Kmart facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kmart

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	July 31, 1899; 125 years ago (July 31, 1899) (as Kresge's) November 23, 1977; 47 years ago (November 23, 1977) (as Kmart) Garden City, Michigan
Founder	S. S. Kresge
Headquarters	Troy, Michigan (1962–2005) Hoffman Estates, Illinois (since 2005)
Number of locations	6 (2 in the mainland of the United States of America)
Areas served	Kmart.com: The 50 United States +APO/FPO. Physical stores: US Virgin Islands, Guam, The Hamptons, Miami area
Products	Clothing shoes linen and bedding jewelry accessories health and beauty products electronics toys food drinks sporting goods automotive hardware appliances housewares pet products pharmacy garden center
Revenue	US$25.146 billion (2015 SHC)
Parent	Transformco

Kmart ( KAY-mart), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department store chain, and an online retailer in the United States and operates six remaining Kmart big-box department stores — 3 in the US Virgin Islands and one each in Kendale Lakes, Florida (Miami postal address); Bridgehampton, Long Island; and Tamuning, Guam.

Prior to 2018, Kmart owned and operated a much larger chain of Kmart stores. The company is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, United States. The company was incorporated in 1899 as S. S. Kresge Corporation and renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977. The first store with the Kmart name opened in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan. At its peak in 1994, Kmart operated 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States. From 2005 through 2019, Kmart was a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation. Since 2019, Kmart has been a subsidiary of Transform SR Brands LLC, a privately held company that was formed in 2019 to acquire assets from Sears Holdings.

History

Early years

This 1940s postcard shows the Kresge store in Springfield, Massachusetts (Store #26)

S. S. Kresge, the founder of the company that would become Kmart, met variety-store pioneer Frank Winfield Woolworth while working as a traveling salesman and selling to all 19 of Woolworth's stores at the time. In 1897, Kresge invested $6,700 saved from his job into a five-and-dime store in Memphis, Tennessee. He jointly owned the first store with his former tinware customer, John McCrory. Kresge and McCrory added a second store in downtown Detroit the following year. These were the first S.S. Kresge stores. After two years of partnership, he traded McCrory his share in the Memphis store, plus $3,000, for full ownership of the Detroit store, and formed the Kresge & Wilson Company with his brother-in-law, Charles J. Wilson.

In 1912, Kresge incorporated the S.S. Kresge Company in Delaware with 85 stores. In 1916, Kresge incorporated a new S.S. Kresge Company in Michigan and took over the operations of the original company; the new company in Michigan is the modern day Kmart company. The company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange on May 23, 1918. During World War I, Kresge experimented with raising the limit on prices in his stores to $1. By 1924, Kresge was worth approximately $375 million and owned real estate of the approximate value of $100 million. Growth early in the 20th century remained brisk, with 257 stores in 1924, rising to 597 stores by 1929. Kresge retired as president in 1925. The Great Depression reduced profitability and resulted in store closings, but the number rose to 682 in 1940. After the war, shopping patterns changed and many customers moved out of the cities into the suburbs.

1960s–1970s

Kmart's longest lasting logo, used from 1969 to 1990

The Kmart Foods logo used during the 1960s

Under the leadership of executive Harry Cunningham, S.S. Kresge Company opened the first Kmart-named store, at 27,000 square feet (2,500 square meters), which was referred to by Kresge as a "bantam" Kmart and was in fact originally intended to be a Kresge store until late in the planning process, on January 25, 1962, in San Fernando, California, just six months before the first Walmart opened, while the first ground-up full-size Kmart with 80,000 square feet (7,400 square meters), opened on March 1, 1962, in Garden City, Michigan. Cunningham and Sam Walton were both inspired by Ann & Hope, which they each visited in 1961. Sixteen more Kmart stores opened in 1962. Kmart Foods, a now-defunct chain of Kmart supermarkets, opened in that decade. Though the store chain continued to open Kmart branded stores, the store chain was still officially known as S.S. Kresge Company.

A Big Kmart store in Willow Street, Pennsylvania (store #3810) as it appeared on its last day of operation, April 18, 2021; this was one of the last two Kmart stores in Pennsylvania, this location is now Ocean State Job Lot

Company founder Kresge died on October 18, 1966, at age 99.

Around the time of the opening of the first Kmart, some poorly performing S.S. Kresge stores were converted to a new "Jupiter Discount Stores" brand, which was conceived as a bare-bones, deep discount outfit. During the 1970s, Kmart put a number of competing retailers out of business. Kresge, Jupiter and Kmart stores mainly competed with other store chains like Zayre, Ames, Bradlees, Caldor, Hills, and those that were operated by MMG-McCrory Stores (McCrory, McLellan, H.L. Green, J.J. Newberry, S.H. Kress, TG&Y, Silver's and eventually G.C. Murphy Co.). In 1977, S.S. Kresge Company changed its name to K Mart Corporation.

1980s

In 1980, Vice Chairman Bernard M. Fauber was elected as the chairman and as the CEO of Kmart.

In 1981, the 2,000th Kmart store opened. By the end of 1981, there were 2,055 Kmart stores across the United States and Canada.

