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Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by
Transformco Transform SR Brands LLC (doing business as TransformCo, referred to as "New Sears") is an American privately held company formed on February 11, 2019, to acquire some of the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation. The new company is owned by ESL ...
, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the
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and its territories. It operates four remaining Kmart big-box
department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made ...
— three in the
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and one in
Tamuning Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon (), is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village of Tamuning is the economic center of Guam, containing tourist center Tumon, Harmon Industrial Park, ...
,
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. The company closed its last big-box store in the
mainland United States The contiguous United States, also known as the U.S. mainland, officially referred to as the conterminous United States, consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the District of Columbia of the United States in central North America. The ter ...
in 2024. A smaller location remains open in the former Garden Shop of its Kendale Lakes,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
(Miami postal address) store, while the adjoining big box building is occupied by another retail chain that has leased the space. Before 2018, Kmart owned and operated a much larger chain of its namesake stores. The company is headquartered in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village previously served as the headquarters for Transform Holdco L ...
, United States. The company was incorporated in 1899 as S. S. Kresge Corporation and renamed Kmart Corporation in 1977. The first store with the Kmart name opened in 1962 in
Garden City, Michigan Garden City is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Garden City is located roughly west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 27,380. Garden City is notable as ...
. At its peak in 1994, Kmart operated 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323
discount store Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs. Types (Uni ...
s and Super Kmart Center locations in the United States. From 2005 through 2019, Kmart was a subsidiary of
Sears Holdings Corporation Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th- ...
, which owns
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
. Since 2019, Kmart has been a subsidiary of Transform SR Brands LLC, a privately held company that was formed in 2019 to acquire assets from Sears Holdings.


History


Early years

S. S. Kresge, the founder of the company that would become Kmart, met variety-store pioneer
Frank Winfield Woolworth Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company, and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores or dime stores) which featured ...
while working as a traveling salesman and selling to all 19 of Woolworth's stores at the time. In 1897, Kresge invested $6,700 saved from his job into a five-and-dime store in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. He jointly owned the first store with his former tinware customer, John G. McCrory. Kresge and McCrory added a second store in downtown Detroit the following year. These were the first S.S. Kresge stores. After two years of
partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...
, he traded McCrory his share in the Memphis store, plus $3,000, for full ownership of the Detroit store, and formed the Kresge & Wilson Company with his brother-in-law, Charles J. Wilson. In 1912, Kresge incorporated the S.S. Kresge Company in Delaware with 85 stores. In 1916, Kresge incorporated a new S.S. Kresge Company in Michigan and took over the operations of the original company, becoming the modern day Kmart company. The company was first listed on the
New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...
on May 23, 1918. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Kresge experimented with raising the limit on prices in his stores to $1. By 1924, Kresge was worth approximately $375 million and owned real estate of the approximate value of $100 million. Growth early in the 20th century remained brisk, with 257 stores in 1924, rising to 597 stores by 1929. Kresge retired as president in 1925, continuing as the company's chairman. The Great Depression reduced profitability and resulted in store closings, but the number rose to 682 in 1940. After the war, shopping patterns changed and many customers moved out of the cities into the suburbs.


1960s–1970s

Under the leadership of executive Harry Cunningham, S.S. Kresge Company opened the first Kmart-named store, at , which was referred to by Kresge as a "bantam" Kmart and was in fact originally intended to be a Kresge store until late in the planning process, on January 25, 1962, in
San Fernando, California San Fernando (Spanish language, Spanish for "Ferdinand III of Castile, St. Ferdinand") is a General-law municipality, general-law city in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It ...
, just six months before the first
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
opened, while the first ground-up full-size Kmart with , opened on March 1, 1962, in
Garden City, Michigan Garden City is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Garden City is located roughly west of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 27,380. Garden City is notable as ...
. Cunningham and
Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for Co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 res ...
were both inspired by
Ann & Hope Ann & Hope was a Rhode Island–based retailer that pioneered practices now common in modern big box stores. The company was named after the ship ''Ann and Hope'', which was built in 1798 by the firm Brown & Ives, famous merchants of early Provide ...
, which they each visited in 1961. Seventeen more Kmart stores opened in 1962. Kmart Foods, a now-defunct chain of Kmart
supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
, opened in that decade. Though the chain continued to open Kmart branded stores, the company was still officially known as S.S. Kresge Company. Company founder Kresge died on October 18, 1966, at age 99. Around the time of the opening of the first Kmart, some poorly performing S.S. Kresge stores were converted to a new "Jupiter Discount Stores" brand, which was conceived as a bare-bones, deep discount outfit. During the 1970s, Kmart put a number of competing retailers out of business. Kresge, Jupiter and Kmart stores mainly competed with other store chains like
Zayre Zayre () was a chain of discount stores that operated in the eastern half of the United States from 1956 to 1990. The company's headquarters were in Framingham, Massachusetts. In October 1988, Zayre's parent company, Zayre Corp., sold the store ...
,
Ames AMES, short Air Ministry Experimental Station, was the name given to the British Air Ministry's radar development team at Bawdsey Manor (afterwards RAF Bawdsey) in the immediate pre-World War II era. The team was forced to move on three occasion ...
,
Bradlees Bradlees Department Store, more commonly known as Bradlees, was a discount department store chain based in Braintree, Massachusetts, which operated primarily in the Northeastern United States. Bradlees sold various retail items in its stores, inc ...
, Caldor,
Hills A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit, and is usually applied to peaks which are above elevation compared to the relative landmass, though not as prominent as mountains. Hills fall und ...
, and those that were operated by MMG-McCrory Stores (McCrory, McLellan, H.L. Green, J.J. Newberry, S.H. Kress, TG&Y, Silver's and eventually G.C. Murphy Co.). In 1977, S.S. Kresge Company changed its name to K Mart Corporation.


1980s

In 1980, Vice Chairman Bernard M. Fauber was elected as the chairman and as the CEO of Kmart. In April 1981, the 2,000th Kmart store opened in
Kearny, New Jersey Kearny ( ) is a town in the western part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and a suburb of Newark. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 41,999, an increase of 1,315 (+3.2%) from the 2010 census cou ...
which eventually closed in May 2021. By the end of 1981, there were 2,055 Kmart stores across the United States and Canada. In 1987, the Kmart Corporation sold its remaining 76 Kresge and Jupiter stores in the United States to McCrory Stores, and the brands were almost entirely discontinued, although Canadian Kresge and Jupiter stores continued to operate until 1994. Kmart experimented with co-branding in 1985, when the in-store cafeteria at the store in
Canton, Michigan Canton Township (commonly known simply as Canton) is a charter township in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Canton is located roughly west of downtown Detroit, and e ...
, was converted to a
Wendy's Wendy's International, LLC, is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (businessman), Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of D ...
. As well as that Kmart Also co branded with Bruno’s Supermarket to create a brand new Hypermarket called American Fare. Until November 1990, when it was passed by Walmart, Kmart was the second-largest retailer in the United States, after Sears. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the corporate office shifted much of its focus from the Kmart stores to other companies it had acquired or created, such as
Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commer ...
,
Builders Square Builders Square was a big-box home improvement retailer headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. A subsidiary of Kmart, its format was quite similar to The Home Depot, Menards, and Lowe's with floor space of about , and inventories in excess of 35 ...
, and
Waldenbooks Walden Book Company, Inc., doing business as Waldenbooks, was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a children's e ...
.


Blue Light Special

The Blue Light Special was a sale promotion within the store for a short period within store hours only. It was advertised using a rotating blue light, in the same style a police car used, and was announced over the store public address system with the phrase "attention Kmart shoppers", a phrase which became a pop culture reference. The original concept for the Blue Light Special was a limited-time offer to sell slower-moving merchandise. The sale was first introduced in 1965 and was retired in 1991. In the 2000s, Kmart periodically brought back the Blue Light Special. It was started in 2001, discontinued in 2002, briefly revived in 2005, revived again on Saturdays in 2009 (offering surprise hour-long sales on selected merchandise) and a final time in November 2015.


