bought little ceasers pizza but a month ago they took out the little ceasars from the kmart closes to me rip.
I agree. Ames bought out Zayre then folded. Montgomery Ward bought out Lechmere then folded. Macy's bought out all the competition and is in its slow, painful death throes.
Anyone remember Builder's Square? They bought Hechingers (Mid-Atlantic) in 1998, then folded in 1999. Bummer. If Hechingers refused their offer, probably would still be in business now.
Radio shack did that. I grew up with them being a hobby store with electronics. It got so bad that when they closed, I'd walk in and see a phone store. Who needs more phone stores?
I worked for Woolworth Corp (now Foot Locker) starting in 1995, and shortly after that, 1996 I think, we were in talks to buy The Sports Authority from Kmart. Fortunately, the deal fell through, as the required filings exposed a lot of the problems in Woolworth's supply chain. I think TSA was spun off, and it's still around; Woolworth failed to re-merchandise itself and closed, and the corporate brass began shedding most of the chains that they had accumulated over the decades, until Foot Locker (and Lady & Kids), FootAction, Champs Sports, and Eastbay (catalog/mail order/online) were the only brands left. Did you know: Northern Reflections, Afterthoughts, San Francisco Music Box Company, Kinney Shoes, Footquarters, and a veritable mall's worth of retailers were all owned by Woolworth?
I still can't get over how different things were for the company back in the early 2000s when both of my parents used to work at two different Kmart stores! Stores were busy, sales were going smooth, and they had great prices and selections for everything!
the price and selection is why I use to love Kmart in the 90's back in VA ... when i went to the FL Kmart that is local here ... the prices were ... meh... and the QUALITY of the merchandise was just not the same ... seemed like cheaper stuff quality wise
There are still plenty of Kmarts in Australia and New Zealand and they're actually quite profitable! The Kmarts of Oz were derived from the Kresge company, but broke off from their American counter parts a long time ago and are now owned by a major Aussie company; Wesfarmers, therefore the Kmart in Australia has nothing to do with Sears. The Kmart stores in Australia look much nicer and up-to-date than the ones remaining in America.
True; although much better management is contributing to the strength of the Kmart brand here in Australia, the Aussie Kmart, as you said, doesn't have as strong of competition as American Kmarts. Kmart Australia does have two major competitors: Target (the Aussie version is also owned by Wesfarmers) and Big W but both of them are somewhat struggling.
The Kmart chain in Australia will be all that remains of once great Kresge empire. Kmart Australia opened in 1969 as a joint venture between S.S. Kresge Co. and G.J. Coles.
I'm thinking that once US Kmart goes out of business maybe its Australian cadet branch can try expanding into the United States. Lets face it even though its US based stores are closing Kmart is still a very marketable brand in retail.
"As long as your going to K-mart, don't, forget the film." I can still hear that jingle in my head. There was a Kmart within walking distance of where I grew up and spent many hours there. (and took our film to drop off there) Every Kmart in town has closed up over that last couple years now.
at the Kmart I worked at some of the employees had been there since the store was built nearly 40 yrs ago until it eventually closed. It was a great company to work for back in the day. Now...not so much.
Mister Hat nah that's just how the standard cheerleader uniform was. my high school is very old and they made the cheerleaders wear some vintage uniforms one week that looked exactly like those
Interesting. Today the Cheerleader skirts are MUCH shorter, and basketball shorts for both men and women are MUCH longer, just a tiny bit above the knees.
I know it's just a store but it makes me sad to think about Kmart going out of business in the next year it reminds me of my deceased mom and childhood growing up shopping there just another part of Americana that's gone
I remember going to Kmart quite a bit as a kid and I remember how cool it was then. They sold TVs, electronics, had a garden center and my mom has bought plants there, now they offer a lot less. No more garden center or electronics. It seems like it sucks now and the inside is depressing. Now I rarely go there.
Kmart in Australia and New Zealand doing fantastic. The US Kmart Corporation sold the Australian operation off just when they were peaking in the early 1990s. They suffered the same problems in the 2000s as Kmart in the USA with dated stores and sales downturns (there was even talk of killing the Kmart brand off entirely in 2007), but the parent company of the Australian arm invested in store upgrades and changed their product offering to suit the changing times, and now they are by far the biggest department store in the country. I guess a good way to put it is that Kmart Aus/NZ is like if Kmart, Ikea and Aldi had a baby. Mostly store-brand merchandise, sold quite cheaply in high volumes. Product lines are mostly simplified compared to the old days, too. The automotive and hardware section is a shadow of its former self. Video games and DVDs were removed a couple of years back. The food section is mostly limited to candy and bags of chips.
RPAmesandKmartfan26 Walmart today reminds me of Kmart in the 90's they say they are tops, but when you go into a store, you need to take an antidepressant to shop there. Drab, prices are just ok, and they are short on help.
Walmart and Target I believe will transition to a near fully automated Amazon Go style stores. Get rid of problem employees for a mechanized solution. That's the only way I see them thriving in the age of Amazon/online shopping.
RPAmesandKmartfan26 actually Sears could have been the “amazon” if they decided to invest in online shopping early on. They already have the distribution network form their catalog sales. They just needed to move what was in the catalog to the web. Amazon was just starting and only sold books at the time.
I go to Kmart just for the 80's vibe. I really don't care about the prices. It's always a trip back in time...who knows you may find some NOS 20 year old collectibles on their shelves..haha
lol Like I said it's a trip back in time. I never pass up an opportunity to walk down memory lane when I come across one in my travels...makes my day everytime!
I love this video. My town still has a KMART but it is like walking into a dump. KMART really started to go down hill in the late 90s when they cut back a lot on customer service. They were also terrible for keeping their shelves stocked with basic items.
Personally I think it will be way less than 5 years before K-mart/Sears is gone. I think it will be 2-3 years at the most. K-mart never fixed up their stores they always looked like 1982. In my lifetime I have never seen a brand new K-mart store.
lidsman2221 that's not totally true they used to operate hundreds of super centers that were comprable to Walmart if not bigger plus they had big K's and other more modern stores it was just a little too late and they didn't do it in large enough volumes compared to Walmart.
That's the real beauty or charm of the Kmart stores, looking like their still in the 80's. If you want to shop in a modern store any Walmart will do, but I personally like the character of a days gone buy place to shop and will continue to go there.
Believe it or not, they actually are remodeling some stores. Mostly sears, but increasingly Kmart. The stores look MUCH better, and if they manage to institute the remodels storewide they might have a chance
Kmart should have never been buying any companies but focused on updating existing stores and focus on remaining competitive they would still be profitable and would have had more stores than they had in 1990.
Great summary of a once great retailer. They had a K-Mart up here in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada for the longest time. I remember it was one of the first places that had Commodore PCs out on display. I used to write the old BASIC screen display programs on them when I was a kid. Haha, good memories.
