I visited one of the last Kmart’s in the World!!!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- There are only a handful of Kmart locations left in the world, I recently had the chance to see one of them. Here’s a quick look inside one of the only Kmart stores in America.
Kmart is one of those stores that we'd never thought we would miss, and when it was gone, we all REALLY miss it
NOT ALL OF US
I never shopped three
@@moyahardman483 you've seriously missed out
I think Kmart and Sears should have given us a proper liquidation. Not just die store by store. I think a going out of business sale would have been the way to go.
Talk about Etika
I worked at Kmart from a custodian to a manager, for so many years. I truly do miss it, Kmart was on top when people had patience, competence, and manners. Unlike most cashiers today, you wouldn't get tired or angry at Kmart. Almost all of the lanes were open, and people would come to get their pictures taken, and people would just sit in Kmart for hours waiting for the blue light special to happen. There was a cafe to eat food and my location even had Little Ceasars in it. Going to the store has become such a depressing thing and it's even sadder knowing that our future generations will never understand.
The one I went to as a kid has a Little Caesar’s too! I remember going there when I was like 5-6 years old. Then I moved away from that area and it was just a normal K-Mart. Always loved K-Mart.
Great store but the top took the money and left !
Yep spent a lot of time as a kid there was a great store imo. Used to take a walk there to look at all the games and toys and other things.
We definitely got angry at Kmart when I was a kid. Yea, most lanes were open but they were extremely slow and the lines were long. At a certain point (maybe late 90s) they stopped letting you take the carts outside. They also wouldn’t let minors (or those appearing to be minors) in the store without an adult- which I now think was a form of discrimination. My Jr. High was across the street, and I’m sure this was used to deter loitering or shoplifting. I remember the cafe being pretty good until it closed (in the early 90s).
We regularly shopped there until the mid-2000s when they finally opened a Walmart and target in the area.
Keep in mind, we were (and still are) in Los Angeles, CA
I miss those days. Wish I would have lived in the moment and not rushed to grow up
I think this is really just a Dollar General waiting for the sign maker to arrive
Haha, honestly that about sums it up.
They probably would have done better have gone that route a few years ago, now there's nothing to save.
As someone that used to work part-time at Kmart, this blows my mind. I actually worked in the garden center (not in Miami) as the cashier, I never would've imagined the entire store would be in there one day. This doesn't even look like a Kmart, more like a dollar store
Missing k Mart
Kmart's clothing was called Basic Editions, very well made and low priced. I still wear them. They had Thom McAn shoes. I guess they aren't getting them anymore.
Both were excellent brands from what I heard. The Tom McCain actually had very nice designs and some of the shoes were very luxurious looking ❤
I preferred kmart to Walmart .
Though I noticed a couple years before the Kmart store closed that it was declining. Like they stopped selling came consoles and video games, and the garden center was pretty well closed. It acted liked a second warehouse for the store with pallets of boxes that either haven't been stocked or was overstock and couldn't be back to the warehouse
It is sad. Back in the 1970's and 1980's Kmart was the place to shop!
I miss the K-mart experience, but understand how mis-management and competition (walmart/target) brought them down in the continental US. Interestingly enough, one of the US's territories - Guam *store 7725*- has one of the most vibrant K-marts still operating. So well stocked, branded everywhere, Little Caesars with a line out the door. Felt so good to shop there and came out with many reusable bags branded "I HEART K-Mart Guam" will look for your civic next time through
KMart definitely had a lot of good memories for me. Crazy to see it going out of business. And now Bed Bath and Beyond is the next major retailer to go out of business recently. I need to get in one and film before they are gone forever too.
Having been to Guam while in the Navy, this doesn't surprise me. From what I recall, there wasn't a Walmart or a Target there or really much in the way of competition, given it's location. Between that and the sailors who pull into port during deployments, that particular location has a fairly unique niche.
Australia and New Zealand Kmart stores there are thriving.
If you were in the shirt area, some of the shirts have Sears tags on them, which is great that they are still connected! I bought a few shirts there and got some compliments on them. I said "Thanks, I got them at Kmart" - which led to a few blank stares. Makes for a great story!