1990–2001: New image

In 1990, in an effort to update its image, Kmart introduced a new logo. It dropped the old-style italic "K" with a turquoise "mart" in favor of a red block letter K with the word "mart" written in script and contained inside the "K". Kmart then began remodeling stores shortly thereafter. This logo was replaced in 2004 with the current one. In 1990,
Little Caesars Pizza Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
opened its first in-store Kmart restaurant in
Rochester, Michigan Rochester is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 12,711 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is a northern suburb in Metro Detroit located 20 miles north of the city of ...
(coincidentally, Little Caesars and Kmart were both founded in Garden City, Michigan, in 1959 and 1962 respectively). In 1995, Kmart also tried to reinvent itself by using the short-lived name Today's Kmart. In 1991, the company revised its name slightly to Kmart Corporation. In 1992, Kmart entered the Eastern European market with the purchase of 13 stores in the former
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
. These stores were sold off in 1996. The company also began to offer exclusive merchandise by
Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail business woman, writer, and television personality. As the founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, focusing on home and hospitality, she gained success through a variety ...
,
Kathy Ireland Kathleen Marie Ireland (born March 20, 1963) is an American actress, author, entrepreneur, fashion designer, philanthropist, and former fashion model. Ireland was a supermodel in the 1980s and 1990s, initially known for appearing in 13 consecut ...
,
Jaclyn Smith Jaclyn Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress. She is most notable for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead to remain with the series for it ...
,
Lauren Hutton Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...
, and
Thalía Ariadna Thalía Sodi Miranda (; born 26 August 1971), known mononymously as Thalía, is a Mexican singer, songwriter and actress. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Pop", she is considered one of the most ...
. Other recognizable brands included exclusively licensed merchandising of products relating to ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' and
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...
. Actress and television personality
Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...
and actress/director and producer
Penny Marshall Carole Penny MarshallBorn Carole Penny Marshall in 1943, as per ''My Mother Was Nuts, a Memoir'', p. 10; . Copyright 2012 (October 15, 1943 – December 17, 2018) was an American actress, film director, and producer. She is best known for ...
became among the company's most recognized spokespersons. Super Kmart Center (Super Kmart) opened an all-new location on July 25, 1991, in Medina Township, Ohio, featuring a full-service grocery with a full-service deli, seafood counter and bakery. It also had general merchandise like many Kmarts had. However, this location was downsized in 2011 and was one of a number of Kmarts closed in early 2012 following poor Christmas 2011 sales. The second ground-up Super Kmart Center opened in
Copley Township, Ohio Copley Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 18,403 people in the township. Geography Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities: * Bat ...
, featuring an in-store video rental center, and an in-store carryout Chinese restaurant. This location has also shut down. The last Super Kmart Center in Howland Township, Ohio, closed on April 8, 2018. Besides the Medina and Copley locations, many more Super Kmarts opened nationwide. Big Kmart opened in Chicago, Illinois, on April 23, 1997. The format focuses on home fashions, children's apparel, and consumables (The Pantry). Most Kmart stores were remodeled to this format during the late 1990s and the early 2000s. Initially, this approach was successful and sales numbers had grown by 10 to 15% in the Kmart stores converted to the Big Kmart format. During 1997 and 1998, the company either converted regular Kmart stores into or opened outright 1,245 Big Kmart locations. By 1998, 62% of Kmart's stores were Big Kmart locations. In 1998, Kmart acquired 45 former
Venture stores Venture Stores, Inc., was a chain of retail stores aimed at the discount department-store market. John Geisse, formerly of Target Stores, and May Department Stores' executive vice president, Dave Babcock, founded the chain in 1968. Venture Store ...
and converted them into Big Kmart locations. There were a high of 1,900 Big Kmart stores during the year 2000, compared to about 100 for Super Kmart and another 100 remaining traditional Kmart locations.
The Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerc ...
was acquired by Kmart in 1990 and spun off five years later. Kmart's profitability and sales peaked in 1992, and the later decline is attributed to competition with Walmart, Target, and internet shopping. In 1994, Kmart announced they would close 110 stores. Unlike its competitors Walmart and Target, Kmart failed to invest in computer technology to manage its supply chain. Furthermore, Kmart maintained a high dividend, which reduced the amount of money that was available for improving its stores. Many business analysts also faulted the company for failing to create a coherent brand image. In September 1995, Kmart sold its money-losing in-store auto repair centers to
Penske Corporation Penske Corporation, Inc. () is an American diversified transportation services company based in Bloomfield Township, Oakland County, Michigan. Roger Penske is the founder and chairman of the privately held company, and Rob Kurnick is the pres ...
for $112 million to operate them as Penske Auto Centers. Penske later closed the auto repair centers in 2002 as a result of a payment dispute with Kmart. In 1997, Kmart launched the Kmart Cash Card as a replacement for the paper gift certificates and to facilitate the return process. In July 1999, Kmart hired SuperValu and Fleming to distribute $3.9 billion worth of food and other related products to all Kmart stores. In 2000, Kmart and
Capital One Capital One Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company founded on July 21, 1994, and specializing in credit cards, auto loans, banking, and savings accounts, headquartered in Tysons, Virginia, with operations primarily in the ...
launched an all-new co-branded MasterCard as a replacement for the private label Kmart credit cards. Also in 2000, Kmart expanded the Martha Stewart Everyday Garden Collection to include live plants and seeds. Kmart also launched the Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen, which is a complete line of housewares essentials. In July 2000, Kmart closed 72 underperforming stores, while opening 20 new Big Kmart stores, converting 12 regular Kmart stores into Super Kmart Center stores, and opening 5 new Super Kmart Center stores. The company announced a planned major restructuring, in which Kmart would invest in new customer check-out and new inventory management technology and other related systems. In 2001, Kmart opened several new Super Kmart stores as part of Kmart's plan to expand their Super Kmart Center store portfolio and make groceries available at stores. However, Kmart having filed for bankruptcy in January 2002, the company was unable to open any new Super Kmart Center stores, and construction was halted on others, no matter how close the stores were to completion. In 2001, Kmart signed a $4.5 billion arrangement with Fleming, making them the sole food and consumables distributor for the company's stores. In February 2001, Japanese video game company
Sega is a Japanese video game company and subsidiary of Sega Sammy Holdings headquartered in Tokyo. It produces several List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises for arcade game, arcades and video game cons ...
sued Kmart for failure to pay $2.2 million of $25.9 million for
Dreamcast The is the final home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was released in Japan on November 27, 1998, in North America on September 9, 1999 and in Europe on October 14, 1999. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, prec ...
game systems. In August 2001,
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
sued Kmart because the company's "Dare to Compare" advertising campaign inaccurately compared its own prices with those of Target a majority of the time on in-store signs.