I live less than a mile from the very first Kmart in Garden City. In fact, my mom was there for the grand opening in the 60s. It closed earlier this year but I have still have good memories. I used to ride my bike there as a kid and spend my allowance on god knows what lol. And of course, I always had to stop and get an icee, too. I could even see the Kmart sign from my house in the winter when the trees were bare. It’s a shame it declined so heavily. It seemed, close to the end, they were always so short staffed and the store wasn’t well kept. Very dated (which I kinda liked for the nostalgia). You could almost always bet something wouldn’t ring up the right price.. truly felt as though they stopped caring. It’s just an empty building now adding to the dying retail blight. Sad.
I haven't seen a Kmart in person since at least 2003 when they left Houston altogether. My mom hated going to Kmart because it was always messy even back then. The buildings have since been demoed altogether or turned into office spaces. Great video!
My first job as a mechanic after tech school was at a K-Mart auto shop. Yeah, that was a long time ago. The place paid everyone in cash, the original cafeteria was still operating (best damn cheesecake I've ever had btw) and it was a great place to work.
My first job was at Kmart auto center,the cafe was great,paid cash in a envelope at the cash cage in the back of the store so you had a wad of cash in your hand to buy shit in their store.
K-Mart here in Westchester neighborhood in Miami, opened in 1969 and closed in 2005. The store remained empty and a sign went up in 2008 that a Home Depot was going to open there, but alas that didn't come to fruition and in 2010, a sign saying a WalMart Superstore was coming. They tore down the old K-Mart and the Westchester Mall (only 35 stores) and replaced it with a CVS and where the mall was a WalMart Superstore opened in 2011. Sad but true story not only here in Miami, but many places across the US. I have to admit, the last time I was in that K-Mart was probably in about 2002 and there was not many folks there shopping.
I used to work for KMart when I was in high school. This one was is Montreal, Canada in 1978. I was a cashier and I think we were the only ones that didn't have electronic cash registers. They kept saying they were coming but, during my 3-year stay there, they never came. Shopping there might have been a great experience but working there certainly wasn't. I would think it was similar to working at Wal-Mart. They ended up closing all the K-Marts in the 80's I think. I remember when I started, we had a ton of employees, lots of cashiers and everyone was happy. As the years advanced, the number of employees significantly decreased and we were stuck just 2 o 3 cashiers right before Christmas, working 12-hour shifts. No more greeters. It kept going downhill like this until I left (it was only an occasional job for me because I was still in school). Afterwards, I can't imagine how it must have been.
You know it's bad when K-Mart has to compare prices of certain products like a purse to Amazon's prices. I guess it is a last hurrah to get customers to shop and buy at their stores before they are officially done which will happen maybe in 5 years if that even though K-Mart has basically been dead since 2002.
Good god,I forgot the KMart savings place song.Until now.Wowwww...If you look up KMart Christmas music on yt,u get actual recordings with announcements that were played in store during the holidays.FUN!!!
Growing up in the 80s, we had a parody to that jingle: KMart is your rip-off store... Go in rich and come out poor... Even in its heyday, kids never wanted to be accused of wearing KMart clothes, or God forbid, having one of your middle school peers "seeing you walk in there". Kids in the 80s were spoiled snobs. I should know, I was one of them...
Sadly,you are right-I think around age 12 or 13,(that was 1983 for me)kids started getting uber snobby about others wearing clothes from KMart,Pic'n'Save,and Zayre's for some reason.The age of excess.If you were seen going in there,you better say your mom made you,or you had to get something else.Anything but clothes.Wowww...
Our last remaining Kmart store (of originally 5 or so) was never on the list to be closed. It was a thriving store, and almost always had people in it. They just replaced the electronic entrance doors and everything. But the city wanted it gone and the land redeveloped, so the owner sold the property to "Hilton Hotels" and had to buyout Kmarts lease for the next 7 years bc of it. I'm pretty sure it was a scheme to get a Walmart built there without an uproar, stating that Hilton backed out, but Walmart would offer to buy the land instead. The Little Caesar's Pizza Station closed quickly, then the liquidation began. Within a couple of months, our only remaining Kmart was gone (just within the past 2 weeks). The store is completely gutted and you can see the back of the store from the front doors. Sad indeed! I loved Kmart, especially at Christmas time.
Back in the days when there were strict guidelines for employee dress. I even remember when there was rules against mens facial hair, visible piercings and tattoos. Now all that has gone by the wayside.
If K mart would have invested money in there own company in modernizing there stores instead of buying other shore chains they would still be thriving today. As Mr. Wonderful says "I'm out"
I remember when Kmart had once been the retail shopping age of the decade. In Corpus Christi,Texas. I'm forty-six years of age now;but back then,in the 80's,I often went with my parents - when we went shopping for clothes. Once in a while,when I had been a kid,if I had behaved,I'd get a toy. A toy car. Or an action figure. Anyway,in 2000,we once had a Super Kmart. It once had just about everything that you could ever want. It had been short-lived. The atomsphere that it had. The old familar scenery. The aisles that had been seven or nine feet tall. And everything it had to offer. It's long gone,now. Just like Phar-Mor,it,too,had many uniqiue items,no store had. Despite the 20,000 square mile size of the store,the friendly customer store clerks that were just about everywhere,and LOTS of toys........the only downside to all that,had been the prices. It had a decent size deli area. With tables,chairs,had a powerful AC,comfy atmosphere,and at another area? A game room! It had been short-lived. Dated October 24,2019.
It's really sad that Kmart is going down the shitter. My Carlsbad Kmart opened in 1977 Back then My sister got her picture taken there and My mom buys my clothes for school from Kindergarten until the 10th grade. The fatal blow for Carlsbad,NM was that Kmart started hiring very rude and bitchy employees who failed to qualify to work at a Wendy's,Sonic,McDonald's,Pizza Hut,Pizza Inn and Walmart especially a local grocery store. I remember changing the channels on the TVs they sell and the employee went in bewilderment and labeled me as Daniel The Menace because I put Cartoons on the TVs as I recalled seeing the NES,Game Boy,SNES and Sega Genesis games on the glass display. This is until 1998 The Carlsbad Kmart became a Big Kmart but hiring even more rude employees and this was the last straw for Loving,NM and Carlsbad,NM shoppers as my mom stopped shopping at Kmart for good as a Walmart Supercenter opened in 1998 replacing a old Walmart that was opened in Carlsbad since the mid-80's everyone decided to buy not only clothing,games,Hair products and garden care but groceries than at a local grocery store or Albertson's. Kmart left Carlsbad,NM for good in 2002 as the company failed to update the stores as the floors and ceilings were falling apart,the air conditioning was terrible,the bathrooms were nasty,they gutted the eletronic section and stopped selling games and the shelves were dusty. It looked like my mom and my whole family walked back to the 70's. Now my Kmart is a Ashley Homestore as it still using the Kmart Roofing but painted gray.
@CrashKenny No cafe, but they did have a pharmacy. The Cherry Land Kmart was a joke, especially towards the end when the roof was leaking badly and they put up those ridiculous funnels and buckets to catch the water.