In 1987, the Kmart Corporation sold its remaining 76 Kresge and Jupiter stores in the United States to McCrory Stores, and the brands were almost entirely discontinued, although Canadian Kresge and Jupiter stores continued to operate until 1994.

Kmart experimented with co-branding in 1985, when the in-store cafeteria at the store in Canton, Michigan, was converted to a Wendy's.

Until November 1990, when it was passed by Walmart, Kmart was the second-largest retailer in the United States, after Sears. During the 1980s, the company's fortunes began to change; many of Kmart's stores were considered to be outdated and in decaying condition. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the corporate office shifted much of its focus from the Kmart stores to other companies it had acquired or created, such as Sports Authority, Builders Square, and Waldenbooks.

Blue Light Special

The Blue Light Special was a sale promotion within the store for a short period within store hours only. It was advertised using a rotating blue light, in the same style a police car used, and was announced over the store public address system with the phrase "attention Kmart shoppers", a phrase which became a pop culture reference. The original concept for the Blue Light Special was a limited-time offer to sell slower-moving merchandise. The sale was first introduced in 1965 and was retired in 1991.

Starting in the 2000s, Kmart would repeatedly bring back the Blue Light Special. This was done first in 2001, but was discontinued again in 2002. The sale was briefly revived in 2005, though Kmart at that time had no plans to use the concept long-term. Blue Light Specials were revived again in 2009 on Saturdays, offering surprise hour-long sales on selected merchandise, but they were again discontinued. Blue Light Specials were revived once again in November 2015.

1990–2001: New image

The front of the Super Kmart Center store in Cambridge, Ohio (store #3555), as it appears before it was downsized in 2015 and closed in 2018; this location is now Rural King

In 1990, in an effort to update its image, Kmart introduced a new logo. It dropped the old-style italic "K" with a turquoise "mart" in favor of a red block letter K with the word "mart" written in script and contained inside the "K". Kmart then began remodeling stores shortly thereafter. This logo was replaced in 2004 with the current logo. In 1990, Little Caesars Pizza opened its first in-store Kmart restaurant in Rochester, Michigan (coincidentally, both Little Caesars and Kmart were founded in Garden City, Michigan, in 1959 and 1962 respectively). In 1995, Kmart also tried to reinvent itself by using the short-lived name Today's Kmart.

In 1991, the company revised its name slightly to Kmart Corporation.

In 1992, Kmart entered the Eastern European market with the purchase of 13 stores in the former Czechoslovakia. These stores were sold off in 1996.

The company also began to offer exclusive merchandise by Martha Stewart, Kathy Ireland, Jaclyn Smith, Lauren Hutton, and Thalía. Other recognizable brands included exclusively licensed merchandising of products relating to Sesame Street and Disney. Actress and television personality Rosie O'Donnell and actress/director and producer Penny Marshall became among the company's most recognized spokespersons.

Kmart's red classic logo (1990–2004)

The Super Kmart Center logo that was used primarily in the early 1990s, but was also used for some stores that opened in 2001

Super Kmart Center (Super Kmart) opened an all-new location on July 25, 1991, in Medina Township, Ohio, featuring a full-service grocery with a full-service deli, seafood counter and bakery. It also had general merchandise like many Kmarts had. However, this location was downsized in 2011 and was one of a number of Kmarts closed in early 2012 following poor Christmas 2011 sales. The second ground-up Super Kmart Center opened in Copley Township, Ohio, featuring an in-store video rental center, and an in-store carryout Chinese restaurant. This location has also shut down. The last Super Kmart Center in Howland Township, Ohio, closed on April 8, 2018. After the Medina and Copley stores opened, many more Super Kmarts opened nationwide. The largest super Kmart store was in Euclid, Ohio, as it was a former Hypermart. Big Kmart opened in Chicago, Illinois, on April 23, 1997. The format focuses on home fashions, children's apparel, and consumables (The Pantry). Most Kmart stores were remodeled to this format during the late 1990s and the early 2000s. During 1997 and 1998, Kmart converted 1,245 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores. Initially, the Big Kmart stores were successful, and by the end of 1997, Kmart sales numbers had grown by 10% thanks to their Big Kmart stores. In 1998, Kmart acquired 45 former Venture stores and converted them into Big Kmart stores. By the end of 1998, 62% of Kmart's stores were Big Kmart stores. Kmart converted nearly 1,900 of their regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores in 1999, resulting in further improvements in sales figures. The last Big Kmart in Marshall, Michigan, closed on November 22, 2021.

This Super Kmart Center logo was used on the former Super Kmart Center stores in Mexico during the 1990s

The Sports Authority was acquired by Kmart in 1990 and spun off five years later.

Kmart's profitability and sales peaked in 1992, and the later decline is attributed to competition with Walmart, Target, and internet shopping. In 1994, Kmart announced they would close 110 stores. Unlike its competitors Walmart and Target, Kmart failed to invest in computer technology to manage its supply chain. Furthermore, Kmart maintained a high dividend, which reduced the amount of money that was available for improving its stores. Many business analysts also faulted the company for failing to create a coherent brand image.

In September 1995, Kmart sold its money-losing in-store auto repair centers to Penske Corporation for $112 million to operate them as Penske Auto Centers. Penske later closed the auto repair centers in 2002 as a result of a payment dispute with Kmart.

