My mother worked for our local Kmart here in south Tennessee in the 1980’s. My brother and I were very young at the time and my father was suffering from brain cancer! For Christmas one year, Kmart gave my brother and I $200 each for a shopping spree that was captured on the local news! They let us come in after hours and use those gift cards! I’ll never forget that! Fast forward to 2023 both my parents are long deceased as well as that Kmart store. That store closed in 2007! Lots of memories.
Kmart was also known for those big round air vents that you don't see in modern stores. One reason for Kmart's failure is that they never remodeled/modernized their stores and still use old outdated cash registers. Also bad managment
That gunk under the shelves is from the wax stripper and floor wax. It gets built-up over the years. Big box stores usually have their floors stripped, cleaned, and re-waxed a couple of times a year.
I worked as a 'utility man' at a chain of discount department stores on the east coast, mid-Atlantic region. Two Guys (from Harrison, New Jersey) the chain was called. I stripped, waxed and buffed the floors there when I was a part-time worker after school. It was actually satisfying to do the buffing after the process of stripping was finished. It was a real nightmare in the winter if we had any snow because the amount of dirt and salt tracked-in from outside was mind boggling. I don't know how our crew got everything shipshape late at night so that the store could have a normal opening in the morning. I used to get two or three extra hours at night in the winter.
This was very nostalgic for me. My mother worked 30 years for Kmart and me and my siblings grew up there, it was almost like our own town. She part of the store closings before she retired and we lost her a few months ago. This video was bitter sweet but did bring back a ton of memories. Wow.
This is sad. Just thinking of my childhood and through the years of how many times I went to Kmart or Sears. Most of those times being around the Christmas holiday season. I could always go into Sears and find some tool or gadget for my Dad. Who can forget as a kid getting into the fall season and getting that Sears Christmas wish book in the mail and looking through it for hours. R.I.P. Kmart and Sears, gone but not forgotten.
It really is sad! I went to mine here in Mercer county New Jersey rite up until it closed in December of 2020! It was either the 15th or the 19th n took my kids bcuz I wanted them to have some sort of memory of it. It was a huge staple in my life especially like u said around the holidays! But when I moved from the city to the township it was one of the only things I lived close enough to where I could walk to it. I used to go to the snack counter and get soft pretzels and a slurpee! They had the plastic nfl team cups at the time back then! Then I’d go raid the toy aisles! It was always a place of fond memories for me! I remember they had a food vendor come out when the weather was warm and u could get hot dogs and a soda for real cheap! I don’t know what that was for I imagine just to drum up business by getting ppl there for that n they’d end up going in the store afterwards? But it was a fun place for a kid
That spot by the bathroom was most likely used for layaways when K-Mart had layaways. I used to work at K-Mart and that's exactly how ours was set up. No idea what they would've used it for when they did away with the layaway program.
I was just about to comment this.. Definitely the layaway area. It was always in the back, near the bathrooms. I never used layaway, but it was very popular back in the day. I always remember seeing it busy.
@bL3dbL4k my first thought was layaway. But the one I worked at was no where near the bathrooms. Right next to the appliance dept. We had to do double duty
Absolutely shameful what Lampert got away with. He stole the wealth of two American icons and destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives among employees, retirees, suppliers, creditors, other stores in malls and shopping centers, etc.
The liquid came from mopping the floors or depending on store they'd have the little riding floor cleaner. Not a ton of liquid but overtime and several thousand runs... well.. you can see when they finally move things around. The booth near the bathrooms was most likely layaway. Really cool video, always loved going to Kmart.
The liquid comes from floor stripper. Some of it gets under the counter and they can’t wipe it up as there is no access unless you take apart the counter
The liquid comes from mopping the floors. The caked up outline visible under the gondolas is old wax from when they waxed the floors. The wax builds up in layers under the gondolas over the years since they rarely move.