Hit some correct points in the video.... Very simple though, in the 80's is where the decline began.... The founders of S.S. Kresge co and those execs from that era began retiring and passing away in the late 70's and early 80's. Their core business and success up to that point was concentrating on every day staples that we all need and use daily.... The replacement execs didn't follow that philosophy and started sucking profits to purchase Builders Square, Sports Auth, Office Max, Borders, a bank and more... They ignored their core business and started drifting.... Harry Cunningham is probably rolling over in his grave. He was in charge and large for many years and unfortunately his replacements did not understand the business, only money for their pockets.... The corporate raiders started coming in and pilfering the company with no improvement to anything but their golden parachutes and what they could line their pockets with... There are names of CEO's that took advantage of this and have Kmart blood in their wallets.... More dispicable are all the members of the board of directors for lining their pockets and hiring these criminal execs......... That's the short version and everything else is in-between the lines which ultimately led to it's demise starting in the early 80's.... Later on removing the cafeteria and deli counters and replacing them with fast food franchises further destroyed the image.... Who can't look back and say they enjoyed and purchased tons of those submarine sandwiches..... They had a taste of their own and everyone loved them....
The Kmart in my area closed last year. I happened to go in there a few weeks prior to the store closing announcement and it could of closed that day and no one would of noticed. A Friday night at 6pm and there were only 4 cars in the parking lot and one of them was mine. To be honest that building was garbage. It was in very bad shape for decades before(and still is). The roof leaked and the floors were warped and a lot of the shelves were broken. After Kmart closed, the split the building into 3 stores, Harbor Freight, Gabe’s and Petco. Only been in harbor freight, but the building still looks like crap. The floor is still warped. You can still tell it used to be a Kmart since all HF did was paint the walls white and put up some shelves. The floor is the old Kmart black and white checkerboard pattern. Bet there is still a lot of evidence it used to be a Kmart in the back. Just like when Big Lots took over the old Ames building. The just put up the Big Lots sign on the building and you can still seen the ghosted Ames painted name behind it.
this was a cool video but I must disagree on Kmart being a victim of the current wave of retail failures. Kmart will die along with Sears because they never adapted to the times not because of the current retail armegeddon. if I had to guess they have 2 years max left.
Kmart is dying because Private equity bought it and has used both Kmart and Sears to profit off of (by selling thousands of stores off whether the real estate or their inventories etc).
I worked at a K-Mart Store in Southern Wisconsin in 1977-1978. I also worked at a Sears Catalog Department, during 1977-1978. I could NEVER imagine that those TWO Store could EVER go out of business. I feel as old as a dinosaur.
I thought the only Super Kmart was in Warren, Ohio. I worked in a Little Ceasars inside of a Kmart for a year so I can see why it's dying. The only time I saw people shopping was during Black Friday.
Some K-Marts still had grocery stores well into the early 1980s. K-Mart Foods may have been under different ownership over the years, but they did escape the 60s. :)
There are walmart grocery stores in California called Walmart Neighborhood Markets that are only focused on selling groceries. I overheard someone from a different department in my company say he doesn’t consider Walmart a grocery store. He has the wrong misconception that all Walmart locations are just stores that sell a variety of items with a grocery section. There are actually some Walmart grocery stores in California called Walmart Neighborhood Markets that concentrate mostly on selling grocery items.
The Kmart at the very start of the video is where my little sister worked as a cashier for years in the 00's-10's. It closed a few years ago but the building is still there. My first job was stocking groceries at the store next door (also closed, after they built a new Meijer just down the road).
As a kid, I remember the, Kmart is Your Saving Store. theme song back in the Late 70's Kmart,s were everywhere in Canada back then. As of the early 90's they all disappeared.
It's been two years since the Acme Kmart closed, and its still vacant. I heard that somebody is looking into turning it into a technology-based workplace. Meanwhile, the Tom's Food Market next door, which is a good-sized locally-owned supermarket, just announced that they are closing. A lot of the blame falls on the fact that Meijer built a 240,000 square-foot store just a few miles from this location. Now, there's going to be TWO huge, abandoned eyesores across from the giant Grand Traverse Resort.
I always thought that the American Kmart was related to the one here in New Zealand and Australia but turns out it's a completely different company with a similar name (that's doing much better money wise). Rip Kmart
Hey Ace's Adventures, I have the perfect mall for you to explore; Niagara Square Mall in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Can't find much background info, but the anchors were a regional chain called Robinson's (until 1994, later Hudson's Bay, a Canadian department store similar to Sears, closed in 2006, after that a Michaels craft store) and a Kmart until 1998, later a Canadian discount store similar to Walmart, Zellers. When business was declining in the mid 2000s, the mall decided to demolish the Zellers and replace it and many small stores with big box stores on the exterior. The interior mall closed April 30th, but a few of the stores on the outside are still open (a gym, a clothing store chain, 2 furniture stores and a Chinese buffet. Thanks if you read this!
Very sad our local kmart in brandon fl is now in the process of liquidation that store has been there since the late 60°s it's sad to see it go R.I.P Brandon fl kmart u will be missed
I just went to the Kmart in Milford CT this evening. It was the first time I have been in one in probably 20 years. This particular store was clean but the entire inside of the store looks way out of date. It really looks no different inside than a Big Lots. None of the registers were open, had to go to customer service to check out. Very few people inside store shopping.
Sad as it sounds, the Kmart in my area closed down before I was even born. I would guess they just demolished it a little over 10 years ago and the lot still sits vacant to this day.
Kmart still near me in NJ about 15 minutes away. Funny thing is, it's usually crowded and does business but the store itself is in bad shape like most of the others.
I like how you used footage from the acme Kmart, I live close to there and recently filmed a video about the state of the store since it’s been abandoned. I will be uploading that in the coming weeks. I honestly hope Kmart makes a comeback but it’s not looking so hot for them right now.
5:20 failing to use computer technology. Jeebs nothing has changed. They're still using that 90s equipment that is slow and breaks down constantly today. Kmart is a victim of it's own suicide
Kmart managed to keep Wal-Mart out off Michigan for as long as they could but once that one was built on telegraph at that second kmart was done. A wolf was in THE HEN HOUSE WALMART KILLED KMART LONG BEFORE WE SEEN IT IN MICHIGAN
The Kmart near me closed last year and with in a week was torn down for some condos. We still have a handful of closed Kmart buildings here in Oregon. Many are being torn down for other uses.
In the late 80's, early 90's, my husband and I would go to KMart almost every other day, just to see what was new and what was on sale. Although I never bought a Blue Light Special. LOL! I loved KMart back in the day but it became worn down and sad.
That Kmart jingle. Yes, remember it well. During my time in retail (mid 2010s}, I worked with a lady who worked at Kmart for over 35 years (actually one of the last employees left when it closed). Unfortunately due to mismanagement and executive greed, her pension for all thise years of service was basically nothing. How prophetic of you to say Kmart would be dead in 5 years.
The second Kmart to open in the USA has been left abandoned since late 90’s and still standing to this day. It’s located at what left of the glen wood plaza totally abandoned as well. In Pontiac Michigan. The former world headquarters for Kmart located in Troy Michigan is to be demolished soon.😢
Still miss my local Kmarts very much! I'd shop there over Walmart any day if I could. My nearest one actually opened in 1980, which made it even more sad that they had to close. :( I have memories of going there with my parents at that very store since I was little.
