Ours closed two years ago and I’m thrilled because we got a Homegood, Marshals and Hobby Lobby in its place.

Ours closed years ago! So long, I cannot even remember!

At one time this area had five Sears stores. No there is only one as the fourth one closed a couple of weeks ago.

Ours closed so long ago, I can't remember the year. What I really miss is our JCPenney. AND, a nice grocery store other than our one Safeway and one local ownership. Other women leave town for maybe a nice lunch and Nordstrom. These days, I'm taking coolers and buying groceries ;0)

That is too bad Kathy. I didn't think that one would close. It seems like it would do well there as no other store like that close by.

Ours closed almost 25 years ago, but a year or two later was Target completely renovated the site (flooding) and moved in to the store! Whoo hoo! Then a Staples was built, a big wine store, and across the highway now there’s a CVS, a bank, and a couple other things. Hoping something better comes along for you!

We had 2 and both closed. Both of them took over 6 months to finally close for good because their going out of business sales were ridiculous. No good deals at all. I went hoping for a good deal on Christmas lights and they were only 5 percent off. This after it had been "going out of business" for 3 months already. Anyway, one now houses a walmart neighborhood market which I frequent and the other is now an Ollie's discount store which I have never been in.

Lately I noticed there were lots of empty shelves, that they were filling up with large packs of paper towels, toilet paper and bottled water. Also there were walls with empty pegs.

A friend said her friend who worked at Kmart said the store was sold and was going to be run on a smaller scale.

But tonight DH and I were talking and I did a search. Kmart will close in December.

Amylou, you are so right, I went to the Kmart in Alpena when they were selling everything off and the prices were not good.Like you said, 5% off, maybe.

Unfortunately this a small community and it will be sorely missed. Not everyone can afford the gas to go so many miles.

Our Peebles store is closing too. I'm going to miss having the Clinique and Estee Lauder counters. Have to order online! :( some of their merchandise is still only at 20 percent off and they are closing in December, although they Will just ship it to another store.

Ours closed several years ago, we got a Marc's in its place. I've never been in it yet but I assume it's very close to what the K-Mart store was. Someone said they have good produce.

Just an FYI which may not pertain to what happens at "closing sales" in your area. Companies in this area hire a "closer" to handle these types of sales. The "closer" brings in stuff that has never been in that store before in the hopes that people will see a bargain.

Depending on the store some of the departments may actually be handled by a vendor who provides the merchandise. The vendor can and often does remove all of their merchandise. Jewelry and cosmetics are common areas that are not part of the actual stores inventory.

schoolhouse,

Marc's has a few stores my area. According to neighbors, the close locations are clean and well stocked with good produce. We haven't shopped Marc's since we left northern Ohio.

I would consider Marc's two grades higher than KMart.

Marylmi, I didn’t know that Peebles is closing! I don’t shop there often, but it was a very nice store.

Many of the older retailers have tired practices that people have moved on from. They also have had difficulty dealing with online sellers.

Expect more to close.

I rarely went to KMart (when one was near) because the stores seemed always dirty and messy, and a lot of the merchandise was unattractive (in price, quality or appearance). I think my last time that I bought anything there (well before it closed) was when they had Martha Stewart branded items -- and those have held up well. Target always seemed to be competitive on price with KMart, yet a much nicer shopping experience.

I agree about Sears being a lousy place to by women's clothing, but I like the children's stuff okay. I really preferred Sears for appliances and tools of all sorts and for that alone I am sorry that they couldn't seem to keep customers.

I shop at Marc's fairly regularly. I save a couple of dollars on a box of Red Rose tea there vs. any other grocery, and they usually have good prices on produce, as well as good specials on meat. Their closeout section tends to be worth checking out, also. I've gotten some great buys there - my Mikasa stoneware, years ago, and some very nice frying pans recently.

Nearest Target to us is 2 hours away. No chance they will come here!

Ours closed a couple years ago and Target opened in the space. Much better, I think. Saddest for me is that the grocery store I could walk to closed and nothing has moved in. I miss having a grocer so close.

I am saddened by KMart and Sears. I used to love to shop there. They had affordable clothing that was trendy enough for everyday use. Kmart's clothes became too cheaply made. I would shop the Sears clearance sales and get some great buys. They went to more of a grunge or gangster look in kid's clothes. My kids hated that. I found I didn't like the women's fabrics and the styles weren't cut for flattering fits.

