KmartAmerican retailing companyKmart ( ), formerly Kmart Corporation, is a department store chain and online retailer in the United States and its territories. Originally incorporated in 1899 as S. S. Kresge Corporation, Kmart became one of the largest retailers in the world, operating 2,486 stores globally at its peak in 1994. Its big-box stores sold a large variety of goods, including clothing, appliances, electronics, housewares, and food.
Department storeA 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, department stores emerged in the mid-19th century, reshaping shopping habits and the definition of service and luxury. Similar developments were under way in London (with Whiteleys), in Paris (Le Bon Marché) and in New York City (Stewart's).
Alvah Curtis RoebuckAlvah Curtis Roebuck (January 9, 1864 – June 18, 1948) was an American retail businessman, who was one of the co-founders of department store Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Richard Warren Sears. Early lifeAlvah Curtis Roebuck was born on January 9, 1864, in Lafayette, Indiana. He began work as a watchmaker in a Hammond, Indiana, jewelry store at age 12. CareerRoebuck co-founded Sears, Roebuck and Company with Richard Warren Sears in 1891.Eddie LampertEdward Scott Lampert (born July 19, 1962) is an American billionaire businessman. He is the former chief executive and chairman of Sears Holdings, the founder of Transformco, and the founder, chairman, and chief executive of ESL Investments. Until May 2007, he was a director of AutoNation. He was a director of AutoZone from 1999 to 2006. As of December 2025, his net worth was estimated at US$2.2 billion.
Julius RosenwaldJulius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was a Jewish American business executive and philanthropist. He was the long-time president and an owner of Sears, Roebuck and Company, a large and successful Chicago-based national retailer in the early 20th century. His Rosenwald Fund donated millions in matching funds to promote Black American education.
BankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor. Bankrupt is not the only legal status that an insolvent person may have, meaning the term bankruptcy is not a synonym for insolvency. EtymologyThe word bankruptcy is derived from Italianbanca rotta, literally meaning 'broken bank'.
WalmartWalmart Inc. is an American multinational omnichannel retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, grocery stores, pharmacies, and gas stations in the United States and 19 other countries. It is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded in 1962 by brothers Sam Walton and James "Bud" Walton in nearby Rogers, Arkansas. It also owns and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses.Sears HoldingsSears 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-largest retailing company in the United States in 2015. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 15, 2018, and sold its assets to ESL Investments in 2019. The new owner moved Sears assets to its newly formed subsidiary Transformco.
TransformcoTransform SR Brands LLC (doing business asTransformCo, 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 Investments. Following the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of Sears Holdings on October 15, 2018, Transformco purchased the surviving assets owned by Sears Holdings for $5.2 billion.
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States CodeChapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most prominently used by corporate entities.
Richard Warren SearsRichard Warren Sears (December 7, 1863 – September 28, 1914) was an American businessman who co-founded the department store Sears, Roebuck and Company with his partner Alvah Curtis Roebuck.
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