The second Super Kmart Center logo, spelled out as Super Kmart, was used for stores that opened in the late 1990s (1997–2002)

The Big Kmart logo, stylized as BIG Kmart, was used for stores that were opened or renovated in the late 1990s (1997–2002)

In 1997, Kmart launched the Kmart Cash Card as a replacement for the paper gift certificates and to facilitate the return process. In July 1999, Kmart hired SuperValu and Fleming to distribute $3.9 billion worth of food and other related products to all Kmart stores.

From 1999 to 2000 Kmart converted 150 regular Kmart stores into Big Kmart stores during the first half of 2000.

In 2000, Kmart and Capital One launched an all-new co-branded MasterCard as a replacement for the private label Kmart credit cards.

Also in 2000, Kmart expanded the Martha Stewart Everyday Garden Collection to include live plants and seeds. Kmart also launched the Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen, which is a complete line of housewares essentials.

In July 2000, Kmart closed 72 underperforming stores, while opening 20 new Big Kmart stores, converting 12 regular Kmart stores into Super Kmart Center stores, and opening 5 new Super Kmart Center stores. The company announced a planned major restructuring, in which Kmart would invest in new customer check-out and new inventory management technology and other related systems.

In 2001, Kmart opened several new Super Kmart stores as part of Kmart's plan to expand their Super Kmart Center store portfolio and make groceries available at stores. However, Kmart having filed for bankruptcy in January 2002, the company was unable to open any new Super Kmart Center stores, and construction was halted on others, no matter how close the stores were to completion.

In 2001, Kmart signed a $4.5 billion arrangement with Fleming, making them the sole food and consumables distributor for the company's stores.

In February 2001, Japanese video game company Sega sued Kmart for failure to pay $2.2 million of $25.9 million for Sega Dreamcast game systems.

In August 2001, Target sued Kmart because the company's "Dare to Compare" advertising campaign inaccurately compared its own prices with those of Target a majority of the time on in-store signs.

2002–2009: Collapse and merger with Sears

Kmart's lime green logo that was used only at five prototype locations in 2002

On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the leadership of its then-chairman Charles Conaway and president Mark Schwartz. Conaway, who successfully expanded CVS Corporation, accepted an offer to take the helm at Kmart along with a loan of $5 million (equivalent to $8.14 million in 2024). In a scandal similar to that involving Enron, Conaway and Schwartz were accused of misleading shareholders and other company officials about the company's financial crisis while making millions and allegedly spending the company's money on airplanes, houses, boats and other luxuries. At a conference for Kmart employees on January 22, Conaway accepted "full blame" for the financial disaster. As Kmart emerged from bankruptcy, Conaway was forced to step down, and was asked to pay back all the loans he had taken.

After dismissing Conaway and Schwartz, Kmart closed more than 300 stores in the U.S., including all the Kmart stores in Alaska, and laid off around 34,000 workers as part of the restructuring process. Kmart introduced five prototype stores with a new logo, layout, and lime green and gray color scheme, one in White Lake, Michigan, and four in central Illinois: (Peoria, Pekin, Morton and Washington). The new layout was touted as having wider aisles and improved selection and lighting, and the city or town's name was featured under the new Kmart logo at the front entrance. However, Kmart could not afford a full-scale rollout. The lime green prototype was abandoned for the new Kmart "Orange" concept that rolled out at several of its locations throughout the United States in 2006.

While Kmart was going through bankruptcy, a significant amount of Kmart's outstanding debt was purchased by ESL Investments, a hedge fund controlled by Edward Lampert. Lampert worked to accelerate the bankruptcy process.

Big Kmart store #3979 in Levittown, New York held its liquidation sale in September 2004; this location was a former TSS

On January 13, 2003, Kmart closed 326 stores due to a lack of profitability and poor sales.

On May 6, 2003, Kmart emerged from bankruptcy protection as a subsidiary of the new Kmart Holding Corporation. On June 10, 2003, Kmart began trading on the NASDAQ stock market with the ticker symbol of KMRT with Lampert serving as the chairman and with ESL Investments controlling 53% of the new company for an investment of less than $1 billion. Lampert dismissed his concerns that the smaller company would be at a disadvantage, stating "The focus that a lot of people have in retail revolves around sales, but sales without profit do not allow a business to be successful in the long term." He began to improve the company's balance sheet by reducing inventory, cutting costs, and closing underperforming stores. By the fourth quarter of 2003, Kmart posted its first profitable quarter in three years, although it has since returned to an operating loss.

On July 23, 2004, a new Kmart logo featuring a large red "K" with "kmart" in small block letters underneath it was announced. On August 12, 2004, Kmart and E! Entertainment Television announced a new, exclusive, cross-promotional clothing brand called Attention. Attention was launched as a new clothing brand that would be sold only at Kmart stores and would be used to promote E! News Live. Kmart had previously signed a similar deal with the WB Network to have the cast of five WB shows wear Kmart branded clothing during shows.

On November 8, 2004, Kmart launched the Kmart Rewards credit card that is managed by HSBC Bank.

