BRIDGEHAMPTON, New York — Kmart, a retail giant that once had more than 2,000 stores across the U.S., said goodbye Sunday to its last full-size location.
The store in Bridgehampton, New York, closed its doors for the final time Sunday night, USA Today reports. There is a smaller version of Kmart still operating in Miami. There also are a few locations in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“This was our go-to when we were growing up,” shopper Shahlise Cherry told CNN as she shopped on Sunday. “Whatever we needed, come back here multiple times a week, sometimes in the same day. We’d come to hang out here with our friends.”
The final Kmart location will be replaced with a Target, CNN reports.
Kmart was a retail behemoth in the 1980s and 1990s, known for its “Blue Light Specials.” NBC New York reports that at one point 95% of Americans lived within 15 minutes of a Kmart.
But Kmart’s fortunes took a turn as competitors such as Target, Walmart and Meijer began to gain traction. Kmart merged with Sears in 2005, but both retailers continued to struggle. Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2018, CNN reports. Very few Sears stores remain open.
Sears and Kmart have closed about 3,500 locations and laid off 250,000 workers during the past 15 years, USA Today reports.