Kmart Is Currently Undergoing Some Bizarre Changes
Recently, Sears stores across the country have been closing at a fast pace. Just a few weeks ago, New York’s last remaining Sears store closed its doors for good after the planned closure was announced in August. Two other Sears stores will meet the same fate on November 20. With no sign of making a turnaround, it’s safe to say that Sears is in a terrible state right now.
Meanwhile, Kmart has surprised social media users by making some out-of-character decisions in the past few months. While there don’t appear to be any revitalization plans for the brand, it appears that their stores are finally being given some attention.
With that out of the way, let’s go over the changes that Kmart has recently made.
The Case of the Missing Kmart Sign
In September, it was revealed that the Bridgehampton Kmart’s iconic blue signage had been removed and replaced with a temporary sign. At first, this took many people by surprise. There was seemingly no reason as to why the signage was removed so suddenly.
The Bridgehampton Kmart is well-known for being the only Kmart store with blue signage. It was also the Kmart store that Martha Stewart frequently shopped at, long before she parted ways with the company.
The removal of the blue signage also marks the end of Kmart’s older logo from the 1990s. All of Kmart’s remaining stores use the company’s current logo.
As the news began to make its way across social media, a Reddit user called Kmart to inquire about the removal of the Bridgehampton Kmart’s signage. They were told that the temporary sign would eventually be taken down and replaced with a red Kmart sign, just like Kmart’s other stores.
It’s a pleasant surprise to see that the Bridgehampton Kmart has been brought up-to-date. As of October, it’s still unknown if the red Kmart sign has been put up yet, but in the near future, somebody will inevitably take some pictures of the front of the store and confirm what the Reddit user said.
Closed Without Notice
On October 15, the Hato Rey Kmart permanently closed without any announcement in advance. It was considered to be one of the better Kmart stores that’s still open, and as far as most people know, it was a well-performing store.
Despite that, the owners of the plaza wanted a new tenant to occupy the structure, and for months, they had reportedly been negotiating with Kmart to vacate the building. Eventually, Kmart agreed to completely move out by the end of October, and as a result, there wasn’t enough time to liquidate the store’s inventory (most of which has likely been moved to the adjacent Sears store). The building’s next tenant is currently unknown, but it definitely won’t stay vacant for long.
The Hato Rey Kmart was the last Kmart store in Puerto Rico. Its closure was a massive blow to nearby residents, especially since there isn’t another store like it that’s close by.
If the Hato Rey Kmart is vulnerable, it’s safe to say that every other Kmart store is vulnerable too. Watch out for more closures in the near future!
Downsizing and Persevering
On October 25, it was revealed that the Miami Kmart would be downsizing in order to make room for a new tenant to move in. The only shocking part was that the store wouldn’t be completely closing. It’s very rare for a Kmart store to be downsized instead of permanently closed. The only other notable instance of a Kmart store being downsized was with the Rehoboth Beach Kmart.
According to a Reddit user, the Miami Kmart has a strict lease that forces the store to continue operating. As a result, the structure is merely being subdivided. The “new” Miami Kmart will only occupy 25% of the building, and judging by how it looks, the former garden shop will likely serve as a vestibule to the main section of the store. If you do the math, the size of the “new” Miami Kmart will likely be around 30,000 square feet.
The part of the building that isn’t occupied by Kmart will be taken over by a new tenant, and during that process, the existing facade will likely be demolished in favor of giving the building a modern facelift.
Besides some Kmart signs being placed on the former garden shop, the “new” Miami Kmart hasn’t received any other changes to its exterior design, not even a fresh coat of paint. One can only hope that’ll change over the course of a few weeks.
Social media users have also begun to wonder how the “new” Miami Kmart will be laid out. The size of each department will be much smaller than before, and it’s yet to be seen if any existing departments won’t make an appearance.
The “new” Miami Kmart is supposedly going to open on November 15, so keep your eyes peeled for any details that might surface online!
Transformco in Chicago
In October, it was revealed by SB360 that Transformco (the parent company of Sears and Kmart) would be moving its headquarters to downtown Chicago, despite the popular belief that they would go completely remote.
Downtown Chicago isn’t exactly known for being the greatest place in the country. It’s safe to say that Transformco’s new headquarters will be extremely small, dingy, and bare of any furnishings. After all, they’ve auctioned off nearly everything they owned.
Conclusion
On one hand, you could argue that permanently closing the Hato Rey Kmart and moving to an area like downtown Chicago is an indicator that Transformco is finally nearing insolvency, but on the other side of the coin, the events that occurred at the Bridgehampton Kmart and Miami Kmart seem to paint a different picture. It’s not entirely unfounded to say that both events are correlated.
Of course, it’ll only be a matter of time until Sears and Kmart are both gone, but for now, it looks like the latter still has some life left in it. Don’t keep your hopes up though!
Thank you for taking the time to read this article.