I worked at Sears in Greensboro, NC, and we were getting a lot of clothes from KMart, which didn't really sell well.
I wish Kmart would come back. I miss it so much. It’s better to target is better than Walmart. That was one of the best stores ever being around. I love Kmart.
The board of directors, should have fired CEO Eddie lampburt ( before he ruined the company into the ground and bankrupt ) , cause was greedy , he didn’t cared about the company at all.
🎉 greetings from coastal Mississippi. I shopped K mart for 40 yrs...I still have certain Kmart products. Thanks for the tour😂
Kendall? Kendale Lakes Plaza? OMG! My grandparents lived in the condos (El Conquistador) next to this Kmart. We would frequent this location in the 70s through early 90s.
I have such fond memories of this store. Thank you for sharing this ... thank you.
Of course! Glad you enjoyed the video. I was in Miami for the weekend and figured I’d stop by and check out one of the last stores. I enjoyed shopping at the K-Mart near me in the Tampa area.
If they’re gonna be this small, might as well bring back the Kresge name and just have small variety stores like this again
Kinda sad, I went to this Kmart in August of 2022. They had barely anything. After searching some more in the store, I found they had a huge sale on DieHard Socks. Probably the hardest thing to find at Kmart and Sears since most of their product brands such as DieHard, Craftsman, Roebuck & Co, Route 66, and Islander were manufactured a couple years ago and I doubt they are still being made anymore. It was nice they had a sale on this specific item since The Westwood Kmart never had them. I was there to see the Green, Yellow, and Red walls and this store was really nice. I enjoyed walking into the store and inhaling that sweet dusty Kmart smell. Oh boy I love it. I wish they sold air freshener’s that smell like that. Mhmmmm. 😂
I kinda wanna go back and snoop around the downsized store a bit next time I’m on vacation. I’m sure I won’t be getting the sweet sensation of that beautiful smell, * sniff * oh yeah 😏 😂
Ok I’ll stop.
That Kmart was the place to go to in the 70's and 80's. Once Wal-Mart opened down the road it started going downhill. Then Target opened between K-Mart and Wal-Mart, which was the final nail in the coffin.
I miss Kmart.
Westwood, New Jersey just announced closing, so now there is only Bridgehampton and Miami
Really? That’s not cool. The one in Miami barely even counts at this point
@@BryanLankston yeah but that one apparently is under an unbreakable lease that requires them to remain open until either like the building is destroyed or closed short term for natural disaster like a few weeks after a hurricane.
Kmart is now the Worlds Smallest in Florida while it’s Largest in New York
Too bad there wasn't any BLUE LIGHT SPECIALS. Those were the days!
Not even a blue light bulb for sale.
@@BryanLankston Exactly!
I've been wanting to see videos or images of this "Garden Center" KMart. Yep, as depressing as I'd imagined. Nothing about that makes me want to shop there at all, especially with a large hulking building attached that is in mid-demolition. The "small store" concept can work with some retailers, but Eddie Lampert has no actual interest in running Sears or KMart stores, he is only keeping the KMart name around as a front for his real estate holdings.
the Kmart where im from is still going strong, its a good thing they don't have as much competition as stateside Kmarts.
Kmart in Guam is still open n they have a lot of customers. Parking lots always full.
the only reason the Gardens Mall Sears is open at this point is because of a super long lease that im assuming that kmart has as well. and i love them for it. but when the Boynton Sears closed i bought one of their employee shirts with the newer logo for $5 so ill always have that
Sears is doing pretty well in Orlando. My next video is going to be a walk through of the Florida Mall Sears.
Just filmed the Westwood, NJ Kmart yesterday. Couldn't help but notice that the store brand stuff was all the "Best Yet" brand. My guess is that C_S Wholesale Grocers is now supplying the remaining Kmarts.
Guam KMart is packed with tons of stuff. Even has a little Caesars pizza diner. Last one standing
Very interesting! I wasn’t aware they still had locations outside of the 2 or 3 left in USA. The K-Mart I went to as a young kid had a Little Caesar’s in it as well! Loved going there.