The third Super Kmart Center logo, spelled out as Kmart Supercenter, was only used for printed ads and street signs (2004–2018)

The KDollar logo (November 2004–2012)

On November 17, 2004, Kmart's management announced its intention to purchase Sears for $11 billion. As part of the merger, the Kmart Holding Corporation (the company that owns Kmart) would be transferred to the new Sears Holdings Corporation and Sears would be purchased by the new Sears Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands. Around this time, Kmart changed its logo from a red K with the script "mart" inside, to the same K with the chain's name in lowercase letters below it. Kmart's headquarters were relocated to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and in 2012 the sprawling headquarters complex in Troy, Michigan, was acquired by the Forbes Company, which owns the nearby upscale mall, Somerset Collection. No concrete plans for redevelopment of the site had been announced. In 2005, Sears Holdings Corporation introduced the Sears Essentials store format, which would serve as a Kmart-Sears hybrid. Sears Essentials stores were freestanding (not located at a shopping mall) stores. In 2006, the company discontinued the Sears Essentials name, and renamed all of the Sears Essentials stores as Sears Grand stores.

Kmart started remodeling stores to the "Orange" prototype in 2005. In 2006, the typical white and blue interior of the stores was changed to orange and brown, and shelf heights were lowered to create better sightlines. The remodeled stores contain an appliance department with Kenmore Appliances and most have hardware departments that sell Craftsman tools, which prior to the merger had been exclusive to Sears stores. Some auto centers left vacant by Penske after Kmart filed for bankruptcy had been converted to Sears Auto Centers. As of 2009, 280 stores had been remodeled to this new prototype.

In July 2009, Sears Holdings opened its first Sears-branded appliance store inside a Kmart. The 4,000 sq ft (370 m²) store-within-a-store opened inside the former garden department of a Birmingham, Alabama, Kmart. It was two-thirds the size of the appliance department in most Sears stores, but larger than the 2,500 sq ft (230 m²) appliance department in remodeled Kmart stores.

In October 2009, it was reported that Kmart and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia failed to come to a new agreement. This came after Stewart made remarks on CNBC that her line at Kmart had deteriorated, particularly after the Sears merger.

In November 2009, Kmart reported its first year-over-year sales increase of 0.5% since 2005, and only the second such increase since 2001.

2010–2018: Decline

On December 27, 2011, after a disastrous holiday sales season, Sears Holdings announced that 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores would close.

In 2014, news reports indicated that Kmart was liquidating dozens of stores across the United States. Kmart's parent company, Sears Holdings Corporation, underwent financial distress throughout the year, sparking an unspecified number of closings of Sears and Kmart locations amid vendors' and lenders' concerns about its liquidity. Along with store closings, measures included the spinning off its Lands' End division, selling most of its stake in Sears Canada, issuing debt and taking on loans that cumulatively put it on track to raise $1.445 billion in cash in 2014. Howard Riefs, a company spokesman who has often spoken on behalf of Kmart, said, "Store closures are part of a series of actions we're taking to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model."

In April 2016, Kmart announced that it was liquidating 68 stores. The chain announced in September 2016 that 64 more stores in 28 states would close by mid-December 2016. Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert stated in October 2016 that there were not and never had been plans to close the Kmart format and that they are working hard to make it a "more fun, engaging place to shop, powered by our integrated retail innovations and Shop Your Way". In December 2016, at least 25 Kmart locations were targeted for closure in early 2017.

The original Kmart store in Garden City, Michigan (store#4000), which closed in 2017 (pictured in 2016); it was demolished in 2020

In January 2017, Kmart announced that 78 more stores would close, including the first Kmart location in Garden City, Michigan. Financial analysts began warning that the fate of Sears Holdings was nearing its end. In May 2017, Kmart announced the upcoming closure of 18 more stores. Sears Holdings admitted uncertainty regarding the survival of both Sears and Kmart. In early June 2017, Kmart announced that an additional 49 stores across the U.S. were to be shuttered by September 2017. In early July 2017, Kmart had announced that 35 more stores would close by early October 2017. In late August 2017, Kmart announced another 28 store closures, including the last Rhode Island location, in Cranston. On October 11, 2017, with no closing sale held, the Kmart store in Santa Rosa, California, was apparently burnt down by wildfires in the Bay Area, adding to the list of closed stores. On October 17, 2017, Kmart announced the liquidation of an unspecified number of locations by late November. On November 3, 2017, it was announced that a further 45 Kmarts (along with 18 Sears stores) were to close, effective by January 2018, including Kmart's last store in Alabama, in Albertville.

The smaller Big Kmart #9274 was located in Greenwich, New York, in a former Big N in 2017; this store closed in March 2019 along with 79 other Kmart and Sears stores, this location is now a Big Lots

According to Fortune.com, Kmart and Sears did not run any television advertisements during the 2017 holiday season in order to focus on digital marketing after evaluating the effectiveness of its various marketing efforts.

On January 4, 2018, after yet another disappointing holiday sales season, Kmart announced the liquidation of 64 more stores in the spring of 2018. This included Kmart's only remaining Super Kmart location in Warren, Ohio, which officially discontinued the Super Kmart format. According to MSN Money, Kmart along with sister company Sears had an extremely high chance of disappearing in 2018, such that 2017 would have marked its final holiday season as an independent brand.

