Beloved retail chain leaves shoppers scrambling after closing its last full-size American store

Iconic discount retailer, Kmart, will shutter its last full-size location in the U.S> tomorrow as shoppers grab closing discounts and reminisce on fond memories of the store.

With carts stocked full of discounted items, customers have flocked in recent days to grab their final purchases from Kmart’s location in Bridgehampton, New York, marking the end of an era.

Two shoppers, Shahlise Cherry and Deborah Arnone, went to visit to look back fondly on their memories of the store and grab heavily discounted items that were up to 70 percent off the regular price.

Cherry said although she was once a regular shopper, it had been some time since she had been, telling CNN: ‘ It was out of my loop for so long. They didn’t have many things I needed.’

Kmart has become one of the many once iconic American chains to have closed in recent years, such as Toys ‘R’ Us, RadioShack, Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as Sears.

By Wednesday, the Long Island store was almost completely empty. Stripped not only of stock, but also their shelving, what was left was an empty space roughly the size of a football field.

‘This was our go-to when we were growing up. 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,’ Shahlise Cherry said

By Wednesday, the Long Island store was almost completely empty. Stripped not only of stock, but also their shelving, and what was left was an empty space roughly the size of a football field

Many factors have contributed to the changing scenery of retailers, such as changing consumer habits, economic status, bad management and competition from bigger rival companies.

Cherry, who used to buy all her school supplies at the Bridgehampton Kmart location, told the outlet: ‘This was our go-to when we were growing up. 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.’

As Cherry walked the aisles, signs were plastered on the front of the store advertising the 70 percent off, and warning customers that all sales were final.

The store was a big part of the local life, with the nearest Walmart and Target locations about 25 miles away and catered to the ‘everyday’ people instead of the richer crowd from the nearby Hamptons area.

Arnone told CNN: ‘We need a store like this. There’s nothing in the Hamptons for regular people to shop in.’

Arnone told CNN: ‘We need a store like this. There’s nothing in the Hamptons for regular people to shop in’

However, it’s been years since Kmart could compete with rivals like Walmart and Target.

Shopper Sarah Bullock told the outlet that she remembered buying toys for children and grandchildren in Kmart.

She said: ‘I always liked the prices. I’m sad to see it go. It’s the bargains I think about when I think of Kmart.’

Another shopper, Jessica Cohan, said: ‘I remember going shopping at Kmart with my dad. We used to buy everything here. But now, like everyone else, I do a lot of my shopping online. It’s a lot more convenient.’

The Kmart chain has operated for 135 years, selling products from clothes and appliances to hardware and electronics. At their peak in 1994, the chain had 2,323 stores.

The Kmart in Bridgehampton, New York will permanently close on October 20, an employee said

Jessica Cohan said: ‘I remember going shopping at Kmart with my dad. We used to buy everything here. But now, like everyone else, I do a lot of my shopping online. It’s a lot more convenient’. (Pictured: A store in Southfield, Michigan, that was closed in 2003.)

The chain became known for their ‘blue light specials’, which would ensue a rush of customers to buy discounted goods.

Kmart was founded by Sebastian Spering Kresge as the SS Krege Company in 1899 in the Detroit suburb of Garden City, as a dime store where shoppers could find daily needs such as housewares, clothes and toys.

It filed for bankruptcy twice since the turn of the century, as its global profit margins fell from $49 billion in 2005 to just $3.26 billion in 2020.

Their $11 billion merger with Sears in 2005, drove them into further doom.

At the time, Kmart still had 1,400 stores and Sears had nearly 900. When the retailer emerged from bankruptcy, Sears was left with 231 stores, and Kmart, 191 stores.

Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018, and then sold 202 stores to Transform Holdco, with the rest liquidated.

In addition to the Bridgehampton store shutting this week and the small Miami shop, there was another in Westwood in New Jersey that closed for good on February 2 this year.

Arnone added: ‘It’s sad. It’s the end of an era. We shopped here for Christmas every year. It was a mainstay out here.’