We have so much shopping here within an hour's drive that I don't miss them much. I really don't miss them.I did love their prices.

Ours is closing in December. It won't bother me as I hardly ever shopped in it. We are getting a Dollar Tree about the same time, just next door and I do like to go in there.

Sue

I'm imagining vast swaths of America populated only by self-driving tractors and other machinery that can also feed, herd, slaughter and ship animals. Maybe there will be a few humans, as isolated as lighthouse keepers -- typing posts to the KT.

chisue, maybe not quite as you imagine it to be, but the trend to urbanization isn't new and isn't restricted to the US. It's economic more than anything else. Finding job opportunities to make an adequate living in rural and farm areas is difficult, especially with falling population levels and the closure of large employment sites as in the Rust Belt. So people move to or near bigger cities where there are more opportunities. Or they stay where they are and try to deal with being unemployed or underemployed.

There will always be people who want to live a more isolated lifestyle in a very small town, in the woods, on a farm, or up in the mountains, but doing so involves foregoing the choices and economic opportunities available for most things in life people want access to that are available in urban areas, including shopping.

Wiki article on urbanization

You are right Elmer. We chose to move away from the big cities with the big box stores.

We love how quiet it is up here in northeast MI. Love looking out at the lake and long pontoon rides.

But for many people that longer drive means more gas and less $ for Groceries.

There are very few places of good employment up here. In fact, our county provides free breakfast and lunch to all students.

Kmart employees will be hurting, I’m sure.

There are only 3 Kmarts left in Minnesota. One is scheduled to close at the end of the month and another is scheduled to close in December. The remaining store is said to be the highest volume store in the chain but the City is trying to close it down to redevelop the area. Of course, Transformco is fighting it but it will probably be a losing battle. The City wants them to move but it's in a walking community so their clientele wouldn't want to see them move very far, I'm sure.

I also saw that 26 Sears and Kmart stores will close at the end of October. Last rites were given to Sears/Kmart years ago and it's just a slow agonizing death to the former retail powerhouse. Kind of sad in a lot of ways. But times change and so many gigantic blunders were made by them. You can't keep shooting yourself in the foot and thrive. And closing problems aren't unique to Kmart/Sears. Walmart has had quite a few closings too, which in a way is surprising.

It's official here too.

The End

And the End

Michael, thanks for the links. I never saw the Ship My Pants commercial, liked it!

Just spent over $50 there this week, Christmas gifts, etc. Will be doing a lot more online shopping this season!

The retailing world has changed and old names fade away. There are still some fresher ones that are able to thrive or at least hold their places while the others go down. They do so by taking other than a traditional approach, by offering something different or in a different way that customers like. Walmart, Costco, and Target come to mind.

Target stores in particular have always seemed to me as not too different from K Marts but more cool and with more style and verve. In my area, Target stores are pretty busy while K Marts are nearly empty. One difference is I think Targets tend to have better locations but that may not be true everywhere.

I would love a Target near me, but closest is 2 hours south. A Walmart is 30 minutes south, but I do not care for it. But shop there once a month for a few items. I will go north 45 minutes to Meijers.

Where we moved from last year, the Kmart had gone out probably about 15 years ago and we were within 6 miles of about 3 different Targets.

Where we are now, we have a Kmart about 5 miles away, right near a gym I go to. This Kmart is not scheduled to close. We have about 3 Targets but they are more like 10 miles away. I so was hoping that the Kmart would become a Target....

I do remember back in the day I used to like Kmart and got so many nice things- kids clothing, clothing for moi, and even some great housewares. It was very much like Target today. So sad what it has become.

I too miss the Kmart of old. Shopped there since 1977. Before that we were near a Kresege’s.

I was hoping Kohls would take over our old Kmart store but I heard that a small manufacturing plant is going in there which will be a few more jobs for the town, so that is good.

I hope what you heard is true, really need good jobs here.

I’ve heard lots of things, hope you are right.

We still have a KMart here... quite surprised it's not on the list to be closed. The few times I've been in there the past year I was not impressed and there certainly are never many cars in the parking lot.

As for Marc's - one of my favorite stores! I believe they are only in NE Ohio though. Their close out aisles are great - never know what you might find. They also have the best prices on Keurig type coffee pods. And their produce is always fresh and well priced.

Schoolhouse, you need to check out your new Marc's. It's nothing like KMart, more of a grocery and drug store, no clothes other than maybe some close out ones.