And then there were 3 - [Kmarts]

"Oh how the might have fallen." Kmart will be down to three stores in its birth state of Michigan after an announcement of more closings, mostly in small town Michigan where they played a role in wiping out local businesses.

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Only two in Metro Detroit will remain, this bleak one on Ten Mile in Warren and one in Waterford. It evoked memories of shopping there in the seventies when it could almost be difficult to find parking and Kmart briefly supplanted Sears as the nation's largest retailer.

This has been a slowwwwwwww and painful death.

Sad. Many childhood memories walking those stores with my Mom and Sister. The "Eatery", the pizza and taco snacks at the slushy stand.

I lived near the 10 and Dequindre K-Mart. We would drive further to go to the Meijer at 12 and Mound.

I used to work at the K-Mart at Maple [[15) and Livernois. It was terrible. The manager was creepy and an asshole. I left K-Mart to work for Walmart and it was much better.

K-marts always smelled like toxic plastic and dirt.

Seems like at any K Mart store I ever visited, the first thing I noticed when walking in was how loud the fluorescent lights buzzed.

And to think that the 9 Mile and Harper store was usually the #1 store in the chain, in terms of annual sales.

Also, FWIW the correct spelling is Kmart, no hyphen.

Kmart started losing focus no later than the 1980s with its purchase of outfits like Builder's Square and Waldenbooks, when it should have been concentrating on upgrading its stores and inventory system. Add to that the lie-filled tenure of Chuck Conaway and the current ongoing rape of the company by sociopath Eddie Lampert, and it's remarkable there are any stores left at all.

I was never keen on K-Mart or discount department stores in general.

But I have some, probably misplaced nostalgia for their predecessor the five-and-dime, in the K-Mart context, S.S. Kresge stores.

Its funny, in a strange sort of way, as K-Mart declines and even Walmart struggles a bit, that they are facing serious competition from 'dollar stores' which look an awful lot like the old five-and-dimes.

The old five-and-dimes did have more features than today's dollar store, typically, a lunch counter, often a candy counter/bulk candy, and tended to carry kids clothing and toys more so than what you would see today.

In truth, they were nothing special, but they did have a tad more character than their replacements, and weren't so obscenely huge.

I gather Kresge stores fully disappeared in the US in the late 80s; their Canadian counterparts stayed until 1994.

Kmart never really had that much traction in Canada and would vanish into the Canadian chain Zellers only a few years later, before that chain fell to Target, and Target made perhaps the biggest bungle in retail history with its misadventures into Canada.

Plus-ca-change

[[roughly ....the more things change.......the more they stay the same)

Are there any old-timers here that know what brand the 10 Mile/Dequindre or Waterford Kmart stores were when they originally opened? The architecture of neither conforms to the standard Kmart design.

During its turbo-growth years, I know they took over many former WT Grant stores, and, I believe EJ Korvette. Then there are the former discounters like Arlan's & Shopper's Fair.

I checked old Free Press ads and the Waterford/Drayton Plains store was a W.T. Grant store, one of their "Grant City" locations. It closed by Nov. 1975 and Kmart opened there no later than Sept. 1976. I wasn't able to figure out if any store previously was in the 2000 E. 10 Mile location, but Kmart opened there as a "Kmart Foods" in Feb. 1970. Perhaps that explains the difference in architecture? Did Kmart Foods stores sell mostly if not only food?

So long K-Mart. Thanks to for 100 years of service.

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Originally Posted by Burnsie

I wasn't able to figure out if any store previously was in the 2000 E. 10 Mile location, but Kmart opened there as a "Kmart Foods" in Feb. 1970. Perhaps that explains the difference in architecture? Did Kmart Foods stores sell mostly if not only food?

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Thanks for the info on Waterford. There was also a stand-alone WT Grant built at the SE corner of Hall Rd & 53 Freeway circa '68-'69 that was later converted to a Kmart. The entire structure was subsequently leveled as mega-retail enveloped that corridor. A new Super Kmart occupied another parcel on the N side of Hall Rd for a period of time.

As for "Kmart Food", I am only familiar with the supermarkets being adjacent to a discount store [[then later incorporated into one building with the "Super Kmart" concept).

However, metro Detroit served as SSK's backyard petri dish. They experimented with stand-alone "Kmart Burgers", and "Kmart Gas", so a stand-alone "Kmart Foods" at 10/Dequindre circa '70 is possible. The building looks older than '70 to me, and most of the inner ring suburbs [[on the main corridors, anyway) were pretty much built out already by then.