So very sad to see a company that has been around over 100 years to close its doors forever.... i worked at the Lawrenceville Kmart 3259 for over 20 years... aaah..the blue light specials... K Mart shoppers look up and look arround for that flashing blue special ......... And as always, Thank You for shopping the Lawrenceville K Mart!
Wanna be blown away? Search Australian Kmart tours, the brand is alive and doing really well. Modernized, and profitable. So it stands to question, why did they fail in America, when this is where they were born?
I remember when the Ames stores went out of business when I was 14. That was depressing. At least Ames closed all their stores at once, like ripping a band aid off quickly. Kmart is taking its their and its painful.
There's still an AMES store sign over a location in Seabrook, NH. It's been purchased by the neighboring Market Basket , but the renovation project hasn't been approved by the town yet. The store sits empty to this day.
@@stevenedwards8353 That's crazy, I want to say in 2014/2015 I bought a WiiU from my closest K-mart which was in long beach CA. I'm not sure when it closed down, but it had to have been within the past 3 to 4 years. I wanted to go one last time, because between 2014-2017 I bought alot of clothes out of there. They'll never be forgotten.
I live in Pearl River, NY and was at the Westwood K-Mart about a week ago. The store was almost empty, expect for some clothes for 70% off the normal price. It was depressing. I remember just a year ago, the store was fully stocked. One of the employees told me that the store will officially close on December 1, 2023. If you live nearby, check it out. It's pretty slim pickings these days, but you never know what's still going on be on the shelves.
I worked 10 different Kmarts in my career. My first one had a simple deli counter that sold basic stuff, the others either a K Cafe or a Little Caesar's. Two stores in Virginia I had the K Cafe directly adjacent to my shoe department. I spent many a 15 minute break and lunch periods there. Good times.
Honestly one of my favorite parts of these liquidation sales is just seeing the random stuff they pull out of who knows where to see if it’ll sell. I mean, $40 seems reasonable for a desk but like you said, it’s probably too big to fit in most cars. Maybe a truck/SUV.
They would bring in inventory from other stores and outlets and try to sell it, too lol. It was kind of disturbing to see prices marked up and then discounted.
@@millenniumman75 I have heard the practice of liquidators coming in to mark up prices before discounting. But in the two Kmarts I worked in that got liquidated, that did not happen. At least not in my shoe department. It was a straight discount off the original ticketed price. So I guess it depends on which liquidator. I had an awesome one. He made the process easy, straightforward and wasn't an asshole. He knew people would be losing their jobs and made it as painless as possible.
@@millenniumman75 After closing the first one, I transferred to another store in the area. 10 days later they announced they were closing that one, too! Since he was still in the area, they had Mike come in to liquidate that one, as well. When he saw me, he doubled over laughing. We both couldn't believe it. It sucked, but at least I already knew the guy and what to expect.
@millenniumman75 That's often from companies like Hilco which buy out these closeout stores from different chains. They own all the closeout signs and just move from chain to chain closing out stores. If stuff does not sell, it gets sent to a regional Hilco warehouse where all the unsold items go, and then get shipped out to the next chain they close down. This is why you start to see merch from other chains and completely unrelated items showing up at these sales. They are bringing IN stuff. Likewise, they have zero incentive to keep marking it down down down to zero because they will just pack it up, take down the signs and go to the next closing store.
That is why Walmart is always moving these fixtures. They don't even disassemble when they move them. I've seen them slide something underneath with wheels on it and then several employees just move the fixture.
