Kmart survived the Great Depression and Two World Wars, but wasn't able to survive their own lack of innovation.

My local Kmart felt like a time machine as soon as you stepped inside you were transported to the late 80s early 90s, it was so outdated. LOL.

My Mom worked at a Kmart for 20 years. She had worked every department worked in HR and Management. When they closed her store all her time meant nothing and she had to scrounge for work like the hundreds of other employees that lost their jobs.

Our Kmart (in the town over from us) stayed pretty strong up until 2011. Ours never looked outdated or gross so it was really disappointing when they closed. Growing up poor it was great that struggling families could put back to school clothes and supplies on lay-a-way and pay it out. It really helped our family out and they always had in style clothes and home decor. Halloween was probably my favorite time of the year bc they seemed to have sooo many more costumes than Walmart

Most Walmart’s stores have a McDonald’s. Most Target stores have a Starbucks. Most Kmart stores have nothing.

They didn’t innovate, the stores looked old and outdated in the early 2000s, while target kept refreshing the stores with new items and a fresh look.

My dad work for Kmart/Sears for 30 years he raised 4 kids in that time..My first real job at 16 was working at Kmart , my sister also. Kmart was a big part of my life. It shall be missed.

When Sears took over Kmart, they raised alot of prices and people went elsewhere for better prices. I even saw saw prices triple on a few things.

Rip radio shack, k mart, Sears, block buster, and toys r us. Maybe rite aid.

They never had enough registers open and stores always seemed dirty

One time I stopped by Kmart. I forgot why I quit going there. After looking around the store I realized I stopped going there because the store was very messy. Product seem to be strewn around almost everywhere. It looked like a mob had come through pickup items to look at them and randomly put the item back anywhere on a shelf or the floor.

For myself and family Kmart has a very special meaning to us. In the 80s my Father worked as an Assistant Manager of the shoe department for a year in the Twin Cities and then for eight years back home in southern Minnesota. He worked very hard long hours to provide for his young family. My Father found out in 1985 three weeks before Christmas that he had a brain tumor and only had a few years to live. in the late 80s it was tough for him to go to work but somehow through the pain of chemo he try his best to be at Kmart because he was proud of his work. Six months before he died Kmart employees from around the country chipped in to send our family to Disney World in Orlando. We had a wonderful time and i will never forget it. Two months after the trip my father was working a normal shift at Kmart but in the late morning he had a sesher. It was the final time he went out the front doors of Kmart. But it was on a streacher to an ambulance. He fought his final months at home with his family and hospice care by his side. He died on Sunday July 30, 1989 at the age of 30. I was six years old. His memorial service had alot of Kmart employees and customers who loved his warmth and outgoingness to make Kmart a wonderful store to shop at. Over the years it was sad to go into Kmart and see the store go down hill. It also was hard in the fall of 2016 to see the store closed for good that my father worked hard at. The brightside is the former building was turned into a medical clinic. So I believe that people having cancer treatments are getting some spirtual help from my father. R.I.P. Dad I love you and miss you. :)

“Attention Kmart shoppers” ahh I’m gonna miss that😭

I bought a pregnancy test at K-mart when I was in college because I knew there was absolutely no chance I would run into any of my peers there because no one ever went there

My Kmart store was on Hacienda Blvd , hacienda Calif . They shut down years ago , it's a empty lot now my late wife and I used to eat are lunch there . When I pass the lot it always brings back memories.

While in high school I worked in Kmart. Loved it so much.

I worked at Kmart in high school the day a Walmart opened in our city. It went from being busy af to a ghost town, literally overnight.

It's hard to believe there's still Kmart stores hanging around in 2019. I worked at a Kmart store in 2007, and it was by far the most depressing job I've ever had. We've had shelves that were literally empty. Packages all over the store. It's like you go to Kmart just to feel depressed.

I worked at Kmart during college. Always a mess and unorganized aisles but man we had some loyal shoppers!

I miss kmart so much!!! Thats where i bought my first gameboy back in 97' i saved up the whole summer with my salary from being a farm hand 😭

Okay, in Australia Kmart is our GO-TO store. We have no Walmart and target is WAAAAY to expensive. Kmart is nearly everyone's favourite store...