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Originally Posted by Onthe405

Thanks for the info on Waterford. There was also a stand-alone WT Grant built at the SE corner of Hall Rd & 53 Freeway circa '68-'69 that was later converted to a Kmart. The entire structure was subsequently leveled as mega-retail enveloped that corridor. A new Super Kmart occupied another parcel on the N side of Hall Rd for a period of time.

As for "Kmart Food", I am only familiar with the supermarkets being adjacent to a discount store [[then later incorporated into one building with the "Super Kmart" concept).

However, metro Detroit served as SSK's backyard petri dish. They experimented with stand-alone "Kmart Burgers", and "Kmart Gas", so a stand-alone "Kmart Foods" at 10/Dequindre circa '70 is possible. The building looks older than '70 to me, and most of the inner ring suburbs [[on the main corridors, anyway) were pretty much built out already by then.

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10 and Dequindre briefly toyed with a food center, then became a Super K, I believe. Now Sears and K, whatever it is now, has no relation to either Sears or Kmart in my eyes.

When I think of walking into a Kmart, I have the scent memory of popcorn.

Kmart was supplanted by Walmart. Now Amazon and dollar stores are stealing Walmart's lunch money. It will be interesting to see who challenges Amazon.

The first memories of department store forays was the Arlans under the Packard Plant over walkway. They must have closed because it was the Kmart on Sherwood we would visit often. Some where in there was the Sears on Gratiot and Van dyke.

I used to say, if it weren't for Kmart growing up I woulda been naked.

Latest is the Warren store at 10 Mile & Dequindre. This is an "unannounced" closure, as it has not appeared on any of the closing lists released by Transformco [[formerly Sears Holdings).

This leaves Marshall & Waterford Twp as the last two stores in MI.

https://www.macombdaily.com/news/loc...5701410c1.html

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Originally Posted by Onthe405

This leaves Marshall & Waterford Twp as the last two stores in MI.

https://www.macombdaily.com/news/loc...5701410c1.html

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Marine City?

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Originally Posted by Maof

Marine City?

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I'm not sure if it's still open, but that location was included in the last round of closings.

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Originally Posted by GPCharles

And to think that the 9 Mile and Harper store was usually the #1 store in the chain, in terms of annual sales.

Also, FWIW the correct spelling is Kmart, no hyphen.

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It's a shame that I think contamination from the K-Mart auto center is preventing the development of that footprint. I think whatever newer big retailer would work really well there, including an ever-popular outlot strip closer to Harper and/or 9.

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Originally Posted by bartocktoo

It's a shame that I think contamination from the K-Mart auto center is preventing the development of that footprint. I think whatever newer big retailer would work really well there, including an ever-popular outlot strip closer to Harper and/or 9.

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There was a Kroger slated to be built on that parcel. However, if Kroger didn't outright purchase the land and were planning to lease from a developer, they may be intending [[or already have) backed out of the deal because of the required remediation.

Because of the extensive property size, I believe it was also originally planned to be a Kroger Marketplace [[groceries + some soft goods, somewhat akin to Meijer or Fred Meyer). Other than what's in the pipeline, I've heard Kroger has since dropped developing new Marketplace stores.

KMart would have done better had they NOT merged with Sears. I worked at Sears at a sales person for about 3 years from 2008-11 and the mismanagement was evident.

In the time I was there my department went through 4 managers and most of the time we were left totally unsupervised. The store GM and everyone above that rung on the ladder was clueless what those at the bottom were doing or how they felt about their jobs. Of course, almost all were outside hires, promotion was next to impossible.

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Originally Posted by Onthe405

There was a Kroger slated to be built on that parcel. However, if Kroger didn't outright purchase the land and were planning to lease from a developer, they may be intending [[or already have) backed out of the deal because of the required remediation.

Because of the extensive property size, I believe it was also originally planned to be a Kroger Marketplace [[groceries + some soft goods, somewhat akin to Meijer or Fred Meyer). Other than what's in the pipeline, I've heard Kroger has since dropped developing new Marketplace stores.

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Is Saint Clair Shores suitable enough for a Target store? That property is large enough to at least hold one of their "Flexible-Format" stores [[one of which recently opened in East Lansing).

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Originally Posted by Burnsie

Kmart started losing focus no later than the 1980s with its purchase of outfits like Builder's Square and Waldenbooks, when it should have been concentrating on upgrading its stores and inventory system. Add to that the lie-filled tenure of Chuck Conaway and the current ongoing rape of the company by sociopath Eddie Lampert, and it's remarkable there are any stores left at all.

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And to think during my company's massive layoffs during the early 2000's, I almost fell for Conaways bullshit line and almost invested $10,000 in a sure thing. I wish I'd heard of Apple then.