On March 15, 2018, Sears Holdings announced that a small profit was made in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, investors claimed that it was due to tax refunds and that sales were still falling for both Kmart and Sears. On March 26, 2018, CEO Eddie Lampert said, "I'm not sure Kmart on its own could ever be a great retailer," implying that the company was trying to shift to online shopping as opposed to brick and mortar stores. On April 12, 2018, Sears announced plans to close and auction 16 of its Sears stores, and close several more Kmart locations, but did not specify how many. Two known locations on the list were Kmart stores in Brandon, Florida, and Saugus, Massachusetts. In early May, Sears announced the liquidation of several more Kmarts, including the last Kmart in Vermont, in Bennington.

Kmart store closing sale in Gillette, Wyoming (store #4863) in 2018; this location is now Hobby Lobby, Ulta Beauty, Shoe Dept. Encore and Harbor Freight Tools

On May 21, 2018, Sears Holdings announced yet another round of liquidation sales in forty Sears and Kmart stores across 24 states. These stores were closed by July 4, 2018. On May 31, Sears Holdings announced the liquidation of an additional 16 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores, including the last Kmart in Hawaii, in Līhuʻe. The closings announced May 31, 2018, were from among 100 unprofitable stores in Sears Holdings and the remaining 28 unprofitable stores were, "a small group of stores that was pulled from the closing list ... as they are being evaluated further," meaning even more store closings could occur later in the year. Sears Holdings did not disclose those locations at the time. On June 28, 2018, Sears Holdings disclosed 10 of the stores being evaluated and announced they would close by September 2018. Liquidation sales began on the same day. On July 13, 2018, news came through from multiple sources that even more Kmart stores were set to liquidate across the nation. On August 23, 2018, it was announced that 13 more stores would close by November.

2018–2019: Second bankruptcy

On October 15, 2018, Sears Holdings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would close 142 stores, including 63 Kmart stores, which included the last Kmart in Arkansas, in Russellville, the last two Kmarts in Georgia, in Covington and Peachtree City, and the last two Kmarts in Kansas, in Kansas City and Salina. Sears Holdings' bankruptcy also marked Kmart's second bankruptcy in 16 years. On November 8, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close an additional 40 stores, including 11 Kmart stores. On November 23, 2018, Sears Holdings released a list of 505 stores, including 239 Kmart stores, to be presented for sale in the bankruptcy process while all other stores were holding liquidation sales. However, the stores for sale were not guaranteed to be protected from liquidation in the future. On December 28, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close 80 additional stores, including 37 Kmart stores.

In a proposal announced in early January, Sears Holdings planned only to keep 202 Kmart stores along with 223 Sears stores open, assuming that it would survive the bankruptcy process. Most of the proposed locations were in highly populated coastal regions.

Former Kmart Cafe in the Chesapeake, Virginia Kmart store (store #3471), in a former Robert Hall Village; this store permanently closed on December 15, 2019, it was one of the last two Kmarts in Virginia

On January 15, 2019, when it had appeared that Kmart's parent, Sears Holdings, was preparing to file for Chapter 7 liquidation, the bankruptcy court judge ordered the company to return to the negotiating table and work out a new deal with Eddie Lampert to prevent the liquidation from occurring. A new deal was struck at the last minute that would keep up to 400 Sears and Kmart stores operating. On January 19, 2019, Sears Holdings officially announced that they had won the auction, and that some of the then existing stores were to remain open.

On January 24, 2019, a group of unsecured creditors, which included Simon Property Group, filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to overturn the deal Sears Holdings had recently made with Lampert, claiming Lampert had been "engaged in serial asset stripping" of the company at the expense of suppliers and landlords. The creditors had requested that the bankruptcy court rule to liquidate the company instead of allowing reorganization so that the creditors would be able to recover more money that was still owed to them. On January 28, the federal government-operated Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced that they were not in favor of Sears Holdings' current agreement with Lampert since that agreement would create a $1.7 billion funding gap in the employee pension fund, requiring American taxpayers to cover the shortfall. In papers filed on February 1 with the bankruptcy court, ESL "outlined plans to close three Kmart stores per month in 2019" if the court would decide to accept ESL's purchase bid.

In February 2019, it was announced that a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the most lucrative part of Sears Holdings to Edward Lampert, allowing the surviving part of the company that operated both Sears and Kmart to remain in business at the expense of suppliers, landlords, employees, pensioners, the U.S. government, and other creditors. Kmart would have 202 locations after the sale was to be completed.

2019–present: New management and further decline

The sale of 202 Kmart stores to Transform Holdco was finalized in February 2019, with the remaining Kmart locations liquidated to partially pay off Sears Holdings creditors.

In May 2019, it was revealed that Kmart would close its store in Walla Walla, Washington, in July, making it the first post-bankruptcy closure for the brand since being bought by ESL. On August 6, 2019, TransformCo announced plans to close five additional stores by October 2019. At the time of the announcement, TransformCo also added that it "cannot rule out additional store closures in the near term". Between August 5 and 23, 2019, it was later announced that four more Kmarts would close.

In late 2019, the massive closure of 120 Kmart stores was announced.

