When we arrived to the States in the 70s, this was our go to store

[theking]

End of an era:

Kmart shoppers bid a wistful farewell to the last outpost of a once-beloved ‘mainstay’


On Wednesday, Shahlise Cherry and her friend Deborah Arnone went to visit a fondly remembered past, one that helped to reshape retailing in America.

They went shopping at the last full-size Kmart in the mainland United States, which is set to close its doors in Bridgehampton, New York, for good on Sunday.

Their cart was full of close-out bargains, like a coffee maker and a set of bowls, things they didn’t necessarily come looking for but which they couldn’t pass up at 70% off regular price.

It’s been awhile since she’d been there, Cherry said, even though she was once a regular shopper.

“It was out of my loop for so long,” she said. “They didn’t have many of the things I needed.”

With the store closing Sunday, Kmart joins the list of once iconic retailers, such as Toys “R” Us, RadioShack, Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond and most of what’s left of Kmart’s corporate sibling Sears, once-successful chains that used to populate America’s malls and shopping centers but have ended up in retailing’s graveyard in recent years.

Shoppers like Arnone and Cherry might fondly remember shopping at Kmart or other now defunct stores, but a combination of competition from bigger and better retailers, bad management, failed acquisitions by hedge funds and private equity firms and changing shopping behavior have combined to kill the stores they once loved.