Kmart Corporation

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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.[1]

Store history[edit | edit source]

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Total retail outlets, 1909-2005
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Total revenue in billions of USD This is a link to a Wikipedia article, 1909–2005

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.[2] 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8][9][10]

Date Total General
merchandise
S.S. Kresge Jupiter
Discount Stores
Kmart Specialty
retail
12/31/1909 42 42 42
12/31/1910 51 51 51
12/31/1911 64 64 64
12/31/1912 85 85 85
12/31/1913 101 101 101
12/31/1914 118 118 118
12/31/1915 140 140 140
12/31/1916 157 157 157
12/31/1917 166 166 166
12/31/1918 170 170 170
12/31/1919 176 176 176
12/31/1920 189 189 189
12/31/1921 199 199 199
12/31/1922 212 212 212
12/31/1923 233 233 233
12/31/1924 256 256 256
12/31/1925 304 304 304
12/31/1926 367 367 367
12/31/1927 435 435 435
12/31/1928 506 506 506
12/31/1929 597 597 597
12/31/1930 678 678 678
12/31/1931 711 711 711
12/31/1932 719 719 719
12/31/1933 720 720 720
12/31/1934 731 731 731
12/31/1935 745 745 745
12/31/1936 734 734 734
12/31/1937 741 741 741
12/31/1938 745 745 745
12/31/1939 745 745 745
12/31/1940 743 743 743
12/31/1941 736 736 736
12/31/1942 731 731 731
12/31/1943 716 716 716
12/31/1944 711 711 711
12/31/1945 705 705 705
12/31/1946 696 696 696
12/31/1947 696 696 696
12/31/1948 700 700 700
12/31/1949 702 702 702
12/31/1950 694 694 694
12/31/1951 690 690 690
12/31/1952 695 695 695
12/31/1953 692 692 692
12/31/1954 690 690 690
12/31/1955 673 673 673
12/31/1956 676 676 676
12/31/1957 692 692 692
12/31/1958 706 706 706
12/31/1959 725 725 725
12/31/1960 759 759 759 0
12/31/1961 777 777 771 6 0
12/31/1962 821 821 763 40 18
12/31/1963 851 851 747 51 53
12/31/1964 885 885 722 75 88
12/31/1965 895 895 674 99 122
12/31/1966 915 915 647 106 162
1/31/1968 943 943 614 113 216
1/31/1969 982 982 593 116 273
1/31/1970 1,022 1,022 566 118 338
1/31/1971 1,073 1,073 539 123 411
1/31/1972 1,122 1,122 520 116 486
1/31/1973 1,183 1,183 487 116 580
1/31/1974 1,243 1,243 460 111 672
1/31/1975 1,326 1,326 422 101 803
1/31/1976 1,413 1,413 380 98 935
1/31/1977 1,646 1,646 349 91 1,206
1/31/1978 1,782 1,782 329 86 1,367
1/31/1979 1,893 1,893 313 82 1,498 0
1/31/1980 2,146 2,069 296 85 1,688 77
1/31/1981 2,397 2,236 276 75 1,885 161
1/31/1982 2,555 2,374 249 70 2,055 181
1/31/1983 2,569 2,370 183 70 2,117 199
1/31/1984 2,555 2,361 141 60 2,160 186
1/31/1985 3,684 2,351 118 60 2,173 1,169
1/31/1986 3,848 2,332 104 48 2,180 1,516
1/31/1987 4,029 2,342 95 43 2,204 1,687
1/31/1988 3,934 2,273 50 0 2,223 1,661
1/31/1989 4,082 2,301 37 2,264 1,781
1/31/1990 4,259 2,351 36 2,315 1,908
1/31/1991 4,180 2,348 21 2,327 1,832
1/31/1992 4,413 2,389 14 2,375 2,024
1/31/1993 4,791 2,434 13 2,421 2,357
1/31/1994 5,001 2,476 13 2,463 2,515
1/31/1995 3,803 2,462 1 2,461 1,331
1/31/1996 2,475 2,308 0 2,308 167
1/31/1997 2,261 2,261 2,261 0
1/31/1998 2,136 2,136 2,136
1/31/1999 2,161 2,161 2,161
1/31/2000 2,171 2,171 2,171
1/31/2001 2,105 2,105 2,105
1/31/2002 2,114 2,114 2,114
1/31/2003 1,829 1,829 1,829
1/31/2004 1,511 1,511 1,511
1/31/2005 1,479 1,479 1,479

Specialty retail stores[edit | edit source]

Date Total Canmart Shoes Furr's and Bishop's Abra K Dabra Designer Depot Big Top Walden
books
Builders Square Garment Rack PayLess Drugs Bargain Harold's Makro/
PACE
Office Square/
OfficeMax
Sports Giant/
The Sports Authority
American Fare Borders Books Planet Music
1/31/1979 0 0
1/31/1980 77 77 0
1/31/1981 161 85 76
1/31/1982 181 98 83 0 0
1/31/1983 199 98 98 2 1 0
1/31/1984 186 0 147 2 29 8 0 0 0
1/31/1985 1,169 155 0 49 49 898 15 3 0 0
1/31/1986 1,516 161 73 41 955 30 0 183 73
1/31/1987 1,687 168 79 0 994 86 218 142
1/31/1988 1,661 0 0 1,139 118 254 150 0 0
1/31/1989 1,781 1,218 133 269 153 6 2 0 0
1/31/1990 1,908 1,255 141 294 155 56 4 2 1
1/31/1991 1,832 1,268 144 321 0 78 0 19 2
1/31/1992 2,024 1,275 144 401 87 79 36 2 0
1/31/1993 2,357 1,260 165 552 114 179 56 0 31
1/31/1994 2,515 1,216 177 543 127 328 80 44 0
1/31/1995 1,331 1,102 166 0 0 0 53 10
1/31/1996 167 0 167 0 0
1/31/1997 0 0

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. "Summary for: Kmart Corporation", LARA Corporations Online Filing System, Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, cofs.lara.state.mi.us.
  2. "Mount Clements Pottery Company", Local History Sketches, Mount Clemens Public Library, 2008.
  3. S.S. Kresge Company 1954 Annual Report, p. 6.
  4. S.S. Kresge Company 1961 Annual Report, p. 10.
  5. "Shakeout in kiddie pizza places", Detroit Free Press, April 1, 1984, page 2F.
  6. Bovee, Tim. "K mart to Sell U.S. Kresge, Jupiter Stores to McCrory", The Associated Press, April 3, 1987.
  7. [1]
  8. S.S. Kresge Company and Kmart Corporation Annual Reports: 1912–1985, 1992, 1994–2001, via archive.org.
  9. KMART CORP (annual reports 1993-2002), EDGAR, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
  10. KMART HOLDING CORP (annual reports 2003-2004), EDGAR, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.