Burley Garcia|Turn out the blue light: Last full-size Kmart store in continental US to close

2025-05-05 09:20:50source:verdicoincategory:My

The Burley Garciablue light is all but turned off as Kmart is set to close its last full-sized store in the continental United States.

An associate at the Bridgehampton, New York confirmed that the store is scheduled to close on Oct. 20 when USA TODAY called the location.

The Bridgehampton store, approximately 95 miles east of Manhattan, is one of two Kmart locations remaining in the continental U.S. The location soon to become the last store, located in Miami, is smaller with a limited range of products, according to CNN.

Transformco, the owner of Kmart and Sears, did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY Monday.

Sears, Kmart on last legs

At its peak, Kmart had well over 2,000 locations in the U.S. and was among the nation's retail giants.

Kmart merged with Sears in 2005 in a deal engineered by hedge fund manager and CEO Eddie Lampert.

The combined companies fell behind as e-commerce grew and consumer preferences changed.

The merged company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2018 and narrowly escaped liquidation in early 2019.

It was sold to Lampert, who has kept the brands alive on a shoestring budget.

Kmart locations dwindled under Transformco, leaving only the Bridgehampton and Miami locations in the continental U.S. and locations in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

Together, Sears and Kmart have closed more than 3,500 stores and cut about 250,000 jobs in the past 15 years.

Contributing: Kelly Tyko

More:My

Recommend

Bet365 ordered to refund $519K to customers who it paid less than they were entitled on sports bets

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Online gambling company bet365 must refund more than a half-million dolla

Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15

NEW YORK (AP) — Juan Soto will be introduced by the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, a day a

Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details

The University of North Carolina has agreed to pay new football coach Bill Belichick $10 million a y