Last Kmart big box store in U.S. closing

But for a convenience store in Miami that licensed the brand and immortal branches in places like Guam where there is no competition, Kmart is finally disappearing: the last big box store bearing the name is to close.

The store, in Bridgehampton, New York, on Long Island, is due to close October 20, according to an employee who answered the phone at the store Monday morning who did not want to give her name. The manager of the store was not available, and the corporate owner Transformco, the company that bought the remains of Sears and Kmart out of the bankruptcy of Sears Holdings in 2019, did not return an email requesting comment.

Sears bought it as part of its private equity murder-suicide spree.

the Long Island store closing will close one more chapter in the disastrous 2005 merger of Sears and Kmart, one of numerous iconic retailers killed after purchases by hedge funds and private equity firms. The $11 billion merger was engineered by hedge fund operator Eddie Lampert.

The best thing about Kmart was the fabulously dystopian Blue Light Specials, from the era when everyone's fondest dream was to participate in a consumer herd panic.

Kmart became known for its 15-minute-long "blue light specials": A store would flash a blue light and announce "attention Kmart shoppers" over the public address system, and customers would rush to buy the discounted goods.

Even Black Friday is boring now! All we have is Temu making you play dogshit lotto just to get into the site.

Previously:
• Why Kmart failed
• Kmart in-store reel-to-reel soundtrack great for your next cocktail party
• Listen: Kmart in-store music/announcements cassette from 1989
• Relax to the calming sounds of Kmart in 1973
• Attention Kmart shoppers: this former employee uploaded Kmart's 1989-1991 in-store music to the Internet Archive