Its mainly the executives that get paid millions and dont want to upgrade their stores because they are greedy for money. They still get millions after the company closes

I worked at K-Mart around age 16 in the mid 90s and even employees didn't shop there. The prices never rang up correctly based on the signs/ price labels/ sales flyers. They always rang up higher in the company's favor. If you needed to buy more than a few items, it was impossible NOT to miss a few and get overcharged. Even if items had rang up correctly, the prices were higher than competitors and the quality wasn't very good. Plus my store manager was constantly yelling at employees for things we had zero control over so employee morale was pretty much nil after a few days. I think I lasted less than 6 months and I lasted longer than most. K-MART put itself out of business long before Target even hit the scene in my area.

I have some Kmart clothes that have lasted well over 10 years. Some are 14-15 years old and I wear them regularly. When I knew the end was near for KMart I stocked up on 30 shirts and 15 pairs of pants. I might be set for life??? lol

Rip to k-mart and sears

Both KMart and Sears were victims of terrible upper management. They treated their employees like crap, couldn't hold talented non-executive employees, and it showed in their stores. Their employees stopped caring, because the top guys didn't care about them. Executives and CEO's should never lose sight of the fact that ultimately, it's all the little guys that are making them their money. A business will thrive if they get us little guys on their side. I ended up hating going to these stores in the end, staff seemed miserable, managers would argue with you, and everyone seemed completely disengaged. At Sears they cut staff from departments and put all the registers in the front. I would wander around desperately looking for someone to help me. So sad, I loved those stores.

I remember when I was a kid, there was a Kmart near our old house, and a little cesar's pizza was inside it. I still remember eating pizza while my mom was shopping for a toaster. Memories.

I remember being a little girl in the 80’s and the blue light specials. Everyone would stand around the booth and watch the demo for knives or kitchen appliance. And we could take our popsicles into the store in the summer time while we shopped for summer clothes. Many of my childhood shopping memories are from Kmart 💗

I feel bad for Kmart. I feel bad for every store that closes down 😞

The only Kmart near me has had a clearance and a closing sign for the past 5 years

By far my favorite CNBC mini-doc, which says a lot considering how well done they all are! Never would have thought this could be so interesting.

I worked at the main office for 28 years, and it was terrible towards the end.. Kmart targeted employees they wanted to let go without a severance package. My husband and myself were let go on the same day. Destroyed him, he had 17 years, and ruined my marriage. They spent tons of money on the golden parachute for management…

Meanwhile in Aus, Kmart is huge! And Target is more aimed at middle class. Like they have nice stuff (like Kmart but better quality) but quite a bit more expensive

Combining Kmart and Sears is like combining water and oil

Lol i remember when I was younger, the places to go were jcpenney, Kmart and Sears

When I was a kid my mom won money from a fishbowl drawing. They announced it on the intercom, and we were so excited. This happened twice in a row. I thought it was good luck. Now, I realize it was because we were pretty much the only people in the store.

I prefer target because it not crowded not like Walmart where everybody block the aisle

wtf, in Australia, if you need a snack at 5 in the morning, kmart has your back, kmart is like walmart, but cheaper

From 1966 until the late 1970's, my family lived at K-Mart. We got our school clothes there, and we were in ecstasy when the 'Blue Light Special' was announced over the PA system. The wheels on my Mom's shopping cart would practically smoke as she raced and picked up speed to be the first to get 'Six steak knives for just $3.99'. The toy section was superb. I was able to buy fuel powered control line airplanes, model rockets, whatever. They had a cafeteria which served great grilled cheese sandwiches. What a place.

I remember shoplifting at Kmart with a bunch of kids in the late 90’s one of the kids I was with got kick in the ass by 3 of the undercover security in the back of the Kmart then everyone got scared and tried climbing over a large snow bank but kept sliding back down

What Eddie Lampert did to both Sears and Kmart after the merger is criminal. He drove both companies into the ground to squeeze as much money as he could out of it and refused to update the stores that badly needed it.

Wait, so you're telling me that the executives would rather stuff the money in there pockets than to reinvest the money into the company? I'm shocked.