In November 2019, Kmart announced the closing of 45 stores in February 2020. The Wall Street Journal reported that Transformco "would continue to evaluate its retail footprint, suggesting that additional closures are possible". On February 6, 2020, Kmart announced it would close 15 more stores.

By April 2022, only three locations remained in the continental United States: in Miami, Florida; Westwood, New Jersey; and Bridgehampton, New York. That number was reduced to two mainland U.S. stores when the Westwood location closed in late 2023, in addition to the three remaining U.S. Virgin Islands locations and the one remaining location in Guam.

Headquarters

The Kales Building in downtown Detroit as shown in 2007, formerly the S.S. Kresge Co. headquarters from 1914 to 1930

The owner of Kmart, Transform Holdco LLC, had its headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, just outside of Chicago since 1993 when it moved out of the Sears Tower in downtown Chicago. Kmart's headquarters had been in Hoffman Estates since Kmart bought Sears in 2005, but in December 2021, Transformco announced that it intended to put its corporate headquarters and 120 surrounding acres in the Northwest suburb on the market at the start of the new year.

The headquarters were formerly located in the Kmart International Headquarters at 3100 W. Big Beaver Road in Troy, Michigan, in Metro Detroit. The facility had 23 interconnected modules. Each had three stories, except for one module, which was one story. Based on the layout, Norm Sinclair of DBusiness concluded that it was "a study in inefficiency".

Philanthropy

Kmart for Kids was the umbrella program for Kmart's philanthropic initiatives. The program had helped children across the country live happier, healthier lives through the support of: March of Dimes, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and American Diabetes Association. At one time, Kmart was March of Dimes' number one corporate sponsor, having raised $114 million for the charity over more than 30 years.

On July 29, 2008, Don Germano, SVP/GM of Kmart stores, was elected to a five-year term on the national Board of Trustees of the March of Dimes Foundation.

Kmart for Kids had supported St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital through its annual Thanks and Giving campaign, an opportunity for Kmart customers to give thanks for the healthy children in their lives and give to help those who are not. Kmart had been a partner of the campaign since 2006, and as of December 2008^[update], had raised more than $59.2 million (equivalent to $80.5 million in 2024) for St. Jude's. A record $21.9 million (equivalent to $27.5 million in 2024) was donated for the tenth annual fundraising campaign during the 2013 holiday season.

In 2008, Kmart earned the "Outstanding Corporate Citizen" Award for its support of the American Diabetes Association's "Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes" program. The tribute honored Kmart for the most well-developed, proactive program in the areas of charity, community development, diversity, philanthropy, and associate development. In 2008, Kmart became a national sponsor of "Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes" and over the past two years, Kmart's customers and associates have raised approximately $1.5 million (equivalent to $2.18 million in 2024) through its in-store campaigns.

Environmental record

On May 9, 2007, Kmart was penalized $102,422 (equivalent to $145 thousand in 2024) for violations of federal hazardous waste, clean water, emergency planning and preparation regulations at 17 distribution centers. Kmart corrected the violations by preparing and implementing spill-prevention control and countermeasure plans, applying for appropriate storm-water permits, complying with hazardous-waste-generator requirements, and submitting reports to state and local emergency-planning and response organizations informing them of the presence of hazardous substances. The Environmental Protection Agency also accused Kmart of not maintaining adequate information and failing to act in accordance with hazardous-waste-storage and disposal requirements. For instance, the EPA reported having discovered improperly labeled oil-storage drums at a location in Falls, Pennsylvania.

Kmart promoted battery recycling. In 1990, Kmart proposed spending about $80 million (equivalent to $179 million in 2024) on full-page newspaper advertisements offering to recycle junk batteries for $2 (equivalent to $4.00 in 2024) each.

Animal welfare concerns

In 2012, Mercy for Animals, a non-profit organization working against cruelty to farmed animals, conducted an infiltration at Christensen Farms, a pork supplier to Kmart, Walmart and Costco, obtaining hidden-camera footage of pigs confined in small gestation crates and cruelty to piglets. In response to Mercy for Animals' infiltration, Kmart announced it would begin requiring its pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.

Racing sponsorships

Kmart was a prominent sponsor in NASCAR and the now-defunct CART series. They were a longtime sponsor of Newman/Haas Racing, owned by actor Paul Newman and former racer Carl Haas. Their CART drivers included Nigel Mansell and the father-son duo of Michael and Mario Andretti. Michael Andretti and Mansell won championships under Kmart sponsorship in 1991 and 1993, respectively. When Michael Andretti moved to Formula One in 1993, Kmart sponsored his McLaren for the season. The store also sponsored the NASCAR-sanctioned Kmart 400 at Michigan and North Carolina Speedway. Lake Speed garnered Kmart's first win in NASCAR in 1988 at the Darlington Raceway. Kmart sponsored three-time champion Darrell Waltrip in 1999 and 2000, his last two full-time seasons. Most recently, in NASCAR, the store sponsored Boris Said's #60 No Fear Ford Fusion in 2006.