There are actually 3 Kmarts in the Virgin Islands as well, for a total of 6 after the New Jersey one closes on 9/30/23
🤯
If you want to see a successful K-mart story you should come to Australia, they keep popping up everywhere.
Maybe some day the Aussie version of Kmart will emerge on US soil. I will hope for that.
Aussie Kmart isn't owned by the U.S.
@@diabolivirtusen-tavares-ea4392 it was a joint venture with the US Kmart and Coles
I worked at Kmart in the early 90s and back then you could tell that it was going down fast because Walmart was killing it. The management must have been living in a bubble becase the refused to admit the elephant in the room. I worked at Walmart for a while and the operation of Walmart was run like a well oiled machine while Kmart was a train wreck. Sales items were never in stock and would arrive after the sale was over. The check-outs were a hot mess. Half the items would not scan or would ring up the wrong price. You could never get any help with customers because the sales clerks would be stuck working up front and couldn't finish you work and pallets of items would be left in the aisles for day's at a time before anyone could finish them. shelves were cluttered and not fronted because everyone was up front running cash registers. Leaving the store to be robbed blind. I finally quit and my old store was shop lifted out of business a couple of years later. One poor management decision after another. After Kmart run themselves in the ground they went and merged with Sears and proceeded to run them in the ground also. Which o correctly predicted. Two of America's greatest stores completly ruined by idiots.
In my town as a kid, there used to be a Kmart, blockbuster and a circuitcity all on a 2 mile streach of road. Now the old kmart and blockbuster buildings are just a giant warehouse. The old circuit city building is a strip mall with about 7 different stors.
TransformCo press releases said watch for small format Sears and Kmarts to open. I guess this was the one. Seriously they have hundreds upon hundreds of locations for sale and lease. Lampert used Kmart as Sears firewood and you can see everything he touches turns into crap. Sears Hometowns closed successful or not. My store in WI was almost as busy as a Walmart and they owned land, building, even the newly built taco bell and the store manager said it would be the last Kmart to close well they decided to close every single one in WI & IL.
They probably just kept two locations for whatever legal reasons so Lampert can say he has a going concern or a trademark or something, perhaps some tax writeoffs. Lampert is probably going to lease the former space to an LA Fitness or something
That K-Mart is awesome.💜
A mini grocery store is REALLY nifty to have when you're on-campus. The university I did my masters at had a miniaturized walmart, and it was a good place to grab the odd bit of groceries while I was working on-campus.
Dollar General version of Kmart.
Kmart built a huge store in Roger’s, Arkansas back in 1994-95. It was a gutsy move since the Walmart Supercenter #100 in Bentonville was just a few miles away. I’ve moved back to Missouri so have no idea if it’s still open….but doubtful.
My first job was at KMart in East Texas❤
Tyler or Longview??
Lufkin Texas
I miss their joe boxer line up
For me I remember K-Mart in Pleasantville NJ ,Somers Point NJ and Manahawkin NJ
I like how there was nobody else shopping there. That would be nice.
From Super K to Mini K
A chain of Mini K would be AMAZING! I seriously think they have potential in that space. 5 Below type store but geared at adults not middle schoolers.
At home is expected to open in the old Kmart building spots and expected to open in the fall and that would bring more people to the Kmart store and at home
Interesting. Hopefully that will drive up the traffic to the store. Wonder if that will make a difference or not.
Small Kmarts in Australia are called K hubs, Formally known as Target
I did not realize that Target had a presence outside the USA. I knew they had tried and failed in Canada.
Target closed most of their stores over a year ago. No more regional stores. Plenty of huge kmarts still. Don't know what that other commenters talking about.
@@BryanLankstonwell technically it has no legal ties other than the name and logo because target Australia is owned by a holding corporation called Wesfarmers which owns it as well as Kmart Australia where as target in the us is owned by the target group
It's kmart but looks like a dollar tree. Just no dollar tree prices.
Kmart is everywhere in Australia.
There are 452 KMarts and Targets across Australia and NZ. However though similar in brands and look are nothing to do with the American KMart.
