The death of Kmart

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The Death of Kmart: What Happened to an American Icon? Once a retail giant, Kmart dominated shopping malls and neighborhoods across the U.S. So what led to its downfall? In this video, we take a quick look at the rise and dramatic fall of Kmart — from Blue Light Specials to bankruptcy and store closures.

Transcript

00:00when the words attention came our shoppers meant something a blue flashing light in the distance

00:08wasn't just a sale it was a moment family gatherings carts clattering and the smell of

00:16popcorn mixed with the ionized plastic toys Kmart was America at its peak over 2,000 stores

00:25painted the country red white and K it was the back-to-school stop the Saturday errand

00:33the place where you picked up socks fishing clothes and maybe a birthday gift all in one trip

00:39hi I'm Kaniyam Nelson and welcome to all up in the past let's talk about attention Kmart shoppers

00:49the death of Kmart

00:50but then slowly quietly Kmart began to disappear missteps mismanagement and missed opportunities

01:05while Walmart expanded and Target rebranded Kmart stayed stuck in time online shopping rose and

01:14shelves thin and in 2002 bankruptcy came a-calling there were mergers layoffs store closures one

01:23after the thanks and on one kawaii day in April in 2022 something heartbreaking happened only

01:30three Kmart stores were left in the entire United States there were no fair world tours no commercials

01:36just silence a handful of employees folding shirts with no one to buy them the death of Kmart wasn't just about a store it was about the memories

01:45off the railway tickets clutched in your mom's hands of picking out toys with the birthday money

01:52of those strange but somehow comforting cafeteria meals today the signs are faded the aisles are dusty

02:01but in the hearts millions of Americans Kmart is still there frozen in time a relic of everyday magic

02:10and maybe that's the real story the day that Kmart died was the day that we realized how much we had

02:17grown up as always don't forget to like share and subscribe and join us on our next video and check out

02:24pwechannel.com thank you for watching

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