Operations in Puerto Rico

On November 25, 1959, the S. S. Kresge chain expanded with the opening of its first store in Puerto Rico, a 17,678 square-foot unit at the 65th Infantry shopping center in San Juan, the capital city of the island. More Kresge stores would go on to open on the island in the 1960s, such as the Santa Rosa Plaza store in Bayamón in February 1960, the Norte shopping center store in Santurce in March 1962, the Centro del Sur shopping center store in Ponce in June 1962, and the Reparto Metropolitano shopping center store in Río Piedras in February 1965. In June 1987, Kresge stores in Puerto Rico would begin to cease operations with the closure of the Centro del Sur store that month, and another store also in Ponce.

On October 21, 1964, the Kmart chain also expanded beyond the contiguous United States, opening a 69,000 square-foot unit at the San Patricio Plaza shopping center in Guaynabo. On December 31, 1967, a fire would consume the building where the Kmart was located at the San Patricio Plaza shopping center leaving it completely destroyed. The fire, which caused an estimated loss of $1.5 million, was started in some boxes and sheets of cardboard partitioning walls behind the store outside the building. On January 30, 1969, the destroyed Kmart store, after being re-built, would re-inaugurate at the shopping center.

On May 3, 1979, a new Kmart store would open in the town of Trujillo Alto on the island. The new store, of 84,180 square-feet, was the chain's third in Puerto Rico, and increased the total number of Kmart stores to 1,532 located in the United States and Canada.

On May 28, 1983, the Kmart Corporation had completed the acquisition of five lease contracts for stores previously operated by the Barker's chain on the Island, and hoped to reopen them by September or October of that year. Kmart had paid approximately $2.1 million to obtain the leases for these stores. The Barker's chain had closed 16 stores it had in Puerto Rico earlier that year due to financial problems of its parent company, KDT Industries. KDT had filed for bankruptcy and began auctioning the leases of the Barker's stores that had closed. Three new Kmart stores would open in October of that year on the island, two stores in Bayamón at the Plaza Río Hondo shopping mall and the Rexville Plaza shopping center, and one in Arecibo at the Plaza del Atlántico shopping mall. This would increase the number of people Kmart employed on the Island to more than 700 in the 12 stores it now had, which included six Kmart stores and six Kresge stores.

On April 23, 1998, it was reported that the Kmart chain would be investing more than $25 million on the Island before the end of the year to convert eight of its 21 stores at the time into Big Kmart stores and that two new stores would be opening, one in Vega Alta and another in the Plaza Las Américas shopping mall. James Mesenbring, Kmart regional manager for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, said that four new Big Kmart stores would be inaugurated, located at the Montehiedra Town Center, Los Colobos shopping center in Carolina, and the Plaza Guayama shopping mall and in Cayey. These joined the Big Kmart stores that already operated at the San Patricio Plaza and in the Las Catalinas Mall in Caguas. In July of that year, the stores in Vega Baja, Bayamón (Plaza Río Hondo), Caguas (Rafael Cordero Avenue) and Trujillo Alto would also be converted. Meanwhile, in August of that year, they planned to open the Big Kmart in Vega Alta at a cost of $10 million, and in November they would inaugurate the two-level store in Plaza Las Américas, which would be the chain's largest store on the Island with 144,000 square-feet of space.

Between 2002 and 2003, three Kmart stores on the island closed due to the bankruptcy, one in Humacao in 2002, one in 2003 at the Juncos Plaza shopping center in Juncos, and another store in Cayey that same year.

In 2011, the Kmart chain opened a new smaller store concept at 8,000 square-feet named “Kmart Express” at the Plaza Carolina shopping mall in Carolina, this was short lived. Through the 2010s and beyond the Kmart chain began to downsize in Puerto Rico with various closures. In 2015, two Kmart stores closed, one at the Señorial Plaza in San Juan, and one in Vega Baja. In December 2018, three Kmart stores announced their closure, the San Patricio Plaza store, the Las Catalinas Mall store, and one in the town of San Germán. In August 2019, five more Kmart stores announced their closure, located in Aguadilla, Trujillo Alto, Cayey, Carolina, and Yauco. In November 2019, another five Kmart stores announced their closure, located in Fajardo, Juana Díaz, Arecibo, Plaza Río Hondo, and Vega Alta. In January 2020 another store located at the Plaza Centro Mall in Caguas announced its closure. In June 2020, two more Kmart stores were announced to be closing, one located at Plaza Guaynabo shopping mall in Guaynabo, and one in Ponce. And in December 2020, two more Kmart stores announced their closure, located in the Rexville Town Center in Bayamón, and the Western Plaza in Mayagüez. On October 15, 2022, after being the only store in the chain left open on the island since 2021, the Plaza las Américas Kmart store announced it was closing permanently, with Kmart entirely ceasing operations in Puerto Rico. Owners of the mall had reportedly been negotiating for Kmart to vacate the building for a new tenant for months, and finally Kmart agreed to move out by that October.

Operation in Guam

Kmart has its Guam location in Tamuning. The Kmart in Guam gets American customers as well as tourists from Asian countries. As of 2018^[update] the Guam store sold $100,000,000 worth of goods per year, the highest of any existing Kmart at the time, and had the highest customer count of any Kmart store. Because of its distance from competition and a lack of online shopping options in Guam, Lucy Craymer of the Wall Street Journal wrote that the Guam Kmart was in "a retail version of the Galapagos."