Thanks for sharing..keep it up I visited kmart when i visited Australia on 2020

When we were kids in the 90's, there was a Wal-Mart(not a supercenter, no groceries) about 1/2 mile across the street from the K-Mart. We shopped both places, but I always remember the K-mart being kind of dirty/disorganized, shelves not stocked, store was always kind of empty, not a lot of people. Go to the Wal-Mart across the street, store was cleaner, shelves stocked, better selection of stuff, especially in sewing/fabrics/arts/crafts/automotive/sporting goods/fishing gear, man Wal-Mart had everybody beat in the 90's in those categories. Place was always bustling, it was a total madhouse if you went there on Saturday or Sunday. K-mart floundered and was gone by the 2008 recession, Wal-Mart outgrew their existing space and built a new "supercenter" in 2002, which is still there to this day. Also the last item I ever bought from a K-mart was a toaster lol, it was the display model for half off on their store closing sale, had them plug it in at the register to make sure it worked.

Kmart will always have a place in our memories for those of us who grew up in the 60s - 90s

Kmart just digged itself into bankruptcy because of the lack of innovation and dirty stores, high prices and they just never evolved with the time! If they really liquidate all their stores I’ll be torn since Kmart was the store my parents always took me as a child, now I just do my shopping at Target or Amazon.. Kmart, you’ll be missed! Thanks for those 90s memories ❤️

The Kmart in my hometown closed a year ago. Only shopping option in town. Walmart is in the next city over, 20 minutes away. It was outdated but was the go-to store for last minute options and, at least in my opinion, had a pretty good Christmas display every year.

What really became Kmart's downfall, was the higher management becoming highminded. They began treating their lower employees like dirt or parts in a machine. Easily replaced (firing and constant new hiring). That hurt their customer service. Wal-Mart's #1 rule, is respecting the individual. The individual is everyone, customers and associates. Treat both like dirt and you lose them. Kmart proved that true. I know, because my first job, was Kmart. I was a rookie and all rookies make mistakes. They never told me mine and fired me, after just two days. 25 years after they fired me, their store I worked for closed permanently. If it was poetic justice, I'll let others make that call.

Lambert didn't care about the customer or either companies. He left both companies to rot

I miss Kmart is was part of my childhood 😭😭

Kmart used to be my favorite place to shop for non-groceries. Now it's Target. My first pair of leather gloves came from Kmart. They used to have quality items. Once Kmart started looking worse than Walmart and yet still had higher prices they killed themselves.

Kmart gives me childhood nostalgia. My parents and I were frequent customers. I remember that one of the Kmarts in our area had a Little Cesar's in it.

I remember going to Kmart back in the '80s and it was the place to go. But by the time the '90s came around Target was much more appealing. A cleaner, fresher, more modern look and feel, plus great prices. Then in the 2000s Walmart crashed the whole party! Nobody could touch Walmart's prices, although Target was still a much more pleasant experience. Meanwhile Kmart remained stuck in the '80s, with no upgrades, evolution or innovation. Their demise is not a shock to anyone.

I have many memories shopping as a child at Kmart with my mom...

I worked at Kmart in Key West Florida and working that was quite entertaining. Registers were beyond old technology and I'd often hit several buttons at once to freeze the registers (so I didn't have to deal with customers). I also worked the layaway department which was fun but not very well organized. The store overall was very dated and employees often had conflicts with management.

In the town I grew up in, not only the K mart but nearly every business in town that used to be there has vanished.It makes me depressed whenever I go back.....

There used to be a Kmart in the shopping center near me. Then they replaced it with a Target.

Kmart was my childhood I would go there with my parents since in the store there was a ceasers pizza place 😭😭

The only thing I remember about Kmart was the hot pretzels 🥨

Kmart was my childhood store 😔 i used to love going there as a kid. So many fond memories. I wanna go to kmart now 😭😭😭

it all started because you wanted a toaster...

The KMart where I live in just closed a few months ago, getting replaced into 3 stores. It was a huge Kmart anyways, But the fact that the store smelled like the sewers, made me not like the store

I had wondered....thanks for the report!

Not long before the local Kmart closed where I live, I decided to pick up a few items, like bandaids and such. I was disturbed by the grimness of the Kmart. The clothes were piled in big heaps here and there not folded or stacked. I couldn't find any of the items I needed. No dental floss, no nothing. It was difficult to get in and out of the store, with no automatic doors and a maze forcing one through the checkout line, even to get a cart. There were less than twenty customers there. It resembled a crime scene.

Too slow to adapt! Also, poor customer service!

Video: “let’s say u have to buy a toaster” Me- “Amazo-“ Video- “and it has to be in a physical store”

I remember their Christmas displays were wonderful up to the late 1990s and it started to go down hill!