The filth is because they use a floor stripper first and that picks up all the dirt and old wax and cleans the tiles almost like new. But it makes filthy water that has to be removed. What seeps under fixtures obviously is not removed and just dries there. The floor gets waxed and stays until the next time it gets stripped and the cycle repeats. Spotless and shiny floors are a huge sign that a store cares about how it looks. It takes a ton of work to maintain. This is why many stores like Kroger and Walmart have ripped out tile and gone for sealed but bare concrete floors that look awful but can be maintained with a mop robot. Personally the most beautiful tile floor I have ever seen was in a legacy Walmart that was later converted to the biggest version of the Supercenter. They went all out on that upgrade. It has white tile floors that are so shiny, you can almost see a reflection. When that store used to be open 24hrs, you could go in and see they had outside floor contractors in that store every night with a whole group of workers on riding mops and there was always at least one part of the store roped off so they could strip and wax. Incredible cost and effort to keep that white tile clean. It paid off. But all the recent Walmarts have not only had bare concrete floors, they dye them brown to hide the dirt. Pathetic. Kroger had nice tile but chipped it all up for the same brown concrete which they do not clean.
So Sad... Alot Of Memories Growing Up With Kmart.. Now Literally Everything Becomes The Past, National Video, Blockbuster, Sears, Woolworth, Kmart, Kay Bee Toy's, Toy's R US, 😢😢😢😢
Last K-Mart I shopped at was in Somers Point, NJ in 2020. They still had a Little Caesar's in it. Bought pizza and the receipt had K-Mart at the top. I remember every K-Mart around me had a Little Caesar's.
That back area by the bathrooms was the layaway counter. The corner where you talked about the lights was the grocery section. The garden shop closed a few years ago. I grew up going to this Kmart during the 90s. I'm guessing they sold it but out front used to be a mini carousel and little car ride. Those rides that you put a quarter in.
Attention KMart shoppers! The time is now 8:45PM and in 15 minutes, the store will be closing for good. Please bring your final purchases to the registers...then GET OUT!
I live in North Carolina and hated to see Kmart go out of business. When I was a kid, we would go to Kmart in Greensboro the day after Thanksgiving every year to do our Christmas shopping. Finally in 1982, Kmart built a store in Asheboro where I live. It went out of business around twenty five years ago. Sure to miss it. Always enjoy your videos Tom!
I live in North Carolina as well... In Concord, and since the early 90s had a Super Kmart, it had a huge grocery center in it as well. I swear my parents would do all their Christmas shopping at Kmart. I miss it!
Dayton, OH - Attention Kmart Shoppers! Kmart went way back to the late 70s for me. I remember the submarine sandwiches and ICEEs, the original Blue Light Specials and the prices ending in 97. My town got a Kmart in 1990 - the Walmart was in the next town. I loved shopping there. I was devastated when it closed in August 2016. I bought a ceramic soap dispenser that I still use in the bathroom. .....and as always, thank your for shopping at your Kmart!
I have memories of Kmart in Paramus, New Jersey on route 17 , that's where I ended up going. It was like an aircraft hanger the building used to go there all the time as a kid throughout the 70, 80s and 90s I was more of an adult by then.. the other one was in Lodi New Jersey right off of the main street there, the other one was in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, right off of Route four that was like 2 miles from my home in Saddlebrook.. moved out to Phoenix metro Arizona two weeks before 9/11... there's a few Kmarts here to her used to visit the one off of power Road in Mesa. They completely destroyed that building I made it into apartment buildings. Right next to the target but here Walmart and target are king. Literally 30 to 40 in the metro area. Just Walmarts alone, and just as many targets... before moving here I've never seen a Walmart back in Jersey,, I believe I've been to this Westwood, one, more than likely I have
Where are the customers? Fast Eddy has chased all of them away. Why bother with a going out of business sale? Sell what is left wholesale or to a liquidator. Or sell it to Ross Dress For Less, TJMAXX, or Marshalls.
El Paso is now the only place in Texas where there's still a Sears, at Cielo Vista Mall. Sears is long gone now in Chicago, Kmart went away in El Paso, TX in late 2017.
Our Kmart closed around 2005, I worked there, but I remember when we started taking the store apart, there were things that fell under the counters and in behind the walls back when it was first built in the late 70s. I think there were some posters, clothing and of course, money. It was like a time machine. It was also a fun place to work at, it was hard, but I met a lot of interesting people...had a lot of women interested in me working there too lol.
