Big K

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
Dec 14, 2011
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And just like that....
The last K Mart store even remotely close by, is closing for good.

Good bye to yet another store that defined America's past

Man_Who_Mysteriously_Disappeared_From-a9aac4c90118ca2b0c69cf17a1ae854a.jpg
 
Yep, they all closed around here a few years ago. That's where my Mom used to takes me and my brothers and sisters. And Jamesway.
 
I remember reading a SOF (Solider of Fortune) magazine in the early eighty's that had an overlay of where all the Russian nuke attack site locations were for the US. It matched up almost perfectly with a map of K-Mart store locations. Wonder if they have adjusted their target threat assessment strategies now?
 
Our K-mart, which is 20 miles away in Glasgow, the little town I live in has much of nothing, closed and now it's a Rural King, just opened 2 weeks ago, I'm loving the new Rural King, but miss the K-mart.
 
Mopar-Mitch said:
Our K-mart, which is 20 miles away in Glasgow, the little town I live in has much of nothing, closed and now it's a Rural King, just opened 2 weeks ago, I'm loving the new Rural King, but miss the K-mart.
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That's what our old K-Mart is. A Rural King. About 3-4 years now. I do like it.
 
Who remembers "Kresge's"?

That's where the "K" in K Mart comes from.

Same colors, same "key-..." price tags.

IIRC, even a blue light.

...but much smaller stores with lunch counters.
 
...and I likes me some Rural King, too.
 
We had two in my area. The dumpy one closed but the clean one seems to do good business, not that that matters much nowadays. I've seen well trafficked business's close there doors.
 
The departed K Mart here is now a U Haul dispenser. I am thinking they are using all that square footage inside for those mini sea train storage units.
 
Rainy Day Auto said:
And just like that....
The last K Mart store even remotely close by, is closing for good.

Good bye to yet another store that defined America's past

View attachment 1715398525
Click to expand...
Good lesson to be learned here. A successful business can not sit back and reflect on what they did so well. But have to keep up with the times and be constantly reinventing them selves. It like in many family businesses, the first generation builds it, the second only maintains it and the third generation put it in the ground.
 
The K left here many years ago, and Sears not long ago. I had not had any use for K Mart for many many years. Dingy, can't find anyone, when you did they didn't GAF. None of these big stores are doing what they need. Lowe's/ HD is near the same "class." They don't care what they stock, or what you want, or really give you a choice. They have lots and lots of "stuff" but no real choice. Quality is far down the list. They have lots and lots of hardware and STILLl no real selection. When I put the steering into the little 12ft boat, their small pulleys/ blocks selection was dismal. I actually bought a couple of things at ACE
 
Kitty and I met at KMart. I've always called her my blue light special. lol

I knew though several years ago when KMart bought Sears out they were both doomed. And it happened.
 
Our county has 1 traffic light and a Sonic. I have no use for the traffic light.. Slows me down.... Ain't that fast anyway....Never was..
 
At one time I worked in maintenance at the K-mart distribution center. That's why they went bankrupt. I left and they came out of bankruptcy.:) Then they bought Sears. Talk about a death spiral.
 
We had one K-Mart locally, they shut it down a few years ago and turned it into a church. It was a dismal place, ratty everything from merchandise to store fixtures, bad lighting, and don't GAD attitude. Sorry to see an icon slip off into the night, but I don't miss them. The few times I went in there I left feeling grimy.

Same for our local Sears store which shut down this year. They refused to get with the current buying trends. There are only so many prissy 45+ soccer mom's in circulation to support your store. Remain stuck in the 80's and you will be irrelevant and gone in current times.
 
I liked K Mart because it sort of remind me of going on vacation for some reason.
The stores had a old, small town cheap and funky look down here in the south.
Go out late at night for a needed item.
Or stop in Apalachicola or Daytona for fishing gear.
Can't explain it anymore than that.
Can anyone relate to that ?
Never go to Wally World unless I can't get something anywhere else.
I've got religious convictions against it.
 
I loved what KMart used to be. They had a badass sporting goods department back in the day.
 
We had 3 K Marts in town, and they have all been shut down. Two of them are now Publix Supermarkets, and the other one is going to be a local supermarket (Ingles). Sears at The Asheville Mall is gone too. It's being turned into condos or something that the hippies are screaming for. :rolleyes:
 
RustyRatRod said:
Kitty and I met at KMart. I've always called her my blue light special. lol
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That is great!

I grew up with K Mart. Mom took us there for school clothes, pool equipment, lawn furniture, BBQ supplies....I wore TRAXX shoes for years! I also wore those high on the calf socks with stripes.
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Me at 14 or 15, not sure.

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My older brother on the left, me on the right. 1984, I was 19 and still wearing K-Mart shoes!
 
Kern Dog said:
That is great!

I grew up with K Mart. Mom took us there for school clothes, pool equipment, lawn furniture, BBQ supplies....I wore TRAXX shoes for years! I also wore those high on the calf socks with stripes.
View attachment 1715398732
Me at 14 or 15, not sure.

View attachment 1715398733
My older brother on the left, me on the right. 1984, I was 19 and still wearing K-Mart shoes!
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That's pretty cool. We always wore the old Keds canvas shoes. My feet were always so big they looked like Ronald McDonald. By the time I was 19 I was in a 13EEE like I still am.
 
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