Last Full-Sized Kmart In US, Located In Hamptons, To Close Next Month

BRIDGEHAMPTON — Attention Kmart shoppers: It's the end of an era. Kmart, a longtime retail chain known for its "blue light specials" and carrying everything under the sun at a discount, is set to close its last full-sized location in the United States next