Man I remember the fast food in front of the K-Mart store as a kid. Before they had a Fred Mayers and Wall Mart and Target in my area. This is where we would shop. Grandma even retired from K-Mart. Sad to see its down fall for the last 20 years.
Kmart is not totally out of business, they still have some remaining in select markets in the USA. Also, there is a separate and very successful Kmart found in Australia and New Zealand. Here are all of the non liquidating Kmarts in the USA and US territories as of September 26, 2021: 1. Tauming, Guam 2. Grass Valley, California 3. Key West, Florida 4. Miami, Florida 5. Hamilton, Montana 6. Avenel, New Jersey 7. Westwood, New Jersey 8. Bridgehampton, New York 9. Bronx, New York (The Shops at Bruckner) 10. Bronx, New York (Bay Plaza Shopping Center) 11. Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 12. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (Sunshine Mall) 13. St. Croix, U.S Virgin Islands (Sunny Isle Shopping Center) 14. St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Tutu Park Mall) 15. St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Lockhart Gardens Shopping Center). Liquidating Kmarts that are temporarily still open are 1. White Plains, New York 2. Brooklyn, New York (located on the ground floor of a liquidating Sears) and 3. Marshall, Michigan
There are two Kmarts in my city and they're always clean but business seems really light. I don't shop there often but I don't want to see them go but the way things seem to be going nationwide doesn't look good.
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At the beginning one at Acme looks just like Battle Creek's 2nd Kmart on Beckley across from Lakeview Square Mall.
If Kmart came out of bankruptcy, how the hell did they magically have $11 billion to "buy" Sears. Also, ask any former Fleming Companies employees what the Kmart bankruptcy did for them?? Answer: we all lost our jobs when Fleming went bankrupt, mostly due to Kmart's breaking a national supply groceries contract with Fleming.
djjim01 they filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which is essentially they get a loan from the bank and they reorganize the company using that money. So they probably had money after reorganizing and profits were probably up too.
React2Quick What bank or banker in his right mind would give an $11 billion loan to a loser company, Kmart. Also, talk with ALL Kmart vendors & suppliers who probably only got pennies on the dollar for money owed to them due to Kmart's bankruptcy. I still like Sears, mostly due to Craftsman products, and continue to shop at Sears. Not so much, when it comes to Kmart.
The Big K Kmart in the city where I live just shut it's doors. Apparently they're demolishing the building, which has been there since the late 60s/early 70s, and putting up a much taller building in it's place. That seems to be what major cities love doing, tear down the old and bring in the new.
The K-mart in my area was too expensive, I remeber when i was little a box of fruity pebbles was 6.99 at K-mart and like around 3-4 bucks everywhere else
I lived near that Kmart, even in the late 90s & 2000s it never really got much business. Acme is a pretty small town so I wasn’t surprised when Acmes Kmart closed. It was a nice store though.
Being a proud Michigan citizen, I'd rather have one Kmart left in the years following a bankruptcy and operating on its own terms like a blockbuster in Alaska I went to. Sears Holdings won't let Kmart go out of business until they file for bankruptcy.
For me my K Mart opened around 1989 and closed in 2018, it actually looked similar to the k mart in this video, but it was white instead of brown, it's now a Gabe's and Big Lots, and there was Also a Sears in my town, it Opened around 1969 and Closed in 2016, the store space is still vacant
The irony of Kmart is how they were "the Walmart" of the 1960's and 1970's. The opened bright and clean new stores everywhere, ran small specialty stores out of business due to their one-stop shopping (often teaming up with a grocery store next door) and were the anchor in countless small strip malls. Forward 40 years and they are dead, and really they killed themselves as much as let WalMart run them over. Makes me wonder if the same will happen to WalMart some day.
Alan Maier I hope Wal-Mart goes down. I hate shopping there
Wal-Mart customer service sucks
I agree. Amazon is changing and it is for the worse. Their prime membership is reasonable only if you have a Fire TV and discontinue another service such as Netflix. If WalMart does decline, I suspect their poor customer service and poor shopping experience will be their weak point. It took Kmart decades to implode. Not sure if the 1%'rs in Bentonville can see the trend.
I agree, even if my post above didn't make that clear. Amazon is an incredibly smart corporation, and some of the things they do just don't make sense over the short term - but over the long term they know what they are doing. I just sometimes wonder if Walmart knows what they are doing. They are out to beat down Amazon, but at what cost? Where I am at , the Walmarts are actually nice stores with nice employees. But when I travel, I just shake my head at the horrible stores they have.
Where I live, the mega mall has Sears, JCPenney and Macy's as anchors. The mall is not dead, and JCPenney is hanging in there with customers, but the other two are closer to being on total deathwatch nationwide. The lack of competition is all that has kept that mall alive - other large enclosed mall was torn down long ago after it died. BTW I am in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
our local Kmart is doing good. the parking lot is always full. and there is always shoppers in there. I enjoy shopping at Kmart over Wal-Mart any day. I hope they stay open.
Mace Crawford l liked shopping at kmart because i sometimes bought little ceasers pizza but a month ago they took out the little ceasars from the kmart closes to me rip.
Where is your Kmart?
Where is your Kmart? The one in Harrison Ohio just renewed their lease until 2021. People are always shopping there when i am there.
Mace Crawford short of a miracle Kmart is dead.
I have 3 around me still luckily!!!
They refused to invest back in to the company and instead continued to buy other stores. Bad move Kmart. Bad move.
I agree. Ames bought out Zayre then folded. Montgomery Ward bought out Lechmere then folded. Macy's bought out all the competition and is in its slow, painful death throes.
Anyone remember Builder's Square? They bought Hechingers (Mid-Atlantic) in 1998, then folded in 1999. Bummer. If Hechingers refused their offer, probably would still be in business now.
It's effectively what has happened to Gibson Guitars. They put so much money into expanding into other areas, but ignored the original brands.
Radio shack did that. I grew up with them being a hobby store with electronics. It got so bad that when they closed, I'd walk in and see a phone store. Who needs more phone stores?
I worked for Woolworth Corp (now Foot Locker) starting in 1995, and shortly after that, 1996 I think, we were in talks to buy The Sports Authority from Kmart. Fortunately, the deal fell through, as the required filings exposed a lot of the problems in Woolworth's supply chain. I think TSA was spun off, and it's still around; Woolworth failed to re-merchandise itself and closed, and the corporate brass began shedding most of the chains that they had accumulated over the decades, until Foot Locker (and Lady & Kids), FootAction, Champs Sports, and Eastbay (catalog/mail order/online) were the only brands left. Did you know: Northern Reflections, Afterthoughts, San Francisco Music Box Company, Kinney Shoes, Footquarters, and a veritable mall's worth of retailers were all owned by Woolworth?
I still can't get over how different things were for the company back in the early 2000s when both of my parents used to work at two different Kmart stores! Stores were busy, sales were going smooth, and they had great prices and selections for everything!
the price and selection is why I use to love Kmart in the 90's back in VA ... when i went to the FL Kmart that is local here ... the prices were ... meh... and the QUALITY of the merchandise was just not the same ... seemed like cheaper stuff quality wise
There are still plenty of Kmarts in Australia and New Zealand and they're actually quite profitable! The Kmarts of Oz were derived from the Kresge company, but broke off from their American counter parts a long time ago and are now owned by a major Aussie company; Wesfarmers, therefore the Kmart in Australia has nothing to do with Sears. The Kmart stores in Australia look much nicer and up-to-date than the ones remaining in America.