2002–2009: Merger with Sears

On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the leadership of its then-chairman Charles Conaway and president Mark Schwartz. Conaway, who successfully expanded CVS Corporation, accepted an offer to take the helm at Kmart along with a loan of $5 million (equivalent to $ in ). In a scandal similar to that involving
Enron Enron Corporation was an American Energy development, energy, Commodity, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was led by Kenneth Lay and developed in 1985 via a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both re ...
, Conaway and Schwartz were accused of misleading shareholders and other company officials about the company's financial crisis while making millions and allegedly spending the company's money on airplanes, houses, boats and other luxuries. At a conference for Kmart employees on January 22, Conaway accepted "full blame" for the financial disaster. As Kmart emerged from bankruptcy, Conaway was forced to step down, and was asked to pay back all the loans he had taken. After dismissing Conaway and Schwartz, Kmart closed more than 300 stores in the U.S., including all the locations in Alaska, and laid off around 34,000 workers as part of the restructuring process. Kmart introduced five prototype stores with a new logo, layout, and lime green and gray color scheme, one in White Lake, Michigan, and four in central Illinois: ( Peoria, Pekin, Morton and
Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...
). The new layout was touted as having wider aisles and improved selection and lighting, and the city or town's name was featured under the new Kmart logo at the front entrance. However, Kmart could not afford a full-scale rollout. The lime green prototype was abandoned for the new Kmart "Orange" concept that rolled out at several of its locations throughout the United States in 2006. While Kmart was going through bankruptcy, a significant amount of Kmart's outstanding debt was purchased by
ESL Investments ESL Investments is a privately held hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut. History ESL Investments is managed by Edward Lampert, who founded it in April 1988 and named it after his initials. The firm invests in the American public equity ...
, a hedge fund controlled by Edward Lampert. Lampert worked to accelerate the bankruptcy process. On October 17, 2002, Kmart opened a store in
Somers Point, New Jersey Somers Point is a city (New Jersey), city situated on the Jersey Shore that is the oldest settlement in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was settled by Europeans in 1693 and was incorporated as a ...
, its only new location in the year and ultimately the last of its history. The store closed in December 2019. On January 13, 2003, Kmart closed 326 stores due to a lack of profitability and poor sales. On May 7, 2003, Kmart emerged from bankruptcy. On June 10, 2003, Kmart began trading on the
NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market (; National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the U.S. by volume, and ranked second on the list ...
stock market with the ticker symbol of KMRT with Lampert serving as the chairman and with ESL Investments controlling 53% of the new company for an investment of less than $1 billion. Lampert dismissed his concerns that the smaller company would be at a disadvantage, stating "The focus that a lot of people have in retail revolves around sales, but sales without profit do not allow a business to be successful in the long term." He began to improve the company's balance sheet by reducing inventory, cutting costs, and closing underperforming stores. By the fourth quarter of 2003, Kmart posted its first profitable quarter in three years, although it has since returned to an operating loss. On July 23, 2004, a new Kmart logo featuring a large red "K" with "kmart" in small block letters underneath it was announced. On August 12, 2004, Kmart and
E! Entertainment Television E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel focuses primarily on pop culture, celebrity based reality shows and movie ...
announced a new, exclusive, cross-promotional clothing brand called Attention. Attention was launched as a new clothing brand that would be sold only at Kmart stores and would be used to promote '' E! News Live''. Kmart had previously signed a similar deal with the
WB Network The WB Television Network (shortened to The WB, stylized as "THE WB", and nicknamed the "Frog Network" and/or "The Frog" for its former mascot Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network that ran from 1995 to 2006. It launched on b ...
to have the cast of five WB shows wear Kmart branded clothing during shows. On November 8, 2004, Kmart launched the Kmart Rewards credit card that is managed by
HSBC Bank HSBC Bank may refer to any one of the following principal local banks or divisions of the HSBC Group: Asia-Pacific * HSBC (Hong Kong) ** PayMe, its local payment service * HSBC Bank (China) * HSBC Bank Australia * HSBC Bank India * HSBC Bank Malays ...
. On November 17, 2004, Kmart's management announced its intention to purchase
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
for $11 billion. As part of the merger, the Kmart Holding Corporation (the company that owns Kmart) would be transferred to the new
Sears Holdings Corporation Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th- ...
and
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
would be purchased by the new Sears Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands. Around this time, Kmart changed its logo from a red K with the script "mart" inside, to the same K with the chain's name in lowercase letters below it. Kmart's headquarters were relocated to Hoffman Estates, Illinois, and in 2012 the sprawling headquarters complex in Troy, Michigan, was acquired by the Forbes Company, which owns the nearby upscale mall,
Somerset Collection Somerset Collection is a shopping mall of more than 180 retailers located in Troy, Michigan, United States, part of Metro Detroit. Somerset Collection is developed, managed, and co-owned by The Forbes Company, and is among the most profitable ...
. No concrete plans for redevelopment of the site had been announced. In 2005, Sears Holdings Corporation introduced the Sears Essentials store format, which would serve as a Kmart-Sears hybrid. Sears Essentials stores were freestanding (not located at a shopping mall) stores. In 2006, the company discontinued the Sears Essentials name, and renamed all of the Sears Essentials stores as Sears Grand stores. Kmart started remodeling stores to the "Orange" prototype in 2005. In 2006, the typical white and blue interior of the stores was changed to orange and brown, and shelf heights were lowered to create better sightlines. The remodeled stores contain an appliance department with
Kenmore Appliances Kenmore is an American brand of household appliances, cookware, floorcare, grills, HVAC equipment and other home items owned and licensed by Transformco, an affiliate of ESL Investments. Previously, they were a subsidiary brand of Sears Holdin ...
and most have hardware departments that sell
Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...
tools, which prior to the merger had been exclusive to Sears stores. Some auto centers left vacant by Penske after Kmart filed for bankruptcy had been converted to Sears Auto Centers. In July 2009, Sears Holdings opened its first Sears-branded appliance store inside a Kmart. The
store-within-a-store A store-within-a-store, also referred to as store-in-store (North America) or shop-in-shop (U.K. et al.), refers to a space within a larger retail store, designated for use by a specific brand to feature its products, clearly branded with signs ...
opened inside the former garden department of a Birmingham, Alabama, Kmart. It was two-thirds the size of the appliance department in most Sears stores, but larger than the appliance department in remodeled Kmart stores. In October 2009, it was reported that Kmart and
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. (MSLO) is an American diversified media and merchandising company founded by Martha Stewart in 1997 and owned by Marquee Brands LLC since April 2019. It is organized into four business segments: publishin ...
failed to come to a new agreement. This came after Stewart made remarks on CNBC that her line at Kmart had deteriorated, particularly after the Sears merger. In November 2009, Kmart reported its first year-over-year sales increase of 0.5% since 2005, and only the second such increase since 2001.


2010–2018: Kmart and Sears Holdings

During the 2010s, many of Kmart's stores were considered to be outdated and in decaying condition. On December 27, 2011, Sears Holdings announced that 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores would close. In 2014, news reports indicated that Kmart was liquidating dozens of stores across the United States. Kmart's parent company, Sears Holdings Corporation, underwent financial distress throughout the year, sparking an unspecified number of closings of Sears and Kmart locations amid vendors' and lenders' concerns about its liquidity. Along with store closings, measures included the spinning off its
Lands' End Lands' End, Inc., headquartered in Dodgeville, Wisconsin, is a retailer of clothing, baggage, and furniture. In fiscal 2023, 63.2% of its revenue was from online retail orders in the U.S., 7.7% of revenue was international orders, 18.3% of re ...
division, selling most of its stake in Sears Canada, issuing debt and taking on loans that cumulatively put it on track to raise $1.445 billion in cash in 2014. Howard Riefs, a company spokesman who has often spoken on behalf of Kmart, said, "Store closures are part of a series of actions we're taking to reduce on-going expenses, adjust our asset base and accelerate the transformation of our business model." On October 10, 2014, Kmart was a victim of a data breach concerning customers' credit and debit card information. On October 19, Kmart stated, "Based on the forensic investigation to date, no personal information, no debit card PIN numbers, no email addresses and no social security numbers were obtained by those criminally responsible. There is also no evidence that kmart.com customers were impacted. This data breach has been contained and the malware has been removed. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our members and customers." In April 2016, Kmart announced that it was liquidating 68 stores. The chain announced in September 2016 that 64 more stores in 28 states would close by mid-December 2016. Sears Holdings CEO Eddie Lampert stated in October 2016 that there were not and never had been plans to close the Kmart format and that they are working hard to make it a "more fun, engaging place to shop, powered by our integrated retail innovations and Shop Your Way". In December 2016, at least 25 Kmart locations were targeted for closure in early 2017. In January 2017, Kmart announced that 78 more stores would close. Financial analysts began warning that the fate of Sears Holdings was nearing its end. In May 2017, Kmart announced the upcoming closure of 18 more stores. Sears Holdings admitted uncertainty regarding the survival of both Sears and Kmart. In early June 2017, Kmart announced that an additional 49 stores across the U.S. were to be shuttered by September 2017. In early July 2017, Kmart had announced that 35 more stores would close by early October 2017. In late August 2017, Kmart announced another 28 store closures, including the last
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
location, in Cranston. On October 9, 2017, with no closing sale held, the Kmart store in
Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...
, was destroyed by the Tubbs Fire, adding to the list of closed stores. On October 17, 2017, Kmart announced the liquidation of an unspecified number of locations by late November. On November 3, 2017, it was announced that a further 45 Kmarts (along with 18 Sears stores) were to close, effective by January 2018, including Kmart's last store in
Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
, in
Albertville Albertville (; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Savoie Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is best k ...
. According to Fortune.com, Kmart and Sears did not run any television advertisements during the 2017 holiday season in order to focus on digital marketing after evaluating the effectiveness of its various marketing efforts. On January 4, 2018, after yet another disappointing holiday sales season, Kmart announced the liquidation of 64 more stores in the spring of 2018. This included Kmart's only remaining Super Kmart location in Warren, Ohio, which officially discontinued the Super Kmart format. According to MSN Money, Kmart along with sister company Sears had an extremely high chance of disappearing in 2018, such that 2017 would have marked its final holiday season as an independent brand. On March 15, 2018, Sears Holdings announced that a small profit was made in the fourth quarter of 2017. However, investors claimed that it was due to tax refunds and that sales were still falling for both Kmart and Sears. On March 26, 2018, CEO Eddie Lampert said, "I'm not sure Kmart on its own could ever be a great retailer," implying that the company was trying to shift to online shopping as opposed to brick and mortar stores. On April 12, 2018, Sears announced plans to close and auction 16 of its Sears stores, and close several more Kmart locations, but did not specify how many. Two known locations on the list were Kmart stores in
Brandon, Florida Brandon is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...
, and
Saugus, Massachusetts Saugus is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. The population was 28,619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Saugus is known as the site of the first integrated iron work ...
. In early May, Sears announced the liquidation of several more Kmarts, including the last Kmart in
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
, in
Bennington Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...
. On May 21, 2018, Sears Holdings announced yet another round of liquidation sales in forty Sears and Kmart stores across 24 states. These stores were closed by July 4, 2018. On May 31, Sears Holdings announced the liquidation of an additional 16 Kmart stores and 48 Sears stores, including the last Kmart in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, in Līhue. The closings announced May 31, 2018, were from among 100 unprofitable stores in Sears Holdings and the remaining 28 unprofitable stores were, "a small group of stores that was pulled from the closing list ... as they are being evaluated further," meaning even more store closings could occur later in the year. Sears Holdings did not disclose those locations at the time. On June 28, 2018, Sears Holdings disclosed 10 of the stores being evaluated and announced they would close by September 2018. Liquidation sales began on the same day. On July 13, 2018, news came through from multiple sources that even more Kmart stores were set to liquidate across the nation. On August 23, 2018, it was announced that 13 more stores would close by November.