Are the Target stores anything like the American ones? Target is still going strong here.
@@BryanLankston I honestly couldn’t tell you. I don’t really shop at ‘The Red Circle Boutique’ here in Australia and I haven’t been to America. Here it’s similar to Kmart but more $$. It’s a variety store so clothes, bedding, camping, toys etc.
@@julzhunt7790 haha sounds just like the American Target. More expensive than K-Mart and Walmart but still manages to be full of people willing to pay way too much for those types of items. I’ll have to look up Target Australia.
@@BryanLankston Both KMart and Target are owned by Wesfarmers which is a Conglomerate based in my hometown of Perth WA😁❤️🇦🇺
Actually before 1994 they were involved with the Australian division though at that point minority but sold it later that year. But originally they had a majority ownership before trading it with the minority owner at the time then letting them take full control. Which at the time of the trade was Coles Mayer.
Hey Dollar General, here is a chance to open some mini K marts. call them MINI-K. or go full online for a few years to save that brick and mortar money. ANYTHING is better then letting Eddie Lampert titanic the company altogether.
And now there's only 2. I feel bad for the lady working because the other shoe could drop any second. Ironic how one of the biggest complaints about Kmart was they weren't clean, now that it's a ghost town it's spotless.
Did you know that Kmart was originally S.S. Kresge's. They re--branded to Kmart in 1977. I grew up with both entities. It's a shame it's gone.
You bought something you had The receipt and Fram it
Last time I went to kmart was back in 2018
For special Olympics michigan.
I've been to
Niles michigan
Sturgis michigan
Acme township michigan
Kmart
I didn’t think about getting a receipt just because. I tried to find something that was a K-Mart brand item (like Walmarts Mainstays / Great Value) but I didn’t find anything with a store brand.
@@BryanLankston I don't go to Walmart I go to Meijer or Harding's for my food
Wal-Mart destroyed kmarts..
Does anyone remember Kmarts blue light special ,there awesome sub sandwiches 🥪 ?
Kmart small concept stores would be awesome. There's a closed down rite aid near me that would be prime real estate.
There’s a bigger Kmart on Guam.. and it’s thriving.
Man I miss mine. Used to get so many hot wheels and videos my with mom mom there as a kid. I remember my last purchase was a turtle neck for a Sterling Archer cosplay in 2015 :/
I always used to go to look at Lego sets I wanted. Definitely miss going in Kmart. I hated to see them close. Same with Sears. I used to go to both stores quite a bit.
I grew up going to big Kmart in riverside ca on Iowa Ave ..it closed down like in 2015 .. they demolished the building like a month ago rip Kmart! They had a snack bar and garden section when they were in their prime mid 90s
the closest kmart to me in NE florida closed down a decade? ago and looks very sus today since it’s kinda ruined and no company took over the building. i can see it as a perfect hangout area for a gang.
It’s unfortunate that they all closed. The one I went to as a kid was torn down and turned into a Kia dealership. They didn’t remove the loading ramp for the trucks though, so you can see where the store used to be. The other one in that town got turned into a storage place.
That's sad. You would have thought that someone would by it out, and reopen with somewhat fresh branding
Kmart Never Dies!
The one Kmart in our town closed down years ago. It is now a Stars and Stripes which is a bowling alley, arcade, and a lot more for kids (and adults) lol. I've never been in there but it stays busy.
A lot of old retail stores seem to be converted into “family activity” type places. I see a lot turned into trampoline parks or laser tag places. That seems to be super popular right now. A lot of malls in my area are also putting in entertainment centers with arcades, bowling, restraints etc. it seems like the future of the mall is entertaining with some shopping. Which I think actually makes sense.
Mine is a hobby lobby/ dds discount
Plus mine closed in August 2016
@@Rene27627 did they split it in half to be two store fronts or did another anchor also leave around the same time? Just curious, sounds like you may have had a super Kmart
I was going to superkmart til 95
In Australia, we still have Kmart
If Kmart came back and was like it was in the 70s and 80s, I would shop there instead of tard mart 🤔👍
U mean turdmart
Although they're technically subsidiaries of its parent company, there are about 320 K-Marts total in Australia and New Zealand still open and have quite the contrast with success currently, compared to the U.S.
