Goodbye K-Mart!

[mtburb]

There was a satellite system that would stream in the music from their Kmart Radio thing based from headquarters. It also supplied some functionality to the in-store systems, even though if I remember correctly the in-store downtime was largely due to the fact that everything we used would've already graduated high school and was quickly approaching college graduation.

Well, failures at that distance would be quite unusual-Maple & Livernois is only a couple miles from Coolidge & Big Beaver.

[motz]

Well, failures at that distance would be quite unusual-Maple & Livernois is only a couple miles from Coolidge & Big Beaver.

Here is a beautiful insight into Kmart's amazing technological prowess: The station was "DJed" at the HQ in Troy [[and later Hoffman Estates), beamed up via satellite, then received via satellite receiver at the store level. When Maple & Livernois closed in 2008, they hadn't yet discovered that you can stream a good quality radio station via "The Internets".

Seriously, the reason for Kmart being what it is today is Eddie Lampert. When Kmart was flush with cash after the merger and land fire sale they had, they didn't reinvest ANYTHING in their stores. Maple & Livernois did get a very nice refresh, but every other store was still using fixtures from the 80s and 90s. It's really a sad state of affairs.

[GPCharles]

The death of Kmart can be attributed to the reign of Ben Fauber as Chairman, survivor of the troika left in charge when Cunningham retired. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the stock analysts convinced Fauber that there was very little growth left in the discount store industry. Kmart took its eye off the prize and starting buying [[and overpaying for) other retailers - Builders Square, Walden Books, Borders, Sports Authority, Furrs Cafeteria, Bargain Harolds, etc.

Builders Square was the real killer, as they expanded very quickly from the original 9 stores at the time of purchase and Kmart guaranteed all of the leases.

Another killer was Designer Depot and the exclusive buyer's contract that Fauber gave to his buddy in New York. When Kmart terminated the contract it cost them $65M++ to settle the litigation.

I could go on and on...

[Hermod]

The death of Kmart can be attributed to the reign of Ben Fauber as Chairman, survivor of the troika left in charge when Cunningham retired. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the stock analysts convinced Fauber that there was very little growth left in the discount store industry. Kmart took its eye off the prize and starting buying [[and overpaying for) other retailers - Builders Square, Walden Books, Borders, Sports Authority, Furrs Cafeteria, Bargain Harolds, etc.

Builders Square was the real killer, as they expanded very quickly from the original 9 stores at the time of purchase and Kmart guaranteed all of the leases.

Another killer was Designer Depot and the exclusive buyer's contract that Fauber gave to his buddy in New York. When Kmart terminated the contract it cost them $65M++ to settle the litigation.

I could go on and on...

Didn't K-mart also own Boater's World and Ritz Camera?

I believe that K-Mart sold Builder's Square to Hechinger [[HQ) which also contributed to the demise of Hechinger.

[GPCharles]

Builder's Square was sold to Hechinger.

I don't believe Kmart ever owed Boater's World or Ritz Camera.

A bunch of us ex-Kmart types got together over beers a few years ago and came up with over 20 former Kmart subsidiaries.

Who could ever forget K-Chef?

[mtburb]

The liqudation sale at the Southgate store begun today.

[canuck]

Looks like some Target stores in Canada are in for the same fate. Targets replaced a bunch of old Zellers stores and have a hard time finding a clientele. Their shelves are understocked and the stuff they sell is not impressive.

[Hypestyles]

The liqudation sale at the Southgate store begun today.

neat. I wonder what all electronics will be on sale.

[Danny]

Now Southgate will have to deal with the big empty large building. Put a Menard's there and leave Gilbralter Trade Center Alone and folks in Downriver will feel better.

[motz]

neat. I wonder what all electronics will be on sale.

As someone who saw a store closing through, the sales are not at all a good deal to anyone except the liquidator who is performing the sale. You'll get 20% off an item which if you waited for coupons or a sale, would be 30-40% off at least. Don't buy into the hype unless you want to go picking through a bunch of terrible crap the last few days of the sale.

[Sandhouse]

I get the impression that the successful retailer will be the one who makes the most use of the data flowing from its cash registers to manage its inventory and distribution, and buying, and cost of selling. My dad did this for the old J.L. Hudson Company in the days before computers and data networks I recall reading that Kmart went through several generations of IT managers and systems without ever finishing one. I think that's what doomed them. Sears is probably toast, too.

Who's next?

My [[suburban) home is within two miles of two Meijers, a Wal-Mart, a Target and a Kroger. I've always admired the Meijer firm for how they did business and for what their owners did for Michigan. But . . .

When I need food, Kroger has the cheapest prices for most [[not all) of the mix of processed and junk foods I live on, and I seldom wait to hand the clerk or the automated device my money. At Meijer, the automated check-out machine seldom works without human intervention, and the lines are several shoppers deep to check out. This is pure IT failure.

When I need sundries like car or bicycle parts, or stationery, or watch batteries, Wal-Mart has the stuff I need. Meijer's used to, but no longer does.

I'm told that Meijer's current CEO is a former university president. Shoulda been an IT guy [[or girl). Sorry Hendrik, it was nice while it lasted, but the signs are not good.

[mtburb]

Guess what? Five more Kmarts will be shutting down this December:

• Belsay Road and Court Street in Burton
• Miller Road and Ballenger Highway in Flint
• Super Kmart; John R. and 12 Mile Roads in Madison Heights
• Super Kmart; 32nd Street east of I-69/I-94 in Port Huron
• Rochester and Avon Roads in Rochester Hills

[313WX]

Guess what? Five more Kmarts will be shutting down this December:

• Belsay Road and Court Street in Burton
• Miller Road and Ballenger Highway in Flint
• Super Kmart; John R. and 12 Mile Roads in Madison Heights
• Super Kmart; 32nd Street east of I-69/I-94 in Port Huron
• Rochester and Avon Roads in Rochester Hills

Give it a few more years and all of the Sears and Kmart will be fading into the sunset...

