Remembering Kmart....

Update: i just had a chance to drive by the nearest Kmart, and it has closed down. The space and huge parking lot are totally empty.

K-Mart was all we had in this little town for years. We had a similar store called Roses, but the prices were higher if I remember. I don't think there are any K-Marts left in this area and most of the JcPenney and Sears stores are gone as well.

I always like(d) Kmart.
The ones near me always had gross little food counters (corn dogs, fries, etc). It seems like Kmart was the exclusive vendor for Icee (Slurpee-type drink)..
It's a shame that Wal*Mart has put so many competitors out of business, it's making our dept store options pretty narrow..

I remember Kmart here in Canada as a kid. They sold out to Zellers and now even Zellers is gone and Walmart has taken over. Target was here briefly but did not do well as in the US.

If you looked up "Corporate Greed" in the dictionary, one word should be listed: Walmart.

We don't shop there any longer because we refuse to condone that type of business. It's difficult in this fallen world, but there ARE still businesses out there who have genuine ownership that are not in it for pure greed. I get it, a business must make a profit to stay a business, but there's a fine line between customer service vs corporate greed. The Walmart near us has ONE checkout person on an average day, no matter what time it is. There's roughly 30 unmanned checkout lines, which not only waste space, but is a direct insult to their customers who are waiting in that ONE line. Does Walmart care? Of course not. Now, they have built more self-checkout lanes and eventually that ONE poor lady working that busy checkout will be told her job has been eliminated.

Let's switch gears for a bit. Kroger! They still do things right. On any given day there are actually manned checkout lanes, ALL of them, unless it's not a busy day. But, we've never had to wait more than one or two people deep in a line. There's actually workers who bag your items and people at the front of the checkout lanes directing people what line to go in for faster service. We've never looked back once we tried Kroger one day. It's night and day in comparison. This is not corporate greed, but ownership that understands and values their customers. I'd gladly pay a small premium to shop in this type of environment.

I wish more folks would support businesses who actually appreciate their customers that's all. I will drive a little further, spend a little more just to shop at those places and we all should.

Ok, I'm off my soap box now.

CoolDude68 said:

If you looked up "Corporate Greed" in the dictionary, one word should be listed: Walmart.
We don't shop there any longer because we refuse to condone that type of business

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68, I'm with you.. I rarely go into Wal*Mart.. And I don't begrudge any company for trying to make a good living. But I just dislike 'em & the shopping experience there..

I'm currently boycotting Target, because of their unrepentant stance on allowing biological men into their women's restrooms. Truth is, I wouldn't even care if Target had quietly allowed it, but when their high-profile, corporate response was to completely disregard & dismiss parents' growing concerns.. I dumped Target. So with KMart folding up, I'm left w/only smaller, regional department stores. It sucks, but I feel better about it than supporting the two remaining big boys.

Flush Target (Target boycott for interested parties.)

I remember when KMart was the only place to go for an Icee.

I drove by last night to see that our KMart is finally closing. End of an era.

We really only have a Target and a Wal-Mart now, except for little specialty stores that only sell garden supplies, or only clothes, only shoes, etc.

I feel the same way about supporting them but we are running out of options.

I buy groceries in various places, but am shopping more often online, when it's not something I get at a particular local store.

I buy my underwear at Kmart....yeh, KMart...in Cincinnati.

What movie was that from?

CoolDude68 said:

I buy my underwear at Kmart....yeh, KMart...in Cincinnati.

What movie was that from?

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Oh! Oh! I know this one! Rain Man... right? That is a scene so hard not to forget!

Yep! lol

We had a Kmart, a Woolworth's, Kresge's, Sears, JCPenney... lots of nostalgia.

Geoghegan said:

had a Kmart, a Woolworth's, Kresge's, Sears, JCPenney... lots of nostalgia.

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Anybody remember Zayre (department stores), back in the 8os (?)
I used to like them, they were basically a poor man's Kmart..

Babe Ruth said:

Anybody remember Zayre (department stores), back in the 8os (?)
I used to like them, they were basically a poor man's Kmart..

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I remember them. For us it was TG&Y though.

toLiJC said:

there are still about 600 stores

Blessings

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My granddaughter works at one of their last stores in Ramona. The writing is on the wall and she needs to start looking for another job.

It's also sad to watch Sears slipping away. What a store that was when I was young. Carrying their own brand of tools, Sporting Goods, musical instruments, motorcycles, film developing you name it they had it.

M-Bob

Mountainmanbob said:

It's also sad to watch Sears slipping away.. Carrying their own brand of tools, Sporting Goods, musical instruments, motorcycles, film developing you name it they had it.

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Bob, I used to love the Sears Christmas catalog. As a kid in the 8os, I used to circle all the NFL gear I wanted, & family members would mail-order the stuff for me..
Sears messed up, they had a comprehensive shipping network from their years of catalog mail-order.. But they weren't progressive enough to convert that network to an online operation. They could've been a step ahead of the game.. & they were subsequently, & largely, underpriced out of brick & mortar retail by Wal*Mart. It is sad to see 'em fading..

Babe Ruth said:

Bob, I used to love the Sears Christmas catalog.

As a kid in the 8os, I used to circle all the NFL gear I wanted, & family members would mail-order the stuff for me..

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Yes, Sears seemed to have everything in that catalog back then.

And very interesting back before our days you could order all the parts to build a complete house delivered right to your job site including everything all Lumber Windows Nails bags of concrete pretty amazing.
M-Bob

we have a Kmart less about a mile from us so we still go
last time there picked up two items of clearance clothes for child for only $2.99, so was thrilled