@XanaxDust214: Probably former subsidiaries, as I’m pretty sure that they own the brand name outright in Australia and New Zealand. I was kinda hoping that Kmart AUNZ would buy out their former parent company and bring their current format to the States as a way of just keeping the brand afloat, or to give Americans a taste of what we did with it on the other side of the world. Whether it would’ve worked remains to be seen.
They have no connection to the American Kmart. The bought the name and logo years ago I understand.
@@DavidSmith-sb2ixThey've been independent since 1994, and they bought the name outright in 2017.
Not the last in the world, but one of the last in the United States
We can still support Kmart by shopping at Kmart online.
Well... There is K-mart in Australia, they were jointly founded with the S.S. Kresge company, the original American K-mart.
I’m lucky to have Kmart in Australia.🇦🇺
Kmart is massive in Australia
Really? I thought they were going out everywhere. That’s interesting that they are doing so well down there.
@@BryanLankston In Australia, someone has the name, nothing to do with those in the USA, like here in Mexico with Sears, the name continues because Carlos Slim has it, here in Tijuana, we had the Dorians stores, Slim bought them, and they changed their name to Sears.
@Bryan Lankston There are over 363 or so Kmarts in Australia and One in Guam, which is nice really a standard of what Kmart should've followed here in America....also the virgin islands have a few
Now just this mini Kmart and a full size location on Long Island, NY
This location of Kmart is like a Kressge five and dime store all over again.
Here in Australia KMART is still pretty big
Nah bro we still have are KMART
They should put a red box outside it.💜
Where at?
It sounds like what they did with those shopping carts was they refurbished them, repainted them & replaced the wheels.
Doubtful it will stay open and highly unlikely Kmart will come back. Eddie Lampert killed the company on purpose so fat chance of them making a comeback he made sure to strip its real estate and destroy it core that made Kmart so great. I’m so sad Kmart is out of business. I used to work for them them and I was in tears on my last day we closed our store. I miss my store and coworkers. I never forget my store and coworkers. I’ll always hold these memories close to my heart and never forget. 😢If I’d become a billionaire I’d bring back Kmarts as a full line department store as they were. I’d bring back blue light specials, our store brands, layaway and our kcafe. Obviously with a modern design! And who could for forget our ORIGINAL Kmart corporate headquarters in Troy Michigan I’d revive it too. Kmart deserves better and should be in the hands of caring people but unfortunately it’s too late 😢
I could see Sears coming back a bit but Kmart yes I agree I doubt it's coming back. Keep in mind in the 70's and 80's stores like Target and Wal Mart were only regional chains. When they grew and went national that was the beginning of the end for Kmart.
If you were to bring back Kmart, would you do the Super Kmart Center concept, even though it's just with the Kmart name
Bring back Kmart and close all the targets
2 left now... I'm counting down the k-marts
I remember going to Kmart as a kid and begging my mom for webkinz and silly banz there lmao.
it has more stores in Australia than the US and is very big here look it up
I remember shopping at Kmart
The entire store moved into the Garden Shop? What a waste of time!
Wrong! There are many Kmarts in Australia! And they have a booming webpage(Kmart USA)
Kmart is very popular in Australia i have 2 in the city im in and they are building a 3rd
They are not associated with the United States version unfortunately. The naming rights / copyrights were purchased from Sears in August 2017. Seems like it’s still a very similar concept being an affordable retailer with lots of options. Unfortunately I am not very familiar with the Austrian stores.
@@BryanLankston I didn't know that so that's actually awesome information, same concept here cheap and affordable items but it's also very know as a danger shop you go in for one thing walk out with 30 and we also don't stock food other then chocolate
@BryanLankston Not associated??? They began operations in Australia in 1968 and opened the first store on April 30, 1969 with SS Kresge (Kmart) owning 51% interest. They were based off the American stores set up as a joint venture. Consolidation happened over the years along with divestment. The Kmart name is literally from the original Kmart's in America that was kept because of the branding. In 2017 Wesfarmers, recognizing the strong brand name, paid 100 million to keep the brand name. So yeah history wise there's a huge association with the American Kmart Corporation.
