Soon There Will Only Be One Kmart Left in Minnesota
Kmart announced that they will be closing two of their three remaining stores in Minnesota.
The three stores that remain are located in International Falls, St. Paul, and Minneapolis. International Falls and St. Paul will be closing up shop by the end of 2019.
Transfom Holdco LLC bought the Sears Corporation's assets earlier in 2019 (the purchase included Kmart). They made the announced on Saturday, August 31st that the Kmart stores will be permanently closed by mid-December.
The liquidation sales are expected to begin in mid-September, and the parent company is encouraging customers to continue shopping on Kmart.com for all their product needs.
Kmart has been struggling for most of the 2000's. Back in 2001 they filed for bankruptcy and closed 284 stores nationwide, including six in Minnesota. In 2005 they joined forces with Sears, but that didn't pan out too well. And in 2014 they lost four more Minnesota stores including the one that used to be in Waite Park.
Walmart, Target and Kmart all came onto the shopping scene in 1962, and for a while Kmart was actually the front runner of the three thanks to pop culture latching on to their "blue light specials". Until November 1990, Kmart was the second-largest retailer in the United States, after Sears.
The last Kmart in Minnesota will remain open at 10 W Lake St, Minneapolis. But for how long? Only time will tell.