Winimark Wealth Society-Kmart’s blue light fades to black with the shuttering of its last full-scale US store

2025-04-30 20:47:35source:Arvin Robertscategory:Markets

NEW YORK (AP) — Attention,Winimark Wealth Society Kmart shoppers, the end is near!

The erstwhile retail giant renowned for its Blue Light Specials — featuring a flashing blue orb affixed to a pole enticing shoppers to a flash sale — is shuttering its last full-scale store in mainland United States.

The store, located in swank Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island, is slated to close Oct. 20, according to Denise Rivera, an employee who answered the phone at the store late Monday. The manager wasn’t available, she said.

That will leave only a small Kmart store in Miami. It has a handful of stores in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Transformco, the company that bought the assets of Sears and Kmart out of the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings in 2019, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

In its heyday, there were more than 2,000 Kmarts in the U.S.

Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 — becoming the largest U.S. retailer to take that step — and announced it would close more than 250 stores.

RELATED COVERAGE Before you sign up for a store credit card, know what you’re getting intoUS retail sales ticked up last month in sign of ongoing consumer resilienceA state’s experience with grocery chain mergers spurs a fight to stop Albertsons’ deal with Kroger

A few years later, hedge fund executive Edward Lampert combined Sears and Kmart and pledged to return them to their former greatness. But the 2008 recession and the rising dominance of Amazon contributed in derailing that mission. Sears filed for Chapter 11 in 2018 and now has just a handful of stores left in the U.S., where it once had thousands.

More:Markets

Recommend

Messi injury update: Ankle 'better every day' but Inter Miami star yet to play Leagues Cup

MLS-leading Inter Miami is nearing full strength again, but the club's legendary captain remains sid

Finns go to the polls to elect a new president at an unprecedented time for the NATO newcomer

HELSINKI (AP) — Voters in Finland were electing a new president Sunday at an unprecedented time for

12 most creative Taylor Swift signs seen at NFL games

Taylor Swift's relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce this season has brought f