I worked at a Kmart in 2011 .it was a seasonal job .only real money Kmart ever made was in holidays. I guess there was already talk of getting rid of that location as I was working there .then 2 years later it was gone. They really went all in tho for Christmas season. The management seemed cool but had to get rid of all of us and only keep like 5 employees.
@@wingedhussar1453 Yeah Holiday season, mainly Christmas meant a lot of hours. Christmas stuff started coming in at the end of September and it was 1500 piece delivery every day until the end of November. I had to unload the trucks every morning. I was scheduled for 8 hours per day, but there were a couple of days when people would call off, so I had to work 16 hours. My manager told me to go home and get an hour sleep, then come back lol. Towards the end of my store closing, they fired lots of people who had been there 25+ years, some of them were known to steal stuff, but they could never prove it. Needless to say they were canned, then they had about 10 people total, 5 per shift. (not including managers) that is retail for you though, stores come and go over time. Eventually Walmart will go down the same way and all that will be left is Amazon or some other delivery type store. We're pretty close to not having much of anything if China stops shipping stuff to the U.S.
My last semester in college back in '96 I worked as an overnight stocker at the Hadley, MA K-Mart. My Mom worked at the North Adams, MA K-Mart until it closed in 2002. When I moved to Washington state the first store I went to was the Kent, WA K-Mart which eventually closed in 2019 and has since been torn down. It's been sad to watch the K-Mart brand slowly wither and die.
Way back in 1997 I was traveling with family out west and we stopped at a Kmart while we were in St George, Utah. At the time, NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield was driving a Kmart sponsored car and came across a diecast of it in that store. I still have that car today. Hopefully worth something someday.
I worked in the shoe dept. from June 1978 until March 1982. in Southgate Michigan. most people do not know the shoe dept. sporting goods and the Auto dept were not owned by K-mart they only leased the floor space. the shoe dept. was owned by a company called Melville discount out of Hackensack N.J. until later Thom McCann took over. a few years after I left. wish them and Sears could make some kind of comeback. worked with a lot of good people while there.
So sad for me being a GenXer, I lived in Jersey and went to the one on Rt.22 and the other in Kearny since the 80's. Bradlees, WoolWorth, McCory, and KMart were the place to shop
If you wondered why there was no blue light special police light on this Kmart, it was already bought by someone else for 100 dollars who was nostalgic about Kmart, it was even on the news.
My mom worked at S.S. Kreske in 1961 at the soda fountain with the spinning stools and a large bulk candy section. She also worked at a K-Mart in 1975 at the small cafe in back. They had a small deli sandwich section near the front and many good Blue Light specials on small sub sandwiches.
I grew up there. Store looks pretty much exactly the same as I remember it from the 80s. It never really got updated inside or outside. That back area with the tin roof was part of the garden / lawn area. The electronics section in the 80/90s had video games and Nintendo / Super Nintendo display units with playable games.
I was born in Garden City, Michigan, which is about ten miles west of Detroit. Garden City was also the home to the very first KMart, known as store 4000, as well as the very first Little Caesars store.
I was a child growing up in the 1970’s in Westwood and remember when the area this KMart was built on was 26 acres of woods we used to play in. People were concerned back then about bringing such a large retailer into the area. They had a one hour fotomat which was a big draw and promised residents that building in those woods would mitigate residential flooding.
I worked for Kmart from 1977-1993 in four different states. As a manger I helped open new stores in Louisiana, Alabama and Tennessee over those years. I also assisted in remodeling several locations. Kmart was before it’s time and outdated. I helped install one of the first scanning systems used in the country. People called their clothes “cheap”, however some were made in major companies along side “name brands”. For many years Kmart hired employees to only work full time, so they got benefits. Most part time workers were students. After leaving the company for a prominent position in a smaller chain, my family still shopped at Kmart. Kmart made the mistake of building smaller stores in small towns, Walmart started building larger stores in those small towns. Kmart’s buyers didn’t understand that the south didn’t need gear and clothing for the northern states. When Kmart bought Sears, yes they bought sears, they had been bought by an investment firm. That firm began the downfall. Property was sold, re-investment went to the firm management rather than updating the stores. Death by management caused the closure of the chains. The area across from the restrooms was for layaway.
