Kmart 2000 closures

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Ampersand
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by Ampersand »

this is around the time that the store in Glenville NY closed which ironically became a Target just like the Amsterdam Location
then there is also the Latham store which still stands to this day
BillyGr
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by BillyGr »

Ampersand wrote:this is around the time that the store in Glenville NY closed which ironically became a Target just like the Amsterdam Location
then there is also the Latham store which still stands to this day
Although Latham was much more recent (and at the same time as East Greenbush and Clifton Park - all of which are still empty, as far as I know).
Ephrata1966
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by Ephrata1966 »

I can name one of the stores closed in 2000... it was on Torresdale Avenue in North Philadelphia, PA. I'm not sure if it really was any better when the Kmart (and neighboring Acme) opened in 1976, but by the time they both closed in 2000, the surrounding neighborhood had become really bad. In fact today that neck of the woods is famous for being a huge hub for heroin sales and heroin consumption on the streets in plain view. Due to the horrific violent crime rate, I stay far away from that area at all costs, so I'm not sure what's become of the shopping center in more recent years. But at one point the former Kmart was a Chinese food distribution plant, and the former Acme was a low-end furniture store that I forget the name of. The furniture store didn't last long and was replaced by a wholesale tile store that I think also closed.

I recently made a really strange discovery... this Kmart was given the Big Kmart signage and decor updates in 1997 (perhaps it was given either a Kmart Cafe and/or Little Caesars at that time?) even though it ended up closing three years later anyway. Having never actually been to this store when it was open, I was assuming it would have had the original Kmart logo (but perhaps some updated decor/store features from the 80's or early 90's) until the very end.

What's especially strange about this store getting the Big Kmart treatment is that the former Clover on Frankford Avenue, a really short distance north, became a Big Kmart in 1997. This Kmart closed about two years ago. Most former Clover stores in the Philly suburbs became Kohl's but only one in Philadelphia County did. What's kind of shocking is that apparently Kohl's bought the Clover building on Frankford, originally planning to open a store here, but backed out... yet they continued to own the building and became Kmart's landlord! And they still own it today (in fact, perhaps it might become a Kohl's this time around?)

Somewhat ironically, a lot of former Venture stores became Kmart also around 1997, and Venture was a VERY similar chain to Clover. Even more ironic is that Venture was originally a May Company creation, but Clover went out of business because its parent company Strawbridge & Clothier sold out to May Company in 1996, and by that point, May was long gone from the discount store business.
wnetmacman
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by wnetmacman »

Ephrata1966 wrote:Somewhat ironically, a lot of former Venture stores became Kmart also around 1997, and Venture was a VERY similar chain to Clover. Even more ironic is that Venture was originally a May Company creation, but Clover went out of business because its parent company Strawbridge & Clothier sold out to May Company in 1996, and by that point, May was long gone from the discount store business.
By the time Kmart got many of these Venture stores (1997), Venture was far removed from May as well. The vast majority of the stores Kmart got were through Kimco Realty, who really sold their soul to Kmart to try to get rid of the real estate. Almost all of them failed, largely due to Kmart's failures, and the lack of consistency with the other Kmart stores that had Garden Centers and pharmacies. It was a very bad move on Kmart's part to purchase these stores, and it was just one of the factors that have led to the long, painful death of the company.
Scott Greer
Ampersand
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by Ampersand »

BillyGr wrote:
Ampersand wrote:this is around the time that the store in Glenville NY closed which ironically became a Target just like the Amsterdam Location
then there is also the Latham store which still stands to this day
Although Latham was much more recent (and at the same time as East Greenbush and Clifton Park - all of which are still empty, as far as I know).
Remember the Saratoga K-Mart which was where the Kohls is now..
TW-Upstate NY
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

If memory serves, that Saratoga location was actually a replacement store for one located in a shopping plaza on the other end of the city.
BillyGr
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by BillyGr »

TW-Upstate NY wrote:If memory serves, that Saratoga location was actually a replacement store for one located in a shopping plaza on the other end of the city.
I believe the original site was the plaza on Route 50 (after it splits from Route 9 heading south and is called Ballston Avenue) that now houses a Price Chopper, Taft and Dollar Tree (and was for a time an Ames after Kmart had moved). No guarantee, but it makes sense given the several other local stores where Kmart and Price Chopper were paired together...
RPAmesandKmartan26
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Re: Kmart 2000 closures

Post by RPAmesandKmartan26 »

In Rhode Isalnd, we had to close the Middletown RI location, it opened in 1974 or 1976. It's now Subdivided between Marshalls, Ocean State Job Lot and Bed Bath & Beyond. it think it looked simialar to the Azle TX location but way smaller. I think they only expanded with a Garden Center in the front of the store. The store was located on 288 E Main Rd. It was only 56,000 Square Feet.


According to a memeber of the Ames Fan Forums, before it's 2000 closure, this was the logo they had outside their door:
Kmart 1990 logo
Kmart 1990 logo
Kmart_logo_1990s.svg.png (8.6 KiB) Viewed 7869 times
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