2018–2019: Second bankruptcy

On October 15, 2018,
Sears Holdings Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-l ...
filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would close 142 stores, including 63 Kmart stores, which included the last Kmart in
Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...
, in Russellville, the last two Kmarts in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, in Covington and Peachtree City, and the last two Kmarts in
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, in
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
and Salina. Sears Holdings' bankruptcy also marked Kmart's second bankruptcy in 16 years. On November 8, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close an additional 40 stores, including 11 Kmart stores. On November 23, 2018, Sears Holdings released a list of 505 stores, including 239 Kmart stores, to be presented for sale in the bankruptcy process while all other stores were holding liquidation sales. However, the stores for sale were not guaranteed to be protected from liquidation in the future. On December 28, 2018, Sears Holdings announced it would close 80 additional stores, including 37 Kmart stores. In a proposal announced in early January, Sears Holdings planned only to keep 202 Kmart stores along with 223 Sears stores open, assuming that it would survive the bankruptcy process. Most of the proposed locations were in highly populated coastal regions. On January 15, 2019, when it had appeared that Kmart's parent, Sears Holdings, was preparing to file for
Chapter 7 Chapter Seven refers to a seventh Chapter (books), chapter in a book. Chapter Seven, Chapter 7, or Chapter VII may also refer to: Albums * Chapter Seven (album), ''Chapter Seven'' (album), a 2013 album by Damien Leith. * Chapter VII (album), ''Ch ...
liquidation, the bankruptcy court judge ordered the company to return to the negotiating table and work out a new deal with Eddie Lampert to prevent the liquidation from occurring. A new deal was struck at the last minute that would keep up to 400 Sears and Kmart stores operating. On January 19, 2019, Sears Holdings officially announced that they had won the auction, and that some of the then existing stores were to remain open. On January 24, 2019, a group of
unsecured creditor An unsecured creditor is a creditor other than a preferential creditor that does not have the benefit of any security interests in the assets of the debtor. In the event of the bankruptcy of the debtor, the unsecured creditors usually obtain a '' ...
s, which included
Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...
, filed a motion with the bankruptcy court to overturn the deal Sears Holdings had recently made with Lampert, claiming Lampert had been "engaged in serial asset stripping" of the company at the expense of suppliers and landlords. The creditors had requested that the bankruptcy court rule to liquidate the company instead of allowing reorganization so that the creditors would be able to recover more money that was still owed to them. On January 28, the federal government-operated
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a United States federally chartered corporation created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to encourage the continuation and maintenance of voluntary private defined ...
announced that they were not in favor of Sears Holdings' current agreement with Lampert since that agreement would create a $1.7 billion funding gap in the employee pension fund, requiring American taxpayers to cover the shortfall. In papers filed on February 1 with the bankruptcy court, ESL "outlined plans to close three Kmart stores per month in 2019" if the court would decide to accept ESL's purchase bid. In February 2019, it was announced that a U.S. bankruptcy judge approved the sale of the most lucrative part of Sears Holdings to Edward Lampert, allowing the surviving part of the company to remain in business with a combined number of 425 Kmart and Sears stores, at the expense of suppliers and other creditors. The two sister chains became under the control of a new entity called
Transform Holdco Transform SR Brands LLC (doing business as TransformCo, referred to as "New Sears") is an American privately held company formed on February 11, 2019, to acquire some of the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation. The new company is owned by ESL ...
also known as Transformco.


2019–present: New management and exit from the U.S. market

The sale of 202 Kmart stores to Transform Holdco was finalized in February 2019, with the remaining Kmart locations liquidated to partially pay off Sears Holdings creditors. In May 2019, it was revealed that Kmart would close its store in
Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,339 as of 2023. The combined populat ...
in July 7 after nearly 45 years of service. On August 6, 2019, during a new announcement of store closings, TransformCo added that it "cannot rule out additional store closures in the near term". In October 2019, the closure of 84 Kmart stores was announced. With another wave of closings announced in November 2019, ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' reported that Transformco "would continue to evaluate its retail footprint, suggesting that additional closures are possible". On February 6, 2020, Kmart announced it would close 15 more stores. On November 21, 2021, Kmart closed its last store in
Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
, the state where the chain originated in 1962. The store, which opened in the early 1990s as a replacement to an older smaller Kmart outlet, was situated in
Marshall, Michigan Marshall is a city and the county seat of Calhoun County, Michigan. The population was 6,822 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Marshall is best known for its cross-section of 19th- and early 20th-century architecture and as the futu ...
; the chain's first ever location in Garden City had closed in 2017. On December 18, 2021, Kmart shut down its last West Coast location in
Grass Valley, California Grass Valley is a city in Nevada County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 14,016. Situated at roughly in elevation in the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, this norther ...
. After the closing in March 2022 of the 33 years old
Hamilton, Montana Hamilton is a city that serves as the county seat of Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 4,659 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Hamilton was founded by Copper Kings, copper king Marcus Daly in the la ...
store (which still had the pre-1990 logo on its storefront by the time of its shuttering), there were four Kmart locations left in the country, half of them based in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
. On April 16, 2022, Kmart closed down the New Jersey store in Avenel. The other three locations remained opened in
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
;
Westwood, New Jersey Westwood (known as "The Hub of the Pascack Valley") is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Westwood is part of the New York metropolitan area. Many of its residents regularly commute to New York City for work and leisur ...
; and
Bridgehampton, New York Bridgehampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of Southampton, on Long Island. Shortly aft ...
. In October 2023, the Westwood location closed after more than 40 years in business, having opened in the fall of 1982. This reduced the chain to two mainland U.S. stores in addition to locations remaining in the US. Virgin Islands and
Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...
. The Bridgehampton, New York location closed on October 20, 2024. It had opened in 1999 in the place of a former Caldor store and was able to outlive other Kmart locations due to limited competition from Walmart and Target which were both a 45-minute drive away. The closure left the Miami store as the sole Kmart location in the continental U.S., with 4 others remaining in
U.S. territories Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions and dependent territories overseen by the federal government of the United States. The American territories differ from the U.S. states and Indian reservations in th ...
. Unlike the location that closed in Bridgehampton, the one in Miami is not a full-line Kmart store. The Kmart location in Miami had been downsized in March 2023. Now the size of a
CVS Pharmacy #REDIRECT CVS Pharmacy {{R from other capitalisation Company now has a new name to go along with it's anti-tobacco changes. New name is CVS Health ...
or
Walgreens Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S. Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...
location, the last Kmart store in the United States is operating out of its former garden center, offering a limited selection of clothing, appliances, and household goods. The rest of the store's original space is leased to an At Home outlet. This Kmart store, located in the Kendale Lakes area, inaugurated on November 3, 1977. In May 2025, it was announced the Kmart store in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, would close in August 2025, due to the lease not being renewed. It is the last Kmart location in St. Croix. Two years before, the retailer had closed another St-Croix store in
Frederiksted Frederiksted ( Danish for "Frederik's Place") is both a town and one of the two administrative districts of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. It is a grid-planned city, designed by surveyor Jens Beckfor, originally to 14x14 blocks but built 7x7 t ...
, in a shopping mall that had Kmart as a tenant since its debut on June 30, 1993. Once the other store closes, the Virgin Islands will have two remaining Kmarts, both of which are in Saint Thomas.


Headquarters

The previous owner of Kmart,
Sears Holdings Corporation Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th- ...
, had its headquarters on Beverly Road in
Hoffman Estates, Illinois Hoffman Estates is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 52,530. The village previously served as the headquarters for Transform Holdco L ...
. In December 2021, Transformco announced that it intended to put its corporate headquarters for sale at the start of the new year. The company now occupies a different head office in the same city on Trillium Blvd . The headquarters were formerly located in the Kmart International Headquarters at 3100 W. Big Beaver Road in
Troy, Michigan Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Troy is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 87,294, ...
, in
Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...
. The facility had 23 interconnected modules. Each had three stories, except for one module, which was one story. Based on the layout, Norm Sinclair of ''DBusiness'' concluded that it was "a study in inefficiency".


Subsidiaries


Current

* Kmart is a chain of discount department stores that are usually free-standing or located in strip malls. They carry compact discs (CDs),
DVDs The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
, TV shows on DVD, electronics, bedding, household hardware, sporting goods, clothing, toys, jewelry, office supplies, health and beauty products, over-the-counter medications, home decor, and a limited selection of food items. Many also once held garden centers,
Jackson Hewitt Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. is the second largest tax-preparation service in the United States; responsible for preparing over 2 million federal, state, and local income-tax returns each year. The headquarters is located in Jersey City ...
tax centers, pharmacies, and/or a K-Cafe or delicatessen. Kmart stores range from . Most of them were either converted to or rebranded as Big Kmart while some were converted into Super Kmart stores.