International

Australia and New Zealand

Kmart Australia logo

The first Kmart store in Australia opened in 1969 in Burwood East, Victoria; the site was renovated in 2010 to be a shopping mall known as Burwood One.

Kmart Australia was born out of a joint venture between G.J. Coles & Coy Limited (Coles) and the S.S. Kresge Company (Kresge), with Kresge owning 51% of the common stock in the company and the remaining 49% being owned by Coles. The first New Zealand store opened in Henderson, a suburb of Auckland, in 1988. Kresge later exited this partnership in 1994 selling their ownership in the company to Coles Myer, the successor to G. J. Coles & Coy Limited. Since the dissolution of Coles Myer in 2007, the Australian and New Zealand Kmart stores are owned by Wesfarmers.

Canada

Former Kmart store in Bayers Lake, Nova Scotia (Store #5551) shown in 1994; Canadian Tire now operates in its place

Kmart opened their first store in Canada in Huron Heights, Ontario on March 14, 1963, followed by a second location in Windsor, Ontario on May 9, 1963.

Kmart closed five Montreal stores and several other Quebec stores in 1983 due to the company restructuring. Kresge ceased to exist in Canada in 1994. In December 1997, it was announced that ten of the existing 122 stores were to be closed. However, as a result of Kmart's ongoing financial difficulties, the Canadian division comprising 112 stores was sold to competitor Zellers of the Hudson's Bay Company in May 1998, after which the stores were either closed or converted to Hudson's Bay Company brands, mostly Zellers.

Slogans

• The Saving Place 1960s–1990
• Your Lowest Price is a Kmart Price 1990–1998

Caribbean

In the early 2000s, Kmart tried to expand into Caribbean countries where Wal-Mart and Target had no presence, but ultimately none of the proposed stores advanced beyond the construction stage and none opened by the time Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002 when it stopped paying its construction contractors.

Kmart started construction of a Super Kmart in 2001 in Trinidad, but halted it in 2002 when the store was 80 percent complete. There were plans for more stores to be built in Trinidad, as well as in Millennium Heights in Barbados, five stores in the Dominican Republic, and a potential foray into Jamaica. The unfinished Super Kmart store in Trinidad and Tobago is now a Tru Value Supermarket.

Europe

Kmart in Bratislava, Slovakia, during the early 1990s; this location is now a Tesco

In 1992, Kmart purchased several communist-era department stores in Eastern Europe, including 13 in the former Czechoslovakia that were bought from the former Czechoslovak government. One of those stores was the old MÁJ department store on Národní Třída in Prague. Many of these outlets were quite profitable, with the Bratislava location setting a single-store sales record for the company. In March 1996, due to its troubles in the U.S., the Kmart Corporation announced that it had agreed to sell the six Kmart stores in the Czech Republic and the seven in Slovakia to Tesco of Britain for about $117.5 million (equivalent to $219 million in 2024), to focus on its core operations in North America.

Mexico

Super Kmart Center, Cuernavaca, México in 1995; this location has been a Mega hypermarket since 1997

In the 1990s, Kmart opened four stores in Mexico, in partnership with the Mexican retailer Liverpool. All were supercenters located in suburbs of Mexico City. About half of the store area was devoted to groceries, and this part of the stores resembled those in the US with some adjustments to the local market. These plus an unfinished store were sold in 1997 to the Mexican hypermarket chain Mega (part of Comercial Mexicana) and remain open under that name, except the store in Tlalnepantla, which was demolished in 2004 to build a Costco.

Singapore

In 1994, Kmart opened a 9,700-square-metre (104,000 sq ft) store in the Marina Square Shopping Center in a joint venture with Metro (Private) Limited. The joint venture with Singapore was dissolved in 1996. The Marina Square location became MegaMart, then as NTUC FairPrice and Giant.

Management

• S. S. Kresge, Founder (1899–1925 president; 1925–1966 CEO)
  • Charles Belden Van Dusen (1925–1938, president)
  • Robert R. Williams (1938–1946, president)
  • D. C. Fisher (1946–1953, president)
  • Franklin P. Williams (1953–1958, president)
• Harry Blair Cunningham (1959–1972, president and general manager; 1966–1972, CEO)
• Robert E. Dewar (1970, president; 1972–1980, CEO)
  • Ervin Wardlow (1972, president)
• Bernard Fauber (1980–1987, chairman, CEO)
• Joseph E. Antonini (1987 – May 1995, CEO)
• Floyd Hall (June 1995 – April 2000, president, chairman; June 1995-March 2002 CEO)
• Charles Conaway (2000–2002, chairman, CEO)
  • Mark Schwartz (-January 2003, president, COO)
• James B. Adamson (2002 – January 2003, president, chairman, CEO; )
• Julian Day (March 2002, president, COO; January 2003 – September 2004, president, COO, CEO)
• Aylwin Lewis (October 2004 – December 2007, president, CEO)
• W. Bruce Johnson (January 2008 – February 2011)
• Herman Darling (March 2011 – December 2012)
• Eddie S. Lampert (January 2013 – October 2018, still on board after filing for bankruptcy)

See also

In Spanish: Kmart para niños

• Kmart Australia
• Sears Holdings
• Transformco