Ended up using that money to scrape by during the recession.

Also bought my first stereo from there in 1969. All wood speaker enclosures and cabinet, made in 'Merica.

K-Mart and Sears are finally almost completely dead.

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Originally Posted by Burnsie

Kmart started losing focus no later than the 1980s with its purchase of outfits like Builder's Square and Waldenbooks, when it should have been concentrating on upgrading its stores and inventory system. Add to that the lie-filled tenure of Chuck Conaway and the current ongoing rape of the company by sociopath Eddie Lampert, and it's remarkable there are any stores left at all.

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That, and the complete neglect of basic store upkeep. Lampert basically took it as a real estate play, and he himself has been doing OK with it, while destroying two iconic American brands. Sears and K-Mart [[there used to be a hyphen) were absolutely go-to places in the 1960s and 1970s, and it has been awful to watch the slow, painful and inexorable decline. My daughters and nieces have never been inside a Sears or a KMart and likely never will - I'm talking about women from their early 20s to mid 30s in age. Those brands are utterly irrelevant to them.

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Originally Posted by Onthe405

Are there any old-timers here that know what brand the 10 Mile/Dequindre or Waterford Kmart stores were when they originally opened? The architecture of neither conforms to the standard Kmart design.

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I think it was Korvettes at 10 & Deq.? Memory is fuzzy, I could be wrong.

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Originally Posted by mikefmich

I think it was Korvettes at 10 & Deq.? Memory is fuzzy, I could be wrong.

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I think the Warren started as a Kmart. Also there were 5 Korvette's and the closest to Warren was 12 Mile and John R, where that big Kmart closed. It's now going to be BJ's Warehouse.

With the loss of KMart, Sears and the Target debacle, would love to see Meijer move in to Canada. We really need a bricks & mortar Walmart competitor. They probably fear the higher costs here but Walmart has done well. Of course you need a lot of stores in a short time period to justify the warehousing and distribution, something Target really screwed up on.

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Originally Posted by 401don

With the loss of KMart, Sears and the Target debacle, would love to see Meijer move in to Canada. We really need a bricks & mortar Walmart competitor. They probably fear the higher costs here but Walmart has done well. Of course you need a lot of stores in a short time period to justify the warehousing and distribution, something Target really screwed up on.

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What about Canadian Tire? I thought they were pretty large

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Originally Posted by jcole

What about Canadian Tire? I thought they were pretty large

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They're good for hard goods but I like the convenience of shopping for cheap clothes & food along with the hard goods all in one spot.

And then there were none. Kmart is no more in Metro Detroit. And in Michigan only the Marshall store remains.

"Kmart is closing its remaining stores in metro Detroit, where the retail chain started nearly 60 years ago.

"Stores in Waterford and Warren will be shuttered as another 96 Sears and Kmart locations have been targeted for closure, according to a Thursday announcement by Transform Holdco LLC, which formed in February to acquire the assets of Sears Holdings Corp.

"The Kmart store in Waterford and the Sears store in Lansing are set to close by February with liquidation sales starting in December. The Warren location will close in late December or early January, Transform Holdco spokesman Larry Costello said."

The closures will leave the company with 182 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail...s-its-hometown

I'm not surprised that the Marshall store held out the longest. It's really the only large retailer in the area, and is always fairly busy when I go though there [[Busy for a Kmart).

I will add that Eddie Lambert still deserves prison [[And probably worse) for what he's done to Sears, Kmart and the employees and retirees of both. Scum of the Earth that man is... :mad:

I remember around 2002 a few of us did a group project for MBA school and did a case study on the decline of KMart. We closed with something along the lines of "For as many mistakes as KMart has made over the years, it seems that with some focus, things can only get better from here."

Oops.

[[Still got an 'A' though)

I can't figure out why the one in Marshall is one of the last two unless it's privately owned or a lot of people from Indiana drive up to it

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Originally Posted by jcole

I can't figure out why the one in Marshall is one of the last two unless it's privately owned or a lot of people from Indiana drive up to it

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There's not a similar store anywhere nearby. On has to drive into Battle Creek or South to Coldwater to find a Walmart or Meijer, so the Marshall K-Mart is the most convenient place for those in the surrounding area which also includes Albion.

There are both a Walmart and a Meijer 19 minutes from Marshall. And 1/2 hour away in Jackson also. And the two Meijer in Jackson are 20 minutes from Albion.

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Originally Posted by mtburb

Is Saint Clair Shores suitable enough for a Target store? That property is large enough to at least hold one of their "Flexible-Format" stores [[one of which recently opened in East Lansing).

