Once a retail giant, Kmart nearly went extinct after New Jersey closed

AVENEL, NJ – The familiar sights and sounds are still there: peeling and discolored floor tiles, relentless be-on-beige tones, toddler clothes and refrigerators and pretty much anything between.

There’s even a canned recording that begins, “Attention, Kmart shoppers” – except it’s to remind people of COVID-19 precautions, not to warn them of a wave. Flash sales in women’s underwear like the old days.

However, many of the empty shelves at Kmart in Avenel, New Jersey, were picked up by bargain hunters as the store prepared to close on April 16.

Once it closes, the number of Kmarts in the US – formerly more than 2,000 – will drop to 3 in the continental US and a handful of stores elsewhere, according to multiple reports, in a retail world currently dominated by Walmart, Target, and Amazon dominate. .

The demise of the store in the middle-class suburb, 15 miles (24 km) south of New York City, is the story of the death of the discount department store.

Cashier Michelle Yavorsky said: “You think about it all the time because shops are closed everywhere, but it’s sad. “I will miss this place. A lot of people have shopped here.”

During its heyday, Kmart sold product lines endorsed by celebrities Martha Stewart and Jaclyn Smith, sponsored NASCAR auto races, and was featured in films including “Rain” Man” and “Beetlejuice.” It has been featured in songs by artists from Eminem to the Beastie Boys to Hall & Oates; In 2003, Eminem bought a 29-room mansion in suburban Detroit once owned by former Kmart president Chuck Conaway.

The chain has cemented a place in American culture with its Blue Light Specials, a flashing blue orb attached to a pole that will signal shoppers to a quick sale in progress. Part of its success was due to the early introduction of programs that allowed customers who lacked credit to pre-order items and pay in installments.

For a time, Kmart had it all: You could shop for your kids’ school supplies, fix your car, and dine without leaving the premises.

“Kmart is part of America,” said Michael Lisicky, a Baltimore-based author who has written several books on the history of US retail. “Everybody has come to Kmart, whether you like it or not. They had everything. You’ve got the toy. You’ve got sportswear. You’ve got candy. You’ve got stationery. It is something for everyone. This is almost as much a courtesy visit as a shopping visit. You can spend hours here. And these are just the highlights of the American landscape over the years. “

Kmart’s decline was slow but steady, due to years of slumping sales, shifting shopping habits, and the looming shadow of Walmart, which happened to be up and running within a few months. when Kmart was founded in 1962.

Having trouble competing with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s more trendy offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 – becoming the largest US retailer to do so. that step – and announced it would close more than 250 stores.

A few years later, hedge fund executive Edward Lampert combined Sears and Kmart and pledged to return them to their former greatness, but Amazon’s decline and growing dominance contributed to the decline. deviate from those goals. Sears filed for Chapter 11 in 2018 and now has a handful of stores left in the US, where it once had thousands.

Kmarts continues to operate in Westwood, New Jersey; Bridgehampton, on New York and Miami’s Long Island.

It doesn’t have to end this way, according to Mark Cohen, director of retail research at Columbia University in New York and former chief executive officer of Sears Canada. Trying to compete with Walmart on price is a stupid strategy, he said, and Lampert has been criticized for not having a retail background and showing more interest in stripping the two chains of assets for value for money. their face.

“It’s a study of greed, avarice, and incompetence,” Cohen said. “The tears that should never have stopped; Kmart is in worse shape, but not as dire. And now both are gone.

“Retailers sometimes fail because they are selling things that people don’t want to buy,” he continued. “In the case of Kmart, everything they used to sell, people are buying but they’re buying from Walmart and Target.”

Transformco, which owns Kmart and Sears, did not respond to emails seeking comment and the company’s listed phone number did not receive messages.

Nationwide, some old Kmarts remain vacant while others have been replaced by other big box stores, fitness centers, auto storage facilities, even churches. A location formerly in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is now a popular dinner movie theater.

Employees at Kmart in Avenel found out last month that the store would be closing.

Unlike 20 years ago, when news of Kmart’s impending closure across the country prompted a massive surge of support from loyal shoppers, and one Detroit radio station even held a campaign translation to try to save a local store, the closure of the Avenel location was mainly due to an atmosphere of doom.

Jim Schaber, a resident of nearby Iselin, said: ‘I’ve probably lived in this area all my life, but it’s just another retail store that’s closed. “It’s just another sign of people shopping online and not going out to retail.”

The ending packed more than one emotional punch for Mike Jerdonek, a truck driver who recalls shopping at Kmart in Brooklyn and Queens in his younger days.

“It was like history was passing right in front of our eyes,” he said as he sat in his car outside the Avenel store. “When I was young, I didn’t have money, so it was a good place to shop because the prices were very cheap. And seeing it go now, it’s sad. ”

at Blogtuan.info – Source: nbcnews.com – Read the original article here