Bobcat1438 That's because you guys never got Walmart
True; although much better management is contributing to the strength of the Kmart brand here in Australia, the Aussie Kmart, as you said, doesn't have as strong of competition as American Kmarts. Kmart Australia does have two major competitors: Target (the Aussie version is also owned by Wesfarmers) and Big W but both of them are somewhat struggling.
So true Kmart is big in Australia! And our stores are new! Not old!
Bobcat1438 The Big W. Is that connected in any way to Walmart, even in name only? Also, who owns the Big W?
bdaddyn678 Big W here in Australia is own by the woolworths group.
The Kmart chain in Australia will be all that remains of once great Kresge empire.
Kmart Australia opened in 1969 as a joint venture between S.S. Kresge Co. and G.J. Coles.
australian kmarts are almost like a whole different brand
The Australian Kmarts will be the Byzantine Empire.
That makes the American Kmarts the Roman Empire.
Yes, now they are, but they were once part of the same company until G.J. Coles bought the remaining shares Kresge held in Kmart Australia in 1994.
I'm thinking that once US Kmart goes out of business maybe its Australian cadet branch can try expanding into the United States. Lets face it even though its US based stores are closing Kmart is still a very marketable brand in retail.
"As long as your going to K-mart, don't, forget the film."
I can still hear that jingle in my head. There was a Kmart within walking distance of where I grew up and spent many hours there. (and took our film to drop off there) Every Kmart in town has closed up over that last couple years now.
LiveResistance ~ oh wow that's so true about the jingle
They stopped investing in their stores way back when they were still profitable. That is what led to their decline.
at the Kmart I worked at some of the employees had been there since the store was built nearly 40 yrs ago until it eventually closed. It was a great company to work for back in the day. Now...not so much.
Damn, those Cheerleader skirts are long.
Mister Hat nah that's just how the standard cheerleader uniform was. my high school is very old and they made the cheerleaders wear some vintage uniforms one week that looked exactly like those
Lanija Brown crazy but the guys basketball teams had short shorts lol
+Stan McSerr and your point is?
Interesting. Today the Cheerleader skirts are MUCH shorter, and basketball shorts for both men and women are MUCH longer, just a tiny bit above the knees.
@@cance7984 point is he wishes they were shorter so he can see their LaLas...duh
I know it's just a store but it makes me sad to think about Kmart going out of business in the next year it reminds me of my deceased mom and childhood growing up shopping there just another part of Americana that's gone
I feel the same way
Kmart had to die to make way for better, more relevant stores.
Same here💧💧💧💧💧💧💧
I remember going to Kmart quite a bit as a kid and I remember how cool it was then. They sold TVs, electronics, had a garden center and my mom has bought plants there, now they offer a lot less. No more garden center or electronics. It seems like it sucks now and the inside is depressing. Now I rarely go there.
OMG! This was my childhood Kmart.
S.S. Kresge would never let Kmart become the dump like it is today.
Nice you could use vintage and recent footage of your own of the same store.
Kmart in Australia and New Zealand doing fantastic. The US Kmart Corporation sold the Australian operation off just when they were peaking in the early 1990s. They suffered the same problems in the 2000s as Kmart in the USA with dated stores and sales downturns (there was even talk of killing the Kmart brand off entirely in 2007), but the parent company of the Australian arm invested in store upgrades and changed their product offering to suit the changing times, and now they are by far the biggest department store in the country. I guess a good way to put it is that Kmart Aus/NZ is like if Kmart, Ikea and Aldi had a baby. Mostly store-brand merchandise, sold quite cheaply in high volumes. Product lines are mostly simplified compared to the old days, too. The automotive and hardware section is a shadow of its former self. Video games and DVDs were removed a couple of years back. The food section is mostly limited to candy and bags of chips.
Walmart is on the way down also. If you've been in one, you'll know why. Very poorly managed, no spark of energy or guidance is present.
Mike1614b I prefer kmart
RPAmesandKmartfan26 Walmart today reminds me of Kmart in the 90's they say they are tops, but when you go into a store, you need to take an antidepressant to shop there. Drab, prices are just ok, and they are short on help.
Walmart and Target I believe will transition to a near fully automated Amazon Go style stores. Get rid of problem employees for a mechanized solution. That's the only way I see them thriving in the age of Amazon/online shopping.
It's on its way down too? LOL!!! How many Walmarts do you hear of them closing?
RPAmesandKmartfan26 actually Sears could have been the “amazon” if they decided to invest in online shopping early on. They already have the distribution network form their catalog sales. They just needed to move what was in the catalog to the web. Amazon was just starting and only sold books at the time.
I go to Kmart just for the 80's vibe. I really don't care about the prices. It's always a trip back in time...who knows you may find some NOS 20 year old collectibles on their shelves..haha
jonb7382 My store still has Backstreet Boys pins from the late 90s.
lol Like I said it's a trip back in time. I never pass up an opportunity to walk down memory lane when I come across one in my travels...makes my day everytime!
Melanie Raleigh that is so cool. I miss the late 90s.
I love this video. My town still has a KMART but it is like walking into a dump. KMART really started to go down hill in the late 90s when they cut back a lot on customer service. They were also terrible for keeping their shelves stocked with basic items.
Kmart should have kept its own Kmart cafe. I loved that place.
I remember the scents of buttered popcorn and soft pretzels there...
Personally I think it will be way less than 5 years before K-mart/Sears is gone. I think it will be 2-3 years at the most. K-mart never fixed up their stores they always looked like 1982. In my lifetime I have never seen a brand new K-mart store.
SupaEMT134 Kmart has been around way before 1989..
lidsman2221 that's not totally true they used to operate hundreds of super centers that were comprable to Walmart if not bigger plus they had big K's and other more modern stores it was just a little too late and they didn't do it in large enough volumes compared to Walmart.
i remember Kmart as a messy store back in the 1990s they lasted in Canada until 1997
That's the real beauty or charm of the Kmart stores, looking like their still in the 80's. If you want to shop in a modern store any Walmart will do, but I personally like the character of a days gone buy place to shop and will continue to go there.
Believe it or not, they actually are remodeling some stores. Mostly sears,
but increasingly Kmart. The stores look MUCH better, and if they manage to institute the remodels storewide they might have a chance
Kmart is really popular here in Australia.
Recently, the Kmart that I go to at Munno Para got renovated and it looks pretty damn nice.
The one here in Eastland Victoria is really good as well. Probably one of their best stores yet.
Kmart should have never been buying any companies but focused on updating existing stores and focus on remaining competitive they would still be profitable and would have had more stores than they had in 1990.
Great summary of a once great retailer. They had a K-Mart up here in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada for the longest time. I remember it was one of the first places that had Commodore PCs out on display. I used to write the old BASIC screen display programs on them when I was a kid. Haha, good memories.