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That 9 Mile/Harper location was a bad idea for a Kroger. In SCS there are 3 Kroger stores within 1 1/2 miles of that location... one at Marter and Jefferson, one at 9 Mile and Greater Mack, and one at 8 Mile & Harper [[which is technically across the street from the SCS border).

That 9 Mile/Harper location would be an ideal site for a Target. There are only 3 Target stores in Macomb County... two on M-59, and one at 15 Mile and Gratiot [[Clinton Twp). So a SCS Target would be close for SCS, Eastpointe, all the Grosse Pointes, Harper Woods, and by default the entire east side of Detroit [[only 1/2 mile from I-94).

^^^ LOL on the Kroger situation. Nothing was as nutso as the two Kroger's across from each other in Dearborn on Michigan near Telly.

With another one at Michigan and Greenfield!

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Originally Posted by Lowell

And then there were none. Kmart is no more in Metro Detroit. And in Michigan only the Marshall store remains.

"Kmart is closing its remaining stores in metro Detroit, where the retail chain started nearly 60 years ago.

"Stores in Waterford and Warren will be shuttered as another 96 Sears and Kmart locations have been targeted for closure, according to a Thursday announcement by Transform Holdco LLC, which formed in February to acquire the assets of Sears Holdings Corp.

"The Kmart store in Waterford and the Sears store in Lansing are set to close by February with liquidation sales starting in December. The Warren location will close in late December or early January, Transform Holdco spokesman Larry Costello said."

The closures will leave the company with 182 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail...s-its-hometown

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Crying!!!

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Originally Posted by Zacha341

^^^ LOL on the Kroger situation. Nothing was as nutso as the two Kroger's across from each other in Dearborn on Michigan near Telly.

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One of these two is no longer in business.

Yep the older one on the north side of Michigan Ave closed.

My issue with this is that Meijer stores are a total upgrade from K-Mart. And their headquarters closed in Troy what 15 years ago? I'll take a Meijer store any day above what KMART was. It's just progress. And the fact that Meijer opened stores in Detroit and South Warren means these places have been replaced. By a Michigan company albeit on the west side of the state.

One nice thing about Kmart was that it wasn't as huge and crowded as Meijer. But that was a sign it wasn't competing. In hindsight Kmart should have revamped the Kresge format into something that would have competed with the big dollar chains.

An interesting case study is the Meijer that opened in Okemos in 1969, and the Kmart that opened across the street in 1970. The Meijer aggressively expanded, while the Kmart [[which originally also sold groceries) stagnated until it closed only 25 years later.

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Originally Posted by Lowell

And then there were none. Kmart is no more in Metro Detroit. And in Michigan only the Marshall store remains.

"Kmart is closing its remaining stores in metro Detroit, where the retail chain started nearly 60 years ago.

"Stores in Waterford and Warren will be shuttered as another 96 Sears and Kmart locations have been targeted for closure, according to a Thursday announcement by Transform Holdco LLC, which formed in February to acquire the assets of Sears Holdings Corp.

"The Kmart store in Waterford and the Sears store in Lansing are set to close by February with liquidation sales starting in December. The Warren location will close in late December or early January, Transform Holdco spokesman Larry Costello said."

The closures will leave the company with 182 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail...s-its-hometown

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I hope that there are some good holiday sales going on soon. When the weather clears, I might check them out.

Let's see:
Kmart
Woolco
WT Grant
Arlan's
JM Fields
Caldor
Zayre
Ame's
Rose's

All tried to succeed in the same field as Walmart and only Walmart has survived.

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Originally Posted by 401don

With the loss of KMart, Sears and the Target debacle, would love to see Meijer move in to Canada. We really need a bricks & mortar Walmart competitor. They probably fear the higher costs here but Walmart has done well. Of course you need a lot of stores in a short time period to justify the warehousing and distribution, something Target really screwed up on.

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While I'm no market analyst, it seems to me Meijer has yet to prove that it can successfully expand & compete outside of its relatively small, mostly exurb/rural Great Lakes footprint before even considering expanding into another nation.

As you point out, the logistics & distribution is one complex and crucial factor. Target & Kmart had vastly larger resources & experience in this area, yet still failed in Canada. Another important element is cultural: knowing when to tinker [[or not) with both the merchandise & pricing in order to appeal to the unique targeted regional consumer.

Correct if I'm wrong, but I understand the latter is another reason Target failed in Canada. Canadians expected the same shopping experience they had eagerly crossed the border for, but Target was unable to deliver comparable products & price to what they offered in the States. This "loss in translation" is a common misstep among companies looking to expand beyond their existing, comfortable geographic region.