There’s a full sized one in NY and another in Guam
My new idea put Kmart in Baltimore, Connecticut, winnsboro South Carolina, and Hawaii and chicago
Looks like an upscale Dollar General.
my local kmart is still going strong
kmart is thriving in australia
I didn’t grow up with Kmart although I went into one before it closed
I came here to re-live my time in Miami, not see three tablets of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs - Stop it, you're making me feel old. I wanted to run down those aisles and yell 'mummies!' - If I was standing at their entrance doors, I would be laughing my ass off cause all I would be looking at is the mummy store! gawd damn it! LOL
I went to this store abour 2 weeks ago, and it was depressing remembering what KMart was. I did buy a few things(30%off), but the clothing selection was almost non existant. When I moved to Florida, there were 12-14 KMarts in So. Fla and one by one they shut. It was sort of a corporate suicide. No one can blame Walmart or Target, KMart obviously did it to themselves by having disorganized stores and many employees who really didn't care. The higher management didn't care either, and that created the downward spiral. It's sad because KMart could have atleast taken a good look at what Walmart was doing and tried to copy that or beat that, but they kept sleeping. Now there are 2 KMarts left in the US and the one in W. Kendall, FL will probably be gone by 2025. It's a long list of companies that didn't adapt and change when needed that no longer exist, KMart is just the latest. I'll miss KMart based on the many years I shopped at various locations. I stlii have Basic Edition shirts from 15 yrs. ago.But, it was a slow and painful end, may the company rest in peace.
So there’s a possibility they can both open but Idk about sears of Eddie lampert don’t put both of them together early they could really win against Walmart and Target I have faith
They made a lot of bad decisions 1st when wal Mart came to our area they moved across town giving the impression they couldn't compete. Usually, this was the case as Wal Mart was cheaper. Then, the final blow was acquiring Sears instead of using that money to improve their own stores. Overall, the only "experience" was the blue light special, which never seemed to apply to anything i was there for. Hills is a store i truly miss good deals throughout and a snacky bar at the front with popcorn 🍿 and soft pretzels, etc, that always tickled my fancy. What happened to Hills??
There are lots here in Australia.
In the World is a misnomer as there are Kmart stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Kmart Australia has no affiliation with the United States brand. Same can be said about Target, same name even the same logo, absolutely no affiliation with the US brand.
@@BryanLankston so what? Your video title didn’t specify American Kmart, and it even implied a global definition of Kmart by saying “in the WORLD”. So you are WRONG Haha!
Is there a Coinstar.
Your Head lines state last kmart in the WORLD,it's USA.....kmart here in Australia is going extremely well and busy.
Neatest, most organized store I've ever seen.
I can answer a few questions about this Miami K Mart location. It was only kept because of legal leasing obligations. K Mart is not attempting anything with this location. They simply downsized it (into the former garden center) in order to maintain a lease that they have on the building. At Home was willing to take over the majority of the former K Mart space, but they didn't need all of it, thus the tiny lil K Mart that has minimal products spread out to cover the shelves. Also explains your water bottles in the cooler. The reason retailers such as Target who tried these smaller store formats (that you show in your video) fail is because the profit margin lines are so very thin. In a full sized/scale store the store can operate with larger potential profit margins that these small stores simply cannot do. If theft is a problem in an area for one of these urban or scaled down locations they usually get shuttered because they truly cost the company more money to have them open than to not have them at all.
Actually as of 2024 there are still 12 Kmart stores in the US.
False
Can the last remaining Kmarts be declared, historical landmarks..🤔
Absolutely should be! 😂
@@BryanLankston there are aussie ones but they not the same
Kmart in frackville was goated
I was just there yesterday 5/19/24 and it’s gotten worse all of the merchandise does not reach the back of the shelf everything is to the front and spaced out
Wow that’s crazy. I imagine it will be going out of business soon then. I wouldn’t be surprised if KMart is gone by the end of the year.
Those blue light sales 😢