Commodore 64 my first computer. :)
i miss zellers and Kmart....(local mall at one point had both until zellers bought Kmart....)
gmcnewlook I was never around when Kmart existed in Canada but I loved Zellers always went to the diner they had with my family on the weekends
Didn't Kmart die in the 90's there?
I live less than a mile from the very first Kmart in Garden City. In fact, my mom was there for the grand opening in the 60s. It closed earlier this year but I have still have good memories. I used to ride my bike there as a kid and spend my allowance on god knows what lol. And of course, I always had to stop and get an icee, too. I could even see the Kmart sign from my house in the winter when the trees were bare. It’s a shame it declined so heavily. It seemed, close to the end, they were always so short staffed and the store wasn’t well kept. Very dated (which I kinda liked for the nostalgia). You could almost always bet something wouldn’t ring up the right price.. truly felt as though they stopped caring. It’s just an empty building now adding to the dying retail blight. Sad.
I haven't seen a Kmart in person since at least 2003 when they left Houston altogether. My mom hated going to Kmart because it was always messy even back then. The buildings have since been demoed altogether or turned into office spaces. Great video!
the kmart by me turned into a lowes store
Matt Mathers You mean the Kmart in Pasadena?
it was one in Alabama
Charity E Yeah Kmart down in Texas is pretty much extinct. I lived in north Texas right around Dallas and Fort Worth.
The existing kmarts are pretty organized nowadays because nobody shops there. I still do.
My first job as a mechanic after tech school was at a K-Mart auto shop. Yeah, that was a long time ago. The place paid everyone in cash, the original cafeteria was still operating (best damn cheesecake I've ever had btw) and it was a great place to work.
My first job was at Kmart auto center,the cafe was great,paid cash in a envelope at the cash cage in the back of the store so you had a wad of cash in your hand to buy shit in their store.
K-Mart here in Westchester neighborhood in Miami, opened in 1969 and closed in 2005. The store remained empty and a sign went up in 2008 that a Home Depot was going to open there, but alas that didn't come to fruition and in 2010, a sign saying a WalMart Superstore was coming. They tore down the old K-Mart and the Westchester Mall (only 35 stores) and replaced it with a CVS and where the mall was a WalMart Superstore opened in 2011. Sad but true story not only here in Miami, but many places across the US. I have to admit, the last time I was in that K-Mart was probably in about 2002 and there was not many folks there shopping.
I used to work for KMart when I was in high school. This one was is Montreal, Canada in 1978. I was a cashier and I think we were the only ones that didn't have electronic cash registers. They kept saying they were coming but, during my 3-year stay there, they never came. Shopping there might have been a great experience but working there certainly wasn't. I would think it was similar to working at Wal-Mart. They ended up closing all the K-Marts in the 80's I think. I remember when I started, we had a ton of employees, lots of cashiers and everyone was happy. As the years advanced, the number of employees significantly decreased and we were stuck just 2 o 3 cashiers right before Christmas, working 12-hour shifts. No more greeters. It kept going downhill like this until I left (it was only an occasional job for me because I was still in school). Afterwards, I can't imagine how it must have been.
very cool video. I remember going to Kmart for back to school supplies.
You know it's bad when K-Mart has to compare prices of certain products like a purse to Amazon's prices. I guess it is a last hurrah to get customers to shop and buy at their stores before they are officially done which will happen maybe in 5 years if that even though K-Mart has basically been dead since 2002.
Grew up going to Kmart and there's 2 Kmart still in NYC and they look way different than the ones in the other states
One of your best ones yet. Love the Dead Mall videos but it's nice to get the history on retailers going to the big shopping mall in the sky.
Good god,I forgot the KMart savings place song.Until now.Wowwww...If you look up KMart Christmas music on yt,u get actual recordings with announcements that were played in store during the holidays.FUN!!!
Kelli Cox heck yes
Growing up in the 80s, we had a parody to that jingle:
KMart is your rip-off store...
Go in rich and come out poor...
Even in its heyday, kids never wanted to be accused of wearing KMart clothes, or God forbid, having one of your middle school peers "seeing you walk in there".
Kids in the 80s were spoiled snobs. I should know, I was one of them...
Sadly,you are right-I think around age 12 or 13,(that was 1983 for me)kids started getting uber snobby about others wearing clothes from KMart,Pic'n'Save,and Zayre's for some reason.The age of excess.If you were seen going in there,you better say your mom made you,or you had to get something else.Anything but clothes.Wowww...
Our last remaining Kmart store (of originally 5 or so) was never on the list to be closed. It was a thriving store, and almost always had people in it. They just replaced the electronic entrance doors and everything.
But the city wanted it gone and the land redeveloped, so the owner sold the property to "Hilton Hotels" and had to buyout Kmarts lease for the next 7 years bc of it. I'm pretty sure it was a scheme to get a Walmart built there without an uproar, stating that Hilton backed out, but Walmart would offer to buy the land instead.
The Little Caesar's Pizza Station closed quickly, then the liquidation began. Within a couple of months, our only remaining Kmart was gone (just within the past 2 weeks). The store is completely gutted and you can see the back of the store from the front doors.
Sad indeed! I loved Kmart, especially at Christmas time.
Back in the days when there were strict guidelines for employee dress. I even remember when there was rules against mens facial hair, visible piercings and tattoos. Now all that has gone by the wayside.
If K mart would have invested money in there own company in modernizing there stores instead of buying other shore chains they would still be thriving today. As Mr. Wonderful says "I'm out"
I remember when Kmart had once been the retail shopping age of the decade. In Corpus Christi,Texas. I'm forty-six years of age now;but back then,in the 80's,I often went with my parents - when we went shopping for clothes. Once in a while,when I had been a kid,if I had behaved,I'd get a toy. A toy car. Or an action figure. Anyway,in 2000,we once had a Super Kmart. It once had just about everything that you could ever want. It had been short-lived. The atomsphere that it had. The old familar scenery. The aisles that had been seven or nine feet tall. And everything it had to offer. It's long gone,now. Just like Phar-Mor,it,too,had many uniqiue items,no store had. Despite the 20,000 square mile size of the store,the friendly customer store clerks that were just about everywhere,and LOTS of toys........the only downside to all that,had been the prices. It had a decent size deli area. With tables,chairs,had a powerful AC,comfy atmosphere,and at another area? A game room! It had been short-lived. Dated October 24,2019.
It's really sad that Kmart is going down the shitter. My Carlsbad Kmart opened in 1977 Back then My sister got her picture taken there and My mom buys my clothes for school from Kindergarten until the 10th grade. The fatal blow for Carlsbad,NM was that Kmart started hiring very rude and bitchy employees who failed to qualify to work at a Wendy's,Sonic,McDonald's,Pizza Hut,Pizza Inn and Walmart especially a local grocery store. I remember changing the channels on the TVs they sell and the employee went in bewilderment and labeled me as Daniel The Menace because I put Cartoons on the TVs as I recalled seeing the NES,Game Boy,SNES and Sega Genesis games on the glass display. This is until 1998 The Carlsbad Kmart became a Big Kmart but hiring even more rude employees and this was the last straw for Loving,NM and Carlsbad,NM shoppers as my mom stopped shopping at Kmart for good as a Walmart Supercenter opened in 1998 replacing a old Walmart that was opened in Carlsbad since the mid-80's everyone decided to buy not only clothing,games,Hair products and garden care but groceries than at a local grocery store or Albertson's. Kmart left Carlsbad,NM for good in 2002 as the company failed to update the stores as the floors and ceilings were falling apart,the air conditioning was terrible,the bathrooms were nasty,they gutted the eletronic section and stopped selling games and the shelves were dusty. It looked like my mom and my whole family walked back to the 70's. Now my Kmart is a Ashley Homestore as it still using the Kmart Roofing but painted gray.