I heard they didn't change the name to K Mart until 1976. Not 1962 like you are reporting. Of course I "hear" lots of things on the internet and Im not going to take your word as YOU being the one who is accurate. Good day.
The first Kmart was in Garden City, Michigan, in 1961, Intersection of Ford Road and (I believe) Inkster Road. New edit: The Kmart name derived from the original S.S. Kresge chain of "5 & 10" stores. There were other affiliate chains, like Jupiter.
@@nelsonmaud1 Kresge "5&10" stores were in place in the 19th century. The Kmart stores were an offshoot of the Kresge stores. The Jupiter 5&10 stores were also operated by Kresge. Jupiter stores were smaller than Kresge stores, some as small as 200 sq.ft.
They really needed to slash those prices to clear the shelves. 30% off isn't going to move product, but I'm sure they already have a buyer to pick up and push all the leftovers. Kmart never invested into modernizing their stores and it always had a trashy stigma, despite often having better goods than walmart in the 90's and 2000's. Ollies does the modern Kmart style pretty well though. Junky enough to have low overhead but there's often plenty of legit deals if you dig around for an hour combing through the store.
"On Sale". They actually jacked the prices up before "Discounting" them, so you think you're saving 30%, but you're paying almost the same as anywhere else regular price. At least that's how the out of business sales work in most of the Massachusetts stores I've been to.
Those electronic components weren't part of the surveillance system, but they were part of the video distribution from the electronics department. That large box is an older commercial Hughes satellite receiver, the one next to it was a newer model, and then there was an HDMI splitter used to show the same picture on all of the TV display models. I used to install these systems in all kinds of retail stores. It brings back old memories working in Kmart stores. My local one closed 3 years ago, and is now an empty lot.
so sad , Kmart Company made so many mistakes ( buying Sears, Borders, and other stores) , not paying attention to their competition ( walt-Mart) , like Blockbuster , Kmart fail to update to modern times , I will always remember the slice of pizza , Ice-Tee and a fried donut they sell on the cafeteria
5:30 - I remember seeing a desk like that in the Super K-mart back office, one of the manager's. 14:30 - Just a guess, but it probably was Layaway. Super K-mart here had restrooms together with the Layaway.
Correct, that is definitely the Layaway. It was a very common layout of a Kmart to have the public restrooms across from the Layaway area. Not all stores, but many did.
I personally don't have too many attachments to K-Mart, but it is jarring to see a big name legacy store close its doors after so long. I do hope the workers got serious compensation and recommendations to other workplaces to keep afloat.
Walking up to K-Mart back in early 70's i would beg my Mom for 25 cents to ride the pony rides. I just bought one for my grandson 50 years later. Merry Christmas Keller.
Kmart was part of my childhood. You could blindfold me and put me in any Kmart in America and I would still know I was in a Kmart. I'll never forget the Kmart scent. It wasn't a bad scent. It was just a Kmart scent. Good memories. So long Kmart.
Thanks for filming I grew up near there my mom worked there from 1985-92 my sister did the summer after she graduated high school in 1994 and I did in june 2000 after I graduated it sucked working there so I quit before July that area near the bathrooms was the layaway counter I went back in august to take a trip down memory lane the things I miss the most were family and friends nights in the 80s maybe 90s the old logo that’s still used in Australia and I miss the eatery that served hot dogs and cookies and icee rip
I sure miss kmart..I grew up to Kmart shopping with mom alot..but then super Walmart was built by it then slowly Kmart became a ghost town..it was sad to remember the good times in Kmart when was so quiet inside..had to go to Walmart afterward to remember the sound of lots of shoppers running with their rattling carts.
