Kmart Corporation

Kmart Corporation, also known as Kmart Holding Corporation, was a retail business that existed from 1899 to 2005, when it merged with Sears, Roebuck and Company to create Sears Holdings Corporation. Incorporated in 1912, the S.S. Kresge Company originated as the owner of the S.S. Kresge variety store chain. After Kresge created the Kmart chain of discount department stores in 1962, Kmart became the company's predominant business and its name was officially changed to K mart Corporation in 1977. As part of a rebranding effort, the space was removed from "K mart" in the corporation's name in 1991.

Store history
For the first six decades of the company's existence, its only retail business was S.S. Kresge variety stores, the first of which opened in 1899 in Detroit, Michigan. It also purchased the Mount Clemens Pottery Company factory in 1920, later selling it in 1965. The first Kresge stores in Canada opened in 1929. By 1954, there were nearly 700 Kresge stores in the northeastern and central United States and Canada, with no locations south of Missouri or west of Nebraska.

In the late 1950s, Kresge began expanding to become a major national retailer. The company went from operating in 26 states in 1954 to 42 states by the end of 1961. In 1961, it began converting poorly-performing Kresge locations into Jupiter Discount Stores. The following year, the company launched the Kmart chain of discount department stores, which were significantly larger and more profitable than its variety stores. By the end of 1966, the company's 162 Kmart stores in the United States and Canada brought in more yearly revenue than its 753 Kresge and Jupiter stores.

In 1979, Kmart Corporation acquired the Canadian subsidiary of SCOA Industries, which had been responsible for operating the footwear departments in Canadian Kmart stores as well as operating 77 standalone shoe stores. These 77 stores became the company's first specialty retail division. In 1980, it acquired Furr's Cafeterias. The company created two new ventures in 1982, opening its first Designer Depot off-price women's apparel store and two Abra K Dabra pizza restaurants and entertainment centers.

In 1983, the company acquired the Bishop Buffets restaurant chain, opened its first Big Top Stores, sold off Canmart Shoes, and closed its two experimental Abra K Dabra locations. In 1984, it acquired Waldenbooks and Builders Square and opened three experimental Garment Rack stores as part of the Designer Depot division. The company continued its string of acquisitions in 1985 with the purchase of Pay Less Drug Stores Northwest and Bargain Harold's. Big Top Stores, Designer Depot, Furr's Cafeterias, and Bishop's Buffets were eliminated from the company by the end of 1987, and all Kresge and Jupiter stores in the United States were sold to McCrory Corporation.

In 1988, Kmart Corporation acquired the Makro chain of warehouse stores and opened two Office Square stores. The company acquired PACE Membership Warehouses, and opened its first American Fare hypermarket and two Sports Giant stores in 1989. In 1990, it consolidated some of its smallest ventures, converting Makro stores into PACE warehouses and Sports Giant stores into its newly acquired subsidiary, The Sports Authority. The Office Square stores were sold to OfficeMax, which Kmart Corporation acquired the following year. In 1992, the company acquired Borders Books.

Facing serious financial pressure after being surpassed by Walmart as the largest discount retailer in the United States, Kmart Corporation rapidly dismantled its specialty retailing operations. PACE, Pay Less, Sports Authority, and OfficeMax were sold or liquidated in 1994, and most of the remaining Kresge stores in Canada closed the same year. The company also made its last acquisition in 1994, Planet Music. In 1995, Borders, Waldenbooks, and Planet Music were spun off, and one final Kresge store in Canada closed.

The company's last specialty subsidiary, Builders Square, was sold to Hechinger Company in 1996. From that point onward, Kmart Corporation's operations consisted exclusively of Kmart stores. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2002, and was reorganized into a subsidiary of the newly-formed Kmart Holding Corporation. The corporation merged with Sears, Roebuck and Company in 2005, ceasing to exist as an independent entity and creating Sears Holdings Corporation.