I once had an employee at a Kmart- a skeevy old man- try to put his hands on me. And his coworkers defended the creep!
That KMart in Acme was the best KMart in Grand Traverse County 😭
@CrashKenny No cafe, but they did have a pharmacy. The Cherry Land Kmart was a joke, especially towards the end when the roof was leaking badly and they put up those ridiculous funnels and buckets to catch the water.
Hit some correct points in the video.... Very simple though, in the 80's is where the decline began.... The founders of S.S. Kresge co and those execs from that era began retiring and passing away in the late 70's and early 80's. Their core business and success up to that point was concentrating on every day staples that we all need and use daily.... The replacement execs didn't follow that philosophy and started sucking profits to purchase Builders Square, Sports Auth, Office Max, Borders, a bank and more... They ignored their core business and started drifting.... Harry Cunningham is probably rolling over in his grave. He was in charge and large for many years and unfortunately his replacements did not understand the business, only money for their pockets.... The corporate raiders started coming in and pilfering the company with no improvement to anything but their golden parachutes and what they could line their pockets with... There are names of CEO's that took advantage of this and have Kmart blood in their wallets.... More dispicable are all the members of the board of directors for lining their pockets and hiring these criminal execs......... That's the short version and everything else is in-between the lines which ultimately led to it's demise starting in the early 80's.... Later on removing the cafeteria and deli counters and replacing them with fast food franchises further destroyed the image.... Who can't look back and say they enjoyed and purchased tons of those submarine sandwiches..... They had a taste of their own and everyone loved them....
The Kmart in my area closed last year. I happened to go in there a few weeks prior to the store closing announcement and it could of closed that day and no one would of noticed. A Friday night at 6pm and there were only 4 cars in the parking lot and one of them was mine.
To be honest that building was garbage. It was in very bad shape for decades before(and still is). The roof leaked and the floors were warped and a lot of the shelves were broken.
After Kmart closed, the split the building into 3 stores, Harbor Freight, Gabe’s and Petco. Only been in harbor freight, but the building still looks like crap. The floor is still warped. You can still tell it used to be a Kmart since all HF did was paint the walls white and put up some shelves. The floor is the old Kmart black and white checkerboard pattern. Bet there is still a lot of evidence it used to be a Kmart in the back. Just like when Big Lots took over the old Ames building. The just put up the Big Lots sign on the building and you can still seen the ghosted Ames painted name behind it.
this was a cool video but I must disagree on Kmart being a victim of the current wave of retail failures. Kmart will die along with Sears because they never adapted to the times not because of the current retail armegeddon. if I had to guess they have 2 years max left.
wild bill I hate walmart
Rather have Walmart than kmart
Kmart stores were run down and they never updated.
Make it one
Kmart is dying because Private equity bought it and has used both Kmart and Sears to profit off of (by selling thousands of stores off whether the real estate or their inventories etc).
I worked at a K-Mart Store in Southern Wisconsin in 1977-1978. I also worked at a Sears Catalog Department, during 1977-1978. I could NEVER imagine that those TWO Store could EVER go out of business. I feel as old as a dinosaur.
There is a kmart that is doing moderately well near where i live surprisingly. It was one that was updated in the 90's
I thought the only Super Kmart was in Warren, Ohio. I worked in a Little Ceasars inside of a Kmart for a year so I can see why it's dying. The only time I saw people shopping was during Black Friday.
Some K-Marts still had grocery stores well into the early 1980s. K-Mart Foods may have been under different ownership over the years, but they did escape the 60s. :)
There are walmart grocery stores in California called Walmart Neighborhood Markets that are only focused on selling groceries. I overheard someone from a different department in my company say he doesn’t consider Walmart a grocery store. He has the wrong misconception that all Walmart locations are just stores that sell a variety of items with a grocery section. There are actually some Walmart grocery stores in California called Walmart Neighborhood Markets that concentrate mostly on selling grocery items.
Eddie Lampert, you have effectively killed my favorite store of all time.
That song at the end was amazing!
I love watching your dead malls videos and any other videos u make . Keep up the great work
The Kmart at the very start of the video is where my little sister worked as a cashier for years in the 00's-10's. It closed a few years ago but the building is still there. My first job was stocking groceries at the store next door (also closed, after they built a new Meijer just down the road).
The kmart nearest to me is closing, they didn't even publicize it!
I don't think it would have mattered that much if they did.
As a kid, I remember the, Kmart is Your Saving Store. theme song back in the Late 70's Kmart,s were everywhere in Canada back then. As of the early 90's they all disappeared.
As a member of K-Mart for over 30 years this is a very sad to witness.
It's been two years since the Acme Kmart closed, and its still vacant. I heard that somebody is looking into turning it into a technology-based workplace. Meanwhile, the Tom's Food Market next door, which is a good-sized locally-owned supermarket, just announced that they are closing. A lot of the blame falls on the fact that Meijer built a 240,000 square-foot store just a few miles from this location. Now, there's going to be TWO huge, abandoned eyesores across from the giant Grand Traverse Resort.
Still there, still abandoned.
I always thought that the American Kmart was related to the one here in New Zealand and Australia but turns out it's a completely different company with a similar name (that's doing much better money wise). Rip Kmart
Hey Ace's Adventures, I have the perfect mall for you to explore; Niagara Square Mall in Niagara Falls, Ontario. Can't find much background info, but the anchors were a regional chain called Robinson's (until 1994, later Hudson's Bay, a Canadian department store similar to Sears, closed in 2006, after that a Michaels craft store) and a Kmart until 1998, later a Canadian discount store similar to Walmart, Zellers. When business was declining in the mid 2000s, the mall decided to demolish the Zellers and replace it and many small stores with big box stores on the exterior. The interior mall closed April 30th, but a few of the stores on the outside are still open (a gym, a clothing store chain, 2 furniture stores and a Chinese buffet. Thanks if you read this!
Ben Hates You i went there, video soon
Very sad our local kmart in brandon fl is now in the process of liquidation that store has been there since the late 60°s it's sad to see it go R.I.P Brandon fl kmart u will be missed
Nice video! Taught me a lot about Kmart that I didn't know!
The theme song brought me to tears when I heard it. I remember that commercial to that song.
I just went to the Kmart in Milford CT this evening. It was the first time I have been in one in probably 20 years. This particular store was clean but the entire inside of the store looks way out of date. It really looks no different inside than a Big Lots. None of the registers were open, had to go to customer service to check out. Very few people inside store shopping.
I worked at a Kmart they still have the registers from 90's. The registers always locked on me to the restart point.