Former

* American Fare was a chain of
hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...
s that operated from 1989 to 1994. It was a joint venture involving Kmart, which owned 51 percent of the store, and
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
-based Bruno's Supermarkets, which owned 49 percent of the stores. The first store opened in
Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 as of 2020. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square miles. It lies near and ...
, near
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
, on January 29, 1989. American Fare's of retail space included of
groceries A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food p ...
, of general merchandise, and of
clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
(including
apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...
,
footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...
, and
accessories Accessory may refer to: * Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal In anatomy * Accessory bone * Accessory breast * Accessory kidney * Accessory muscle * Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus * Accessory nerve ...
). An area in the front of the store housed a music and video store, a food court, bank, hair salon, pharmacy and a card store.
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, was home to the second American Fare, which opened on April 1, 1990, with of retail space. A third and final store opened in
Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...
in August 1990, with plans for a fourth store in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...
never coming to fruition. In June 1992, Bruno's announced the termination of its partnership with the Kmart Corporation, and that Kmart would assume ownership of the three stores. The three stores closed by May 1994. The Stone Mountain store would be split into two parcels, a Kmart and a
Cub Foods Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods, based in Providence, Rhode Island. History Beginnings Cub Foods was founded by Minnesota-based ...
store. The building now houses the DeKalb County Board of Education. The Charlotte store was converted to Super Kmart, then a
Steve & Barry's Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual clothing, footwear and accessories. Headquartered in Port Washington, New York, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states before liquidating throughout 2008 and 2009. The ...
, before closing in 2009. It now houses a
Verizon Verizon Communications Inc. ( ), is an American telecommunications company headquartered in New York City. It is the world's second-largest telecommunications company by revenue and its mobile network is the largest wireless carrier in the ...
call center, and the Jackson store's parking lot became a
Carmax CarMax, Inc. is a used vehicle retailer based in the United States. It operates two business segments: CarMax Sales Operations and CarMax Auto Finance. The company began as a side business of Circuit City Corporation, Inc., opening its first loc ...
in 2007, while the building itself is now owned by
Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
. The American Fare brand is used on some Kmart store-brand consumable products. * Big Kmart was a chain of discount department stores that carried everything a regular Kmart carries, but emphasizes home decor, children's clothing, and more food items such as meat and poultry, baked goods, frozen foods and an extended, but limited section of garden produce. Big Kmart stores ranged from . Big Kmart stores also featured a garden center, a pharmacy, a branch of a local bank, a Jackson Hewitt tax center, an Olan Mills portrait studio, an arcade, a K-Café or Little Caesars Pizza Station, and sometimes a Kmart Express gas station. As noted above, Kmart introduced the Big Kmart brand company-wide when it was introduced in 1997. Some Big Kmart locations were either closed or converted to normal Kmart stores. The final Big Kmart store in Marshall, Michigan closed permanently on November 21, 2021. * . In 1999 Kmart began offering a dial-up Internet service called ''BlueLight'', which was eventually spun off as an independent company. BlueLight was initially free and supported by banner ads. BlueLight began limiting the free service in January 2001 and was reacquired by Kmart in July 2001, the same month it announced the end of the free service. In 2002
United Online United Online, Inc. was an independent public company formed by the 2001 merger of NetZero and Juno Online Services. It is currently a subsidiary of investment bank B. Riley Financial. The company's range of products and services has evolved sig ...
, which also owns
NetZero NetZero is an Internet service provider based in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is a subsidiary of United Online, which in turn is a subsidiary of investment bank B. Riley Financial. United Online is also the parent of Juno Onli ...
and
Juno Juno commonly refers to: *Juno (mythology), the Roman goddess of marriage and queen of the gods * ''Juno'' (film), the 2007 film Juno may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional characters *Juno, a character in the book ''Juno of ...
, bought the BlueLight service after Kmart filed for bankruptcy. In August 2006, Bluelight dropped the banners. In August 2006, the service cost $14.95 a month and had around 165,000 subscribers. *
Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...
was a chain of bookstores acquired by Kmart in 1992. In 1994, Borders merged with the Kmart chain
Waldenbooks Walden Book Company, Inc., doing business as Waldenbooks, was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a children's e ...
to form ''Borders-Walden Group'', which was sold in 1995. In February 2011, Borders filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced plans to liquidate in July after failing to find a buyer to keep the chain's remaining 399 stores in operation. The remaining stores closed in September. *
Builders Square Builders Square was a big-box home improvement retailer headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. A subsidiary of Kmart, its format was quite similar to The Home Depot, Menards, and Lowe's with floor space of about , and inventories in excess of 35 ...
was a
home improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
superstore. In 1997, it was sold to
Hechinger The Hechinger Company was an American chain of home-improvement centers headquartered in Landover, Maryland, on the immediate outskirts of Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1999. It was also an online retailer owned by Home Decor Products from 2 ...
, which went out of business in 1999. * Designer Depot: A discount clothing store chain operated in
Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...
in the 1980s. The first opened in a former S. S. Kresge dime store in
St. Clair Shores, Michigan St. Clair Shores is a city in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, St. Clair Shores is located roughly northeast of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,874. History ...
in 1982, selling brand names such as Yves Saint Laurent,
Izod Lacoste Izod Lacoste is a brand name of sportswear that was licensed to Izod by Lacoste from 1952 to 1993. History of the partnership In 1953, David Crystal, the owner of Izod and Haymaker, bought 50% of the rights to market Lacoste in America. The "Iz ...
, and
Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...
at discount prices. * K-Café was an in-store restaurant that served a fairly standard menu of hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries, grilled cheese sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks. They also offered a full breakfast menu of baked goods, bagels and egg platters with bacon or sausage, and such snacks as nachos, pretzels, popcorn and ice cream. Hot food items could also be purchased at the deli and eaten in the Deli Café at Super Kmart Center stores. However, K-Café has been discontinued in all of their stores. * KDollar was a chain of
discount stores Discount stores offer a retail format in which products are sold at prices that are in principle lower than an actual or supposed "full retail price". Discounters rely on bulk purchasing and efficient distribution to keep down costs. Types (Uni ...
/ dollar stores that sold Kmart merchandise at a discount. The stores were often former Kmart or Big Kmart stores. Sears Brands filed for a trademark on the KDollar name on November 6, 2012. The first opened in a former regular Kmart store in
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit on the Woodward Corridor, Bloomfield Hills is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, and is ...
in 2013. A second KDollar store opened in
Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan ( ) is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located north of Chicago, Waukegan is a satellite city within the greater Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, its population was 89,321, makin ...
. * Kmart Chef restaurants were a small chain of free-standing
fast-food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ...
restaurants owned by Kmart, started in 1967 with the first location on the parking lot of a Kmart in
Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...
. The "limited, high-turnover menu" (as Kmart founder S.S. Kresge put it) consisted of hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, and soft drinks. The Kmart Chef chain folded in 1974 after peaking at 11 locations. * Kmart Dental was an in-store dental office located in Kmart stores. There was only one such prototype in a Kmart store, in Miami, Florida. Despite the name, Kmart Dental was never technically owned by Kmart. * Kmart Express was a chain of
gas stations A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...
/
convenience stores A convenience store, convenience shop, bakkal, bodega, corner store, corner shop, superette or mini-mart is a small retail store that stocks a range of everyday items such as convenience food, groceries, beverages, tobacco products, lottery t ...
located in out-parcels at some Kmart and Super Kmart stores, particularly in the Midwest. In the early 2000s, there were plans to expand this concept to most Kmarts, but the plan for more locations was canceled after Kmart's bankruptcy in 2002. The final Kmart Express, in Ionia, MI, closed in 2017. * Kmart Food Stores was a
supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...
chain founded in 1962. Most Kmart Food locations were paired with Kmart stores, often operated by a local grocery chain but always branded as Kmart Food. The chain was discontinued in the early 1980s. * Kwash was an attached-to-store laundromat launched in May 2010. Only one such prototype existed. It was in a former auto bay in Iowa City, Iowa. It featured a separate entrance, laundromat attendants and free wi-fi along with a limited selection of laundry goods available for purchase. The Kwash closed along with the Kmart in 2017. *
Makro Makro is a Netherlands, Dutch international brand of warehouse clubs, also called Cash and carry (wholesale), cash and carry stores. Makro was founded by SHV Holdings, a Dutch conglomerate based in Utrecht in partnership with German company ...
, a Dutch warehouse club chain, operated locations in the U.S. from February 1981 to 1989, in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and the Washington, D.C. suburb of
Largo, Maryland Largo () is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 11,605 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Largo is located just ...
. Kmart bought the chain's entire American holdings in 1989, having owned a 49 percent share before. The Makro stores were later converted to Pace or closed in 1990. * Office Square was a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was a spin-off of Builders Square. In 1991, OfficeMax was acquired by Kmart and Office Square was merged into OfficeMax stores. *
OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. As an independent chain, it was the third-largest office supply retailer in the United States. Following a 2013 merger, it is currently a brand and subsidiary of Office Depot. ...
is a chain selling office supplies and office furniture which was acquired in 1991 and sold in 1995. It was acquired by
Office Depot The ODP Corporation is an American office supply retailer headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company operates 922 retail stores in the United States under the Office Depot and OfficeMax brands, as well as e-commerce sites and a business ...
in 2013. * Pace Membership Warehouse was Kmart's
warehouse club A warehouse club (or wholesale club) is a retailing, retail store, usually selling a wide variety of merchandising, merchandise, in which customers may buy large, wholesale quantities of the store's products, which makes these clubs attractive ...
brand, until the chain was purchased by Walmart. In 1993, Walmart converted most of the stores into its
Sam's Club Sam's West, Inc. (doing business as Sam's Club) is a chain of membership-only warehouse club retail stores in the United States owned by Walmart. It was founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton as Sam's Wholesale Club. , Sam's ...
brand, and sold others to chains such as
Bradlees Bradlees Department Store, more commonly known as Bradlees, was a discount department store chain based in Braintree, Massachusetts, which operated primarily in the Northeastern United States. Bradlees sold various retail items in its stores, inc ...
. *
PayLess Drug Thrifty PayLess Holdings, Inc. was a pharmacy holding company that owned the Thrifty Drugs and PayLess Drug Stores chains in the western United States. The combined company was formed in April 1994 when Los Angeles–based TCH Corporation, the ...
s was a chain of drug stores acquired by Kmart in 1985 and later sold to ''TCH Corporation'' in 1994. The resulting entity, ''Thrifty PayLess'', was acquired by
Rite Aid Rite Aid Corporation is an American drugstore chain based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1962 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by Alex Grass under the name Thrift D Discount Center. Prior to its first bankruptcy in 2023, it was the th ...
in 1996, which converted all of the PayLess and Thrifty stores into Rite Aid stores in 1999. The PayLess division also owned Bi-Mart, which was spun off along with sister stores such as
Pay 'n Save Pay 'n Save Corporation was a retail company founded by Monte Lafayette Bean in Seattle, Washington, in 1940. Over the years, Pay 'n Save was the leading drugstore chain in Washington and was the owner of several Washington-based retailers, inc ...
. *
The Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commerc ...
was a chain of
sporting goods Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...
stores which was acquired in 1990 and sold in 1995. The Sports Authority went out of business in 2016. * Super Kmart Center was a chain of
superstores A big-box store, a hyperstore, a supercenter, a superstore, or a megastore is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain of stores. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store. The ...
that carried everything a regular Kmart carries, but also had a full grocery section with meat and poultry, baked goods, a delicatessen, garden produce, and fresh seafood. Super Kmart Centers ranged from . The first store opened in
Medina, Ohio Medina ( ) is a city in Medina County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 26,094 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It lies about south of Cleveland and west of Akron, Ohio, Akron within the Cleveland met ...
on July 25, 1991, which downsized to a regular Kmart before closing for good in 2012. In 1997 a few days after Kmart opened its first Big Kmart store in Chicago, the Super Kmart Center brand was renamed to Super Kmart. Super Kmart Center stores also featured a garden center, a video rental store, a branch of a local bank, an arcade, a portrait studio, a
Jackson Hewitt Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc. is the second largest tax-preparation service in the United States; responsible for preparing over 2 million federal, state, and local income-tax returns each year. The headquarters is located in Jersey City ...
tax center, a pharmacy, and usually a deli café or
Little Caesars Little Caesar Enterprises Inc. (doing business as Little Caesars) is an American multinational chain of Pizzeria, pizza restaurants that was formed in 1959. Little Caesars is the fourth largest pizza chain by total sales in the United States b ...
Pizza Station. Many of these services were closed and discontinued in recent years. Several locations also included Kmart Express gas stations, and most had an auto center. Most Super Kmarts were closed during the two rounds of closures in 2002 and 2003, and many had their groceries removed, converting them into regular Kmart locations. A typical Super Center sold around $30 million of merchandise during one fiscal year. In 2015, some stores were converted into a regular Kmart with a concept titled K-Fresh. These stores feature an expanded pantry and a fresh-food department, though these types of items are no longer prepared on-site and are now prepackaged. The deli, butcher and bakery operations were also closed. Kmart gradually closed its Super Kmart stores; the last location was in
Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
and closed on April 8, 2018. It was replaced by
Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwestern United States. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan. Founded in 1934 as a supermarket chain, Meijer is credited with pioneering ...
. * U-Pak was a single "no-frills" supermarket which sold items out of boxes instead of on shelves, and featured reduced hours. It opened adjacent to a Kmart on Opdyke Boulevard in
Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...
in 1979 and closed less than a month later due to poor sales. * Variety Outlet. A closeout chain, typically operated out of closed Kmart stores. The first opened in
Rome, Georgia Rome is the largest city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Georgia, United States. Located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, it is the principal city of the Rome, Georgia metropolitan area, Rome, Georgia, metropolitan statist ...
in 1994. *
Waldenbooks Walden Book Company, Inc., doing business as Waldenbooks, was an American shopping mall-based bookstore chain and a subsidiary of Borders. The chain also ran a video game and software chain under the name Waldensoftware, as well as a children's e ...
was a chain consisting primarily of shopping-mall–based book stores which was acquired in 1984. In 1994, Kmart chain Borders merged with Waldenbooks to form Borders-Walden Group, which was sold in 1995 (the company was subsequently renamed Borders Group, and went out of business in 2011 due to bankruptcy).