About that gunk where the gondolas were. I worked at a Target a long time ago and can tell you, that gunk accumulated with the wax they use to keep those floors shiny. Each month in a rotating basis there would be an area of the store getting the wax stripped then reapplied. I figure this is a common ocurance in any similar sore. Even the seasonal, area where they gondolas were move with each season change to allow space for X-mas trees or patio furniture would need an extra cleaning to get rid of the gunk.
My girlfriend work that exact Kmart in Westwood from 1988 to 1999 i found her 10 year pin & name tag .... weird seeing it like this brings you back... DAN
This is the sad state of American retail stores. My Sears and Kmart share a parking lot and I remember them I’d their heyday. Not a parking spot to be found. Now it’s wasteland. Truly sad…
I live in Missoula, Montana and our Kmart closed in September 2012. When I first moved here when I was 7 (circa 1992), going to Kmart was like going to a candy store. Our family would go to Kmart if they ever had any good deals.
I worked in the Automotive & Sporting Goods departments from 88-94 here in Nampa, ID. That doorway that you first showed would have been the entry/exit to the garden center. that counter back by the restrooms was the layaway department.
Liquid came from floors being cleaned and waxed every night. I was an Assistant Store Manager in California long ago. I used to do the Blue Light Specials. I would promote it on one side of the store and then quickly move across the store. It was fun watching the customers run to see what was on sale. They would laugh and enjoy the deals. Kmart ended it and sort of brought it back but lost it's charm.
All that gunk on the floor is residue from waxing the floors that's why it builds up around where the shelves were because they don't move the shelves in the process
Very interesting. I used to live in Walla Walla, WA in an apartment complex right next door to a K-Mart. And I remember walking over to the K-Mart to buy household items or some groceries. And now several years after moving out, I looked up the Google Maps of Walla Walla, WA and looked up ny apartment and looks like the K-Mart is completely torn down now. I remember as I was moving out I did see the signs going up that it was closing. I really enjoyed that store.
The liquid comes from the floor waxer, and literally it will look like that after one year, counters get moved all the time, I broke down and moved many counters at my Kmart, I really miss the store and the people I worked with.
Very sad video. End of an era for sure. Shopped at K-Mart as a small child with my parents in the 70s. Bought records there as a teenager in the 80s. Then went with my wife in my 20s during the 90s. That little area you wondered about in the back near the bathrooms was probably the layaway area, especially around the Christmas holiday season. Stores like K-Mart and Walmart tucked them away back there.
When this Kmart closes I think that they should put an Ames Department Store in there because Ames Department Stores are returning in 2023 again so can you please tell Ames Department Stores to put an Ames Department Store in there because Ames is a very excellent store thank you.
The liquid under the shelf’s is more then likely from the floor machine. They spray water as they pass anything that gos under the shelf sits for years.
one thing i remember about a KMart here in san antonio texas, was when they had small kid sized shopping carts. my mom would always let me grab one whenever we went shopping. 😏 eras seem to be coming to an end back to back. 😪😔
I remember growing up in, the 90s going to the local Kmart in Reidsville NC mom would always do our layaway there during the Christmas season. Fast forward to 2011 I started working there till the time it closed in 2013. A radio shack a few doors down was closing shortly before we did. I still have my kmart shirt and keychain till this day. As of 2023 the building is used by a storage company.
I grew up next door in Hillsdale, I member when this was just trees! Then the K-Mart Plaza made them create a new street across the RR tracks with signals & everything. Been in here many times over the years, I even remember the old A&P in Westwood, before it turned into a liquor store, and I remember the old Valley Fair in Hillsdale before it turned into a ShopRite.
I use to work at a Kmart in California, long closed. It was the flagship Kmart in Bakersfield. It was one of the first Kmarts to close (1992). This store is in Westwood, one Kmart I never shopped at. It is sad seeing these stores closing. Kmart has been in business some 40 plus years and now we say goodbye.