Sad as it sounds, the Kmart in my area closed down before I was even born. I would guess they just demolished it a little over 10 years ago and the lot still sits vacant to this day.
Kmart still near me in NJ about 15 minutes away. Funny thing is, it's usually crowded and does business but the store itself is in bad shape like most of the others.
Love love love LOVED it!
I like how you used footage from the acme Kmart, I live close to there and recently filmed a video about the state of the store since it’s been abandoned. I will be uploading that in the coming weeks. I honestly hope Kmart makes a comeback but it’s not looking so hot for them right now.
5:20 failing to use computer technology. Jeebs nothing has changed. They're still using that 90s equipment that is slow and breaks down constantly today. Kmart is a victim of it's own suicide
This could not have been any more dynamic. Thank you so very much.
I only know of one Kmart and one Sears still open where I'm at it's sad to see most of them are just vacant
I would still be shopping at KMart if they hadn't closed all of the stores in my proximity.
ChristiRich I swear
Same here
Some people like trashy, overpriced stores.
Kmart managed to keep Wal-Mart out off Michigan for as long as they could but once that one was built on telegraph at that second kmart was done. A wolf was in THE HEN HOUSE WALMART KILLED KMART LONG BEFORE WE SEEN IT IN MICHIGAN
Kevin F true I know the 1 in Dearborn former super kmart is now walmart
#ShipMyPants
attention kmart shoppers i just shit my pants lmao
+christopher coleman; LOL good one
Ship or Shit?!?!?! :D
Daniel28021991 I meant "Ship" lol. It's in reference to a commercial K-Mart had a few years ago.
Haha I know ;)
The Kmart near me closed last year and with in a week was torn down for some condos.
We still have a handful of closed Kmart buildings here in Oregon. Many are being torn down for other uses.
In the late 80's, early 90's, my husband and I would go to KMart almost every other day, just to see what was new and what was on sale. Although I never bought a Blue Light Special. LOL! I loved KMart back in the day but it became worn down and sad.
Many of my wacky school photo shirts were thanks to K Mart and Ames. May they rest in retail peace.
That Kmart jingle. Yes, remember it well.
During my time in retail (mid 2010s}, I worked with a lady who worked at Kmart for over 35 years (actually one of the last employees left when it closed). Unfortunately due to mismanagement and executive greed, her pension for all thise years of service was basically nothing.
How prophetic of you to say Kmart would be dead in 5 years.
The second Kmart to open in the USA has been left abandoned since late 90’s and still standing to this day. It’s located at what left of the glen wood plaza totally abandoned as well. In Pontiac Michigan. The former world headquarters for Kmart located in Troy Michigan is to be demolished soon.😢
Still miss my local Kmarts very much! I'd shop there over Walmart any day if I could. My nearest one actually opened in 1980, which made it even more sad that they had to close. :( I have memories of going there with my parents at that very store since I was little.
Man I remember the fast food in front of the K-Mart store as a kid. Before they had a Fred Mayers and Wall Mart and Target in my area. This is where we would shop. Grandma even retired from K-Mart. Sad to see its down fall for the last 20 years.
Kmart is not totally out of business, they still have some remaining in select markets in the USA. Also, there is a separate and very successful Kmart found in Australia and New Zealand. Here are all of the non liquidating Kmarts in the USA and US territories as of September 26, 2021: 1. Tauming, Guam 2. Grass Valley, California 3. Key West, Florida 4. Miami, Florida 5. Hamilton, Montana 6. Avenel, New Jersey 7. Westwood, New Jersey 8. Bridgehampton, New York 9. Bronx, New York (The Shops at Bruckner) 10. Bronx, New York (Bay Plaza Shopping Center) 11. Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 12. St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (Sunshine Mall) 13. St. Croix, U.S Virgin Islands (Sunny Isle Shopping Center) 14. St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Tutu Park Mall) 15. St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Lockhart Gardens Shopping Center). Liquidating Kmarts that are temporarily still open are 1. White Plains, New York 2. Brooklyn, New York (located on the ground floor of a liquidating Sears) and 3. Marshall, Michigan
Love my kmart here in Adelaide Australia
There are two Kmarts in my city and they're always clean but business seems really light. I don't shop there often but I don't want to see them go but the way things seem to be going nationwide doesn't look good.
At the beginning one at Acme looks just like Battle Creek's 2nd Kmart on Beckley across from Lakeview Square Mall.
sad video to watch we lost all of our k-marts. My family loved that store.
I been following you Ace for over 2 years, how did I miss this video?! The cheerleaders with the corny cheer cracks me up! Lmao!!
If Kmart came out of bankruptcy, how the hell did they magically have $11 billion to "buy" Sears. Also, ask any former Fleming Companies employees what the Kmart bankruptcy did for them?? Answer: we all lost our jobs when Fleming went bankrupt, mostly due to Kmart's breaking a national supply groceries contract with Fleming.
djjim01 they filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which is essentially they get a loan from the bank and they reorganize the company using that money. So they probably had money after reorganizing and profits were probably up too.
React2Quick What bank or banker in his right mind would give an $11 billion loan to a loser company, Kmart. Also, talk with ALL Kmart vendors & suppliers who probably only got pennies on the dollar for money owed to them due to Kmart's bankruptcy. I still like Sears, mostly due to Craftsman products, and continue to shop at Sears. Not so much, when it comes to Kmart.
Kmart disappeared around here 20+yrs ago didn't know it would be a surprise that the last 3 closing would be a shock
5 years later, you were right :(
The Big K Kmart in the city where I live just shut it's doors. Apparently they're demolishing the building, which has been there since the late 60s/early 70s, and putting up a much taller building in it's place. That seems to be what major cities love doing, tear down the old and bring in the new.
The K-mart in my area was too expensive, I remeber when i was little a box of fruity pebbles was 6.99 at K-mart and like around 3-4 bucks everywhere else
I was ten in 1977. This history of Kmart is interesting.
The company is going broke and says lets buy another company going broke lol WTF who came up with that ideal
The person who planned to profit off of them becoming bankrupt (Eddie Lampert).
This video had a great and creepy tableau to it. 1989 to 2018 beginning to end. It’s scary
I lived near that Kmart, even in the late 90s & 2000s it never really got much business. Acme is a pretty small town so I wasn’t surprised when Acmes Kmart closed. It was a nice store though.
Boy that liquidating Kmart sure looks a lot like Liverpool, NY.
This Kmart theme music was used back in the late 60's into the 70's.
Being a proud Michigan citizen, I'd rather have one Kmart left in the years following a bankruptcy and operating on its own terms like a blockbuster in Alaska I went to. Sears Holdings won't let Kmart go out of business until they file for bankruptcy.
Kmart in Australia is still going strong
I LOVE how long it takes
Acme kmart huh? That's why they are closing. We seen the quality of stuff the Wyle e coyote used
For me my K Mart opened around 1989 and closed in 2018, it actually looked similar to the k mart in this video, but it was white instead of brown, it's now a Gabe's and Big Lots, and there was Also a Sears in my town, it Opened around 1969 and Closed in 2016, the store space is still vacant