[Scottathew]

The K-Mart in Rochester is on the list, it's about two miles from my house. I have never stepped foot in it. The parking lot is always near empty.

I used to work for K-Mart when I was in high school, and it was a terrible, depressing, crappy place where the management hated the workers. Technology was all ass-backwards, and even in 1999 when I was there the stores were beat up and jaded.

Here's a great article about the things you can see when you walk into a K-Mart: http://beluscapitaladvisors.com/2013...ht-front-eyes/

[Hypestyles]

Guess what? Five more Kmarts will be shutting down this December:

• Rochester and Avon Roads in Rochester Hills

Rochester College is nearby on Avon. I guess the kids will get their staples from the Target, Walgreens or Meijer.

[Scottathew]

Rochester College is nearby on Avon. I guess the kids will get their staples from the Target, Walgreens or Meijer.

It's really quite a convenient area, in the middle of many large subdivisions, including many nearby townhomes and apartments. It's connected to a lot of healthy retail.

I'd like to think something will come in and take it over, but there's already a Meijer two miles south, a Kroger 1.5 miles NW, and a Walmart about 3.5 miles SW of there.

The only thing that I could maybe see would be Walmart, but I don't think the site would be large enough for what they do.

[Bill Simpson]

When that was a nine hole course it was a great track.

There are some huge deer living there now. I saw a nice buck next to K-Mart.

[motz]

The K-Mart in Rochester is on the list, it's about two miles from my house. I have never stepped foot in it. The parking lot is always near empty.

I used to work for K-Mart when I was in high school, and it was a terrible, depressing, crappy place where the management hated the workers. Technology was all ass-backwards, and even in 1999 when I was there the stores were beat up and jaded.

Here's a great article about the things you can see when you walk into a K-Mart: http://beluscapitaladvisors.com/2013...ht-front-eyes/

I'm kinda sad because I've always found stellar deals at K-Mart when I took the time to dig through their unorganized flea market of a store. The Rochester one was always really nice, and often times had great clearance sales if you looked. Alas, their business model of "We don't give a $%^& about anything" isn't what many people would describe as sustainable

[Wesley Mouch]

Looks like some Target stores in Canada are in for the same fate. Targets replaced a bunch of old Zellers stores and have a hard time finding a clientele. Their shelves are understocked and the stuff they sell is not impressive.

Recent article in one of the big Canadian papers about how Target beat Walmart on a marketbasket of items. Target sure botched their launch, but I wouldn't count them out quite yet. They have proven that they can do distribution and purchasing in the US.

[mtburb]

Looks like some Target stores in Canada are in for the same fate. Targets replaced a bunch of old Zellers stores and have a hard time finding a clientele. Their shelves are understocked and the stuff they sell is not impressive.

Incidentally, a good amount of those former Zellers originally started out as Kmart stores-Kmart actually operated in Canada from the 1960's until 1997.

Kmart actually operated in other countries too-they opened stores in the Czech Republic that were later sold off to Tesco [[a European retailer that's a bit similar to Meijer) and they had four Super Kmarts in the Mexico City area that were sold off in 1997 to Mega [[a Mexican retailer that's also a bit similar to Meijer).

Plus, it appeared that in the late 1990's Kmart wanted to open at least one store in every Caribbean island.

However, there still are Kmart stores in Australia and New Zealand that are actually a lot neater and more upkept than ours [[and they even use a slightly-modified version of the original logo), but those broke off all ties with our Kmart stores in the early 1990's.

[mtburb]

The Oakland Press has a huge picture gallery of various Kmart stores-see if you can recognize your [[ex-)local store here.

http://media.theoaklandpress.com/201...ack-in-photos/

[JenniferL]

I used to shop at four different Kmarts, depending on where I happened to be at the time. Of those four, two have already closed and one is on the latest shutdown list.

[Scottathew]

The Oakland Press has a huge picture gallery of various Kmart stores-see if you can recognize your [[ex-)local store here.

http://media.theoaklandpress.com/201...ack-in-photos/

Seeing the pictures of my old store in Troy reminded me of the folks I worked with. Most of them were great people, with a few bad apples. There was one guy who was really nice, his name was Rick. Rick lived in a small car parked on the outer-edge of the parking.

[canuck]

Incidentally, a good amount of those former Zellers originally started out as Kmart stores-Kmart actually operated in Canada from the 1960's until 1997.

Kmart actually operated in other countries too-they opened stores in the Czech Republic that were later sold off to Tesco [[a European retailer that's a bit similar to Meijer) and they had four Super Kmarts in the Mexico City area that were sold off in 1997 to Mega [[a Mexican retailer that's also a bit similar to Meijer).

Plus, it appeared that in the late 1990's Kmart wanted to open at least one store in every Caribbean island.

However, there still are Kmart stores in Australia and New Zealand that are actually a lot neater and more upkept than ours [[and they even use a slightly-modified version of the original logo), but those broke off all ties with our Kmart stores in the early 1990's.

Yes, well Kresges had a presence in Canada from 1929 on. There were K-Marts across Montreal until about twenty five years ago. I used to go to one in the east end of the city where it was converted to a Zellers. Now, they are tearing the mall down to build condos because the mall situation is saturated.

[lpg]

Only went a couple of times to the K-Mart in Southgate. Same story each time. A bunch of checkout lines, only one open. Cashier in a complete state of confusion. Long wait or someone to help her. Gave up, never went back.