Philanthropy

Kmart for Kids was the umbrella program for Kmart's philanthropic initiatives. The program had helped children across the country live happier, healthier lives through the support of:
March of Dimes March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to co ...
,
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...
, and
American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes, including type 1 diabetes ...
. At one time, Kmart was March of Dimes' number one corporate sponsor, having raised $114 million for the charity over more than 30 years. On July 29, 2008, Don Germano, SVP/GM of Kmart stores, was elected to a five-year term on the national Board of Trustees of the March of Dimes Foundation. Kmart for Kids had supported St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital through its annual Thanks and Giving campaign, an opportunity for Kmart customers to give thanks for the healthy children in their lives and give to help those who are not. Kmart had been a partner of the campaign since 2006, and , had raised more than $59.2 million (equivalent to $ in ) for St. Jude's. A record $21.9 million (equivalent to $ in ) was donated for the tenth annual fundraising campaign during the 2013 holiday season. In 2008, Kmart earned the "Outstanding Corporate Citizen" Award for its support of the American Diabetes Association's "Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes" program. The tribute honored Kmart for the most well-developed, proactive program in the areas of charity, community development, diversity, philanthropy, and associate development. In 2008, Kmart became a national sponsor of "Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes" and over the past two years, Kmart's customers and associates have raised approximately $1.5 million (equivalent to $ in ) through its in-store campaigns.


Environmental record

On May 9, 2007, Kmart was penalized $102,422 (equivalent to $ in ) for violations of federal hazardous waste, clean water, emergency planning and preparation regulations at 17 distribution centers. Kmart corrected the violations by preparing and implementing spill-prevention control and countermeasure plans, applying for appropriate storm-water permits, complying with hazardous-waste-generator requirements, and submitting reports to state and local emergency-planning and response organizations informing them of the presence of hazardous substances. The Environmental Protection Agency also accused Kmart of not maintaining adequate information and failing to act in accordance with hazardous-waste-storage and disposal requirements. For instance, the EPA reported having discovered improperly labeled oil-storage drums at a location in
Falls, Pennsylvania Falls is an unincorporated community in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The community is located along the Susquehanna River, west-northwest of downtown Scranton. Falls has a post office A post office is a public facility and a ...
. Kmart promoted battery recycling. In 1990, Kmart proposed spending about $80 million (equivalent to $ in ) on full-page newspaper advertisements offering to recycle junk batteries for $2 (equivalent to $ in ) each.


Data breaches


October 2014

In October 2014, Kmart reported that malware was present on some of its in-store payment systems in early September at a number of stores.


September 2017

Between September 26 and October 12 of 2017, malware were installed in the computers operated by a service provider that provided service for sears.com and kmart.com ecommerce sites in which the credit card information of 100,000 customers were exposed via a malicious script. The breech was not publicly announced until April 2024.


June 2018 incident

In June 2018, Sears Holdings reported that hackers were able to steal credit card numbers at several Kmart stores by accessing the store payment systems by a "viruslike computer code" that was undetectable by then current anti-virus systems.


June 2021

An unauthorized party accessed Transformco computer servers between June 3, 2021 and June 15, 2021 that held employee payroll and healthcare information that affected current and past Kmart and other Transformco employees.


Animal welfare concerns

In 2012, Mercy for Animals, a non-profit organization working against cruelty to farmed animals, conducted an investigation at Christensen Farms, a pork supplier to Kmart,
Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...
and
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...
, obtaining hidden-camera footage of pigs confined in small
gestation crates A gestation crate, also known as a sow stall, is a metal enclosure in which a farmed sow used for breeding may be kept during pregnancy.Wilson G. Pond, Fuller W. Bazer, Bernard E. Rollin (eds.), ''Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture'', CRC Pre ...
and cruelty to piglets. In response, Kmart announced it would begin requiring its pork suppliers to phase out gestation crates.


Racing sponsorships

Kmart was a prominent sponsor in
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
and the now-defunct
CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...
series. They were a longtime sponsor of
Newman/Haas Racing Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automo ...
, owned by actor
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
and former racer
Carl Haas Carl Arthur Haas (February 26, 1929 – June 29, 2016) was an American auto racing impresario. He co-owned the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team in the Champ Car and IndyCar Series with Paul Newman and Mike Lanigan. He also owned Carl A. Haas ...
. Their CART drivers included
Nigel Mansell Nigel Ernest James Mansell (; born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons ...
and the father-son duo of
Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
and
Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an American former racing driver and businessman, who competed in Formula One from to , and American open-wheel racing, IndyCar from 1964 USAC Championship Car season, 1964 to 1994 IndyCar se ...
. Michael Andretti and Mansell won championships under Kmart sponsorship in 1991 and 1993, respectively. When Michael Andretti moved to
Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
in 1993, Kmart sponsored his
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
for the season. The store also sponsored the NASCAR-sanctioned Kmart 400 at Michigan and North Carolina Speedway.
Lake Speed Lake Chambers Speed (born January 17, 1948) is an American retired stock car racing driver. He formerly competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, scoring one career win in 402 starts. Background Lake was named after the best friend of his fathe ...
garnered Kmart's first win in NASCAR in 1988 at the
Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...
. Kmart sponsored three-time champion
Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports Color analyst, analyst, author as well as a former national television broadcaster and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NAS ...
in 1999 and 2000, his last two full-time seasons. Most recently, in NASCAR, the store sponsored
Boris Said Boris Said III (born September 18, 1962) is an American professional racing driver. Said has competed in a variety of disciplines including stock car racing, stock cars, sports car racing, sports cars and touring car racing, touring cars. Said la ...
's #60
No Fear No Fear is an American lifestyle clothing brand that was created in 1989 by Mark Simo, Brian Simo and Marty Moates. No Fear Inc. products are sold at various retail stores and company-owned stores. There are also energy drinks under the same ...
Ford Fusion in 2006.


Operations in Puerto Rico

On November 25, 1959, the S. S. Kresge chain expanded with the opening of its first store in
Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, a 17,678 square-foot unit at the 65th Infantry shopping center in
San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John (disambiguation), Saint John, most commonly refers to: * San Juan, Puerto Rico * San Juan, Argentina * San Juan, Metro Manila, a highly urbanized city in the Philippines San Juan may also refer to: Places Arge ...
, the capital city of the island. More Kresge stores would go on to open on the island in the 1960s, such as the Santa Rosa Plaza store in Bayamón in February 1960, the Norte shopping center store in Santurce in March 1962, the Centro del Sur shopping center store in Ponce in June 1962, and the Reparto Metropolitano shopping center store in
Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Flo ...
in February 1965. In June 1987, Kresge stores in Puerto Rico would begin to cease operations with the closure of the Centro del Sur store that month, and another store also in Ponce. On October 21, 1964, the Kmart chain also expanded beyond the contiguous United States, opening a 69,000 square-foot unit at the
San Patricio Plaza San Patricio Plaza is a three-level enclosed shopping mall located in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. The mall is located at the intersection of Puerto Rico Highway 2, PR-2, Puerto Rico Highway 23, PR-23, and Puerto Rico Highway 20, PR-20, and has over ...
shopping center in
Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city and municipality on the northeastern coastal plain of Puerto Rico. Located west of the capital San Juan, east of Bayamón, south of Cataño and San Juan Bay, and north of Aguas Buenas, Guaynabo is spread over 9 barrio ...
. On December 31, 1967, a fire would consume the building where the Kmart was located at the San Patricio Plaza shopping center leaving it completely destroyed. The fire, which caused an estimated loss of $1.5 million, was started in some boxes and sheets of cardboard partitioning walls behind the store outside the building. On January 30, 1969, the destroyed Kmart store, after being re-built, would re-inaugurate at the shopping center. On May 3, 1979, a new Kmart store would open in the town of
Trujillo Alto Trujillo Alto () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico. Located on the northeastern coastal plain on the boundary between the Northern Karst Belt and Sierra de Luquillo, it is north of Caguas and Gurabo, southeast of San Juan, and west of ...
on the island. The new store, of 84,180 square-feet, was the chain's third in Puerto Rico, and increased the total number of Kmart stores to 1,532 located in the United States and Canada. On May 28, 1983, the Kmart Corporation had completed the acquisition of five lease contracts for stores previously operated by the Barker's chain on the Island, and hoped to reopen them by September or October of that year. Kmart had paid approximately $2.1 million to obtain the leases for these stores. The Barker's chain had closed 16 stores it had in Puerto Rico earlier that year due to financial problems of its parent company, KDT Industries. KDT had filed for bankruptcy and began auctioning the leases of the Barker's stores that had closed. Three new Kmart stores would open in October of that year on the island, two stores in Bayamón at the Plaza Río Hondo shopping mall and the Rexville Plaza shopping center, and one in
Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a Arecibo barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado, Puerto Rico, Utuado and Ciales, Puerto Rico, Ciale ...
at the Plaza del Atlántico shopping mall. This would increase the number of people Kmart employed on the Island to more than 700 in the 12 stores it now had, which included six Kmart stores and six Kresge stores. On April 23, 1998, it was reported that the Kmart chain would be investing more than $25 million on the Island before the end of the year to convert eight of its 21 stores at the time into Big Kmart stores and that two new stores would be opening, one in Vega Alta and another in the
Plaza Las Américas A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Relat ...
shopping mall. James Mesenbring, Kmart regional manager for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, said that four new Big Kmart stores would be inaugurated, located at the Montehiedra Town Center, Los Colobos shopping center in Carolina, and the Plaza Guayama shopping mall and in
Cayey Cayey (), officially Cayey de Muesas, is a mountain town and municipality in central Puerto Rico located on the Sierra de Cayey within the Central Mountain range, north east of Salinas and north of Guayama; south of Cidra and Caguas; east o ...
. These joined the Big Kmart stores that already operated at the San Patricio Plaza and in the Las Catalinas Mall in
Caguas Caguas (, ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico. Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of the Central Mountain Range, it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to ...
. In July of that year, the stores in Vega Baja, Bayamón (Plaza Río Hondo), Caguas (Rafael Cordero Avenue) and Trujillo Alto would also be converted. Meanwhile, in August of that year, they planned to open the Big Kmart in Vega Alta at a cost of $10 million, and in November they would inaugurate the two-level store in Plaza Las Américas, which would be the chain's largest store on the Island with 144,000 square-feet of space. Between 2002 and 2003, three Kmart stores on the island closed due to the bankruptcy, one in
Humacao Humacao () is a city and municipality in Puerto Rico located in the eastern coast of the island, north of Yabucoa; south of Naguabo; east of Las Piedras; and west of Vieques Passage. Humacao is spread over 12 barrios and Humacao Pueblo (the ...
in 2002, one in 2003 at the Juncos Plaza shopping center in Juncos, and another store in Cayey that same year. In 2011, the Kmart chain opened a new smaller store concept at 8,000 square-feet named “Kmart Express” at the
Plaza Carolina Plaza Carolina is an enclosed shopping mall located in Carolina, Puerto Rico. Anchored by JCPenney, TJ Maxx, Forever 21, Caribbean Cinemas, Burlington, Chili's Grill & Bar, and Supermercados Econo, it features 161 stores, making it the secon ...
shopping mall in Carolina, this was short lived. Through the 2010s and beyond the Kmart chain began to downsize in Puerto Rico with various closures. In 2015, two Kmart stores closed, one at the Señorial Plaza in San Juan, and one in Vega Baja. In December 2018, three Kmart stores announced their closure, the San Patricio Plaza store, the Las Catalinas Mall store, and one in the town of San Germán. In August 2019, five more Kmart stores announced their closure, located in
Aguadilla Aguadilla (, ), founded in 1775 by Luis de Córdova, is a city and municipality located in the northwestern tip of Puerto Rico, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, north of Aguada, and Moca and west of Isabela. Aguadilla is s ...
, Trujillo Alto, Cayey, Carolina, and Yauco. In November 2019, another five Kmart stores announced their closure, located in
Fajardo Fajardo () is a Fajardo barrio-pueblo, town and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality part of the San Juan–Caguas–Guaynabo metropolitan area, San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area in Puerto Rico. Fajardo is the hub of mu ...
,
Juana Díaz Juana is a Spanish female name. It is the feminine form of ''Juan'' (English ''John''), and thus corresponds to the English names Jane, Jean, Joan, and Joanna. The feminine diminutive form (male equivalent to ''Johnny'') is Juanita (equival ...
, Arecibo, Plaza Río Hondo, and Vega Alta. In January 2020 another store located at the Plaza Centro Mall in Caguas announced its closure. In June 2020, two more Kmart stores were announced to be closing, one located at Plaza Guaynabo shopping mall in Guaynabo, and one in Ponce. And in December 2020, two more Kmart stores announced their closure, located in the Rexville Town Center in Bayamón, and the Western Plaza in Mayagüez. On October 15, 2022, after being the only store in the chain left open on the island since 2021, the Plaza las Américas Kmart store announced it was closing permanently, with Kmart entirely ceasing operations in Puerto Rico. Owners of the mall had reportedly been negotiating for Kmart to vacate the building for a new tenant for months, and finally Kmart agreed to move out by that October.


Operation in Guam

Kmart has its Guam location in
Tamuning Tamuning, also known as Tamuning-Tumon-Harmon (), is a village located on the western shore of the United States territory of Guam. The village of Tamuning is the economic center of Guam, containing tourist center Tumon, Harmon Industrial Park, ...
. The Kmart in Guam gets American customers as well as tourists from Asian countries. The store opened in May 1995 and has a size of 170,000 square feet. the Guam store sold $100,000,000 worth of goods per year, the highest of any existing Kmart at the time, and had the highest customer count of any Kmart store. Because of its distance from competition and a lack of online shopping options in Guam, Lucy Craymer of the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' wrote that the Guam Kmart was in "a retail version of the Galapagos."


International


Australia and New Zealand

The first Kmart store in Australia opened in 1969 in
Burwood East, Victoria Burwood East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located east of Melbourne's Melbourne central business district, Central Business District, located within the City of Whitehorse Local government areas of Victo ...
; the site was renovated in 2010 to be a shopping mall known as ''Burwood One.''
Kmart Australia Kmart Australia Limited ( , doing business as Kmart, Kmart Australia, Kmart New Zealand and Kmart Australia and New Zealand and stylised as ''Kmart'') is an Australian chain of retail department stores owned by the Kmart Group division of Wesfar ...
was born out of a joint venture between G.J. Coles & Coy Limited (Coles) and the S.S. Kresge Company (Kresge), with Kresge owning 51% of the common stock in the company and the remaining 49% being owned by Coles. The first New Zealand store opened in Henderson, a suburb of
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
, in 1988. Kresge later exited this partnership in 1994 selling their ownership in the company to
Coles Myer Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of li ...
, the successor to G. J. Coles & Coy Limited. Since the dissolution of Coles Myer in 2007, the Australian and New Zealand Kmart stores are owned by
Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
.


Canada

Kmart opened their first store in Canada in Huron Heights, Ontario on March 14, 1963, followed by a second location in
Windsor, Ontario Windsor ( ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It is situated on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from the U.S city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Esse ...
on May 9, 1963. Kmart closed five stores in
Greater Montreal Greater Montreal (, ) is the most populous metropolitan area in Quebec and the second most populous in Canada after Greater Toronto. In 2015, Statistics Canada identified Montreal's Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) as with a population of 4,02 ...
in 1983-84. Kresge ceased to exist in Canada in 1994. In December 1997, it was announced that ten of the existing 122 stores were to be closed. However, as a result of Kmart's ongoing financial difficulties, the Canadian division comprising 112 stores was sold to competitor
Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...
of the
Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
in May 1998, after which the stores were either closed or converted to Hudson's Bay Company brands, mostly Zellers.


Slogans

* ''The Saving Place'' 1960s–1990 * ''Your Lowest Price is a Kmart Price'' 1990–1998


Caribbean

In the early 2000s, Kmart tried to expand into Caribbean countries where Wal-Mart and Target had no presence, but ultimately none of the proposed stores advanced beyond the construction stage and none opened by the time Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002 when it stopped paying its construction contractors. Kmart started construction of a Super Kmart in 2001 in Trinidad, but halted it in 2002 when the store was 80 percent complete. There were plans for more stores to be built in Trinidad, as well as in Millennium Heights in Barbados, five stores in the Dominican Republic, and a potential foray into Jamaica.


Europe

In 1992, Kmart purchased several communist-era department stores in Eastern Europe, including 13 in the former
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
that were bought from the former Czechoslovak government. Many of these outlets were quite profitable, with the
Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
location setting a single-store sales record for the company. In March 1996, due to its troubles in the U.S., the Kmart Corporation announced that it had agreed to sell the six Kmart stores in the Czech Republic and the seven in Slovakia to
Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in the United Kingdom at its head offices in Welwyn Garden City, England. The company was founded by Jack Cohen (businessman), Sir Jack Cohen in ...
of Britain for about $117.5 million (equivalent to $ in ), to focus on its core operations in North America.


Mexico

In the 1990s, Kmart opened four stores in Mexico, in partnership with the Mexican retailer
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
. All were supercenters located in suburbs of Mexico City. About half of the store area was devoted to groceries, and this part of the stores resembled those in the US with some adjustments to the local market. These plus an unfinished store were sold in 1997 to the Mexican hypermarket chain Mega (part of Comercial Mexicana) and remain open under that name, except the store in
Tlalnepantla Tlalnepantla de Baz ( Otomi: ) is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlall ...
, which was demolished in 2004 to build a
Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores. As of 2021, Costco is the third-largest retailer in the world, and as of August 2024, Cos ...
.


Singapore

Plans to open Kmart stores in Singapore were announced in August 1993. Known as K-Mart Metro, it was a joint venture with Metro (Private) Limited, a subsidiary of Metro Holdings of Singapore. Its first Kmart outlet in the country, a 9,700-square-metre (104,000 sq ft) store in the
Marina Square Marina Square is a shopping mall in Singapore which opened in the late 1980s. It is part of the first building complex built on the reclaimed land at Marina Centre, and was the largest shopping mall in the country at the time. The complex also hou ...
Shopping Center, opened on May 19, 1994. A second Kmart outlet in
Lucky Plaza Lucky Plaza is a shopping centre located in Orchard in Singapore. Built by developer Far East Organization, Lucky Plaza was completed in 1981 and has proven to be one of the most successful shopping centres in Singapore. History Before Lucky P ...
opened in July 1994. A third and final store was opened in Century Square in October 1995. Kmart had a total of three stores in Singapore when the company announced in June 1996 that they plan to close all three stores.


Management

* S. S. Kresge, Founder (1899–1925 president; 1925–1966 CEO) ** Charles Belden Van Dusen (1925–1938, president) ** Robert R. Williams (1938–1946, president) ** D. C. Fisher (1946–1953, president) ** Franklin P. Williams (1953–1958, president) * Harry Blair Cunningham (1959–1972, president and general manager; 1966–1972, CEO) * Robert E. Dewar (1970, president; 1972–1980, CEO) ** Ervin Wardlow (1972, president) * Bernard Fauber (1980–1987, chairman, CEO) * Joseph E. Antonini (1987 – May 1995, CEO) *
Floyd Hall Floyd Hall (born September 4, 1938) is an American business executive and sports team owner. Life and career Hall was born in Oklahoma. He left school at the age of 15. He attended Southern Methodist University, and did not graduate. Hall start ...
(June 1995 – April 2000, president, chairman; June 1995-March 2002 CEO) * Charles Conaway (2000–2002, chairman, CEO) ** Mark Schwartz (-January 2003, president, COO) * James B. Adamson (2002 – January 2003, president, chairman, CEO; ) * Julian Day (March 2002, president, COO; January 2003 – September 2004, president, COO, CEO) * Aylwin Lewis (October 2004 – December 2007, president, CEO) * W. Bruce Johnson (January 2008 – February 2011) * Herman Darling (March 2011 – December 2012) * Eddie S. Lampert (January 2013 – October 2018, still on board after filing for bankruptcy)


See also

*
Kmart Australia Kmart Australia Limited ( , doing business as Kmart, Kmart Australia, Kmart New Zealand and Kmart Australia and New Zealand and stylised as ''Kmart'') is an Australian chain of retail department stores owned by the Kmart Group division of Wesfar ...
*
Sears Holdings Sears Holdings Corporation was an American holding company headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. It was the parent company of the chain stores Kmart and Sears and was founded after the former purchased the latter in 2005. It was the 20th-l ...
*
Transformco Transform SR Brands LLC (doing business as TransformCo, referred to as "New Sears") is an American privately held company formed on February 11, 2019, to acquire some of the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation. The new company is owned by ESL ...


References


Bibliography

*


Further reading

* Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine


External links

* * {{Authority control Kmart 1899 establishments in Michigan Companies based in Cook County, Illinois Hoffman Estates, Illinois Companies based in Detroit Companies based in Troy, Michigan Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018 Defunct retail companies of Canada Discount stores of the United States Retail companies established in 1899 Sears Holdings brands Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Superstores in the United States Toy retailers of the United States 2005 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1899 Transformco