That headline is messing with my head. It's written like one store beat the others to bankruptcy. 🤣

K-mart was my generations Walmart.

Kmart is *VERY* popular here in New Zealand. And there sales are poppin

Wish we still had our Kmart store here in Mt. Airy! Held so many great memories for me and my husband!

Kmart was my favourite store when I was a child. They always seemed to have the best toy selection in my town and it was just a treat to go there.

Bad investments, terrible business decision and major corruption at the corporate level. - Truth

Didnt adopt internet. Stuck to an old business model

I live across the street from the last Kmart in Miami.... Going back to 1985, I use to be a overnight stocker for the same k-mart in my college years.... Good memories...

I was 13 (1977) when they built the Kmart a few blocks away from my house. We went there for everything. Later when they started shutting down stores I made out like a bandit. Soon after Sears was shutting down stores and once again I bought tons of stuff for pennys on the dollar. I was able to sell everything at flea markets because all my merchandise was new in box. Between the two chains closing down I made an extra $50,000.

K-Mart near me were always super ghetto and marked up in pricing.

i got hired at kmart in 1989, i was 19, and was there during the height, and it was great. i was electronics manager and our dept was the best in the district, but i saw the flaws even then, we never had the ad merch. and rainchecks were a joke, but if you were smart, you used their system against themselves. I couldn't get product that i needed, but if i keyed a raincheck request, i usually got it, i had to use the system to get product to sell, it was pretty insane and the ceo and his buds, they lived the high life, with 6 corporate jets and nice golden parachutes while we were sent packing in the end with nothing. I miss kmart, and my family there, they let us down.

The Kmart in my city closed in 2012, after that our local Kmart was 30 minutes away before THAT closed in 2020.

I remember K-mart being the talk-of-the-town when I was an infant. My older brother worked there and it was always busy. Then Walmarts popped up and WOOSH. K-mart lost & every K-mart employee moved to work at a Walmart. I remember my mother shopped there because of the blue light specials. Everyone went crazy over those deals. Never visited again after it became a ghost town/brother left. It wasn’t until late 2017 December we re-visited that same famous K-mart because the Walmart was closed and we needed to buy my aunt a new kitchen appliance and it seemed like it never changed. It didn’t change. The prices on a lot of items are still high.

Eddie Lampert should be in jail for what he's done to Sears.

I miss Kmart. Had some good memories shopping there.

It was sad to see them close the one in Minneapolis MN, I drive by sometimes and it feels weird because it was just few blocks away from my place

All these stores like Kmart, Sear, ToysRUs, Circuit City came out of our artificially inflated economy. They've been riding on low interest rates for decades, which kept them afloat.

I have a Target, Walmart and Kmart near me. Surprisingly, the Kmart's not doing that bad. The only reason I would choose Kmart is if I don't feel like dealing with Walmart or Target's busy parking lot.

I walked into a Kmart in Puerto Rico and immediately felt liike a child. It still had the same look from when I was a child.

The Michigan headquartered company who paid fair wages got beat by the southern low wage and low standing Walmart

Kmart Woolworths and Sears were awesome. Sadness.

Why am I watching this I don't even live in america lol

I used to buy groceries at a Super Kmart store circa 2004. It was one of the closest places to me for groceries. I quickly smartened up because their grocery prices were absurd. That store was not too bad on the inside, but I couldn’t justify the grocery bill.

I have fond memories of Kmart as a kid hiding inside the clothes racks and finding the TV section and sitting there watching them. Though I knew I was in trouble when my name came over the loud speaker. LOL

It's never the executives of a closing business that suffer but the suppliers & employees

I remember K Mart but then it also feels like a fever dream😂

I enjoyed shopping at Kmart... loved their Submarine Sandwiches and Cherry Icees, The Blue light Specials and their music .😢

Last Kmart I've been to (around 2006) 3/4 of the customers looked like prison convicts.

Omg in Australia Kmart is the place to be everyone loves it

Kmart is a shop in Australia, it’s basically Walmart.

What is bizarre is I didn’t make a conscious decision to stop shopping at Kmart it just sort of happened. Two Walmarts were in town easier to get in and out of. You’re right in the 1970s and 1980s I was at Kmart all the time. I didn’t think about Kmart until people said they were closing the store somewhere around 2016

Kmart reminds me when I was a kid growing up, my mom loved Kmart and I remember the blue light specials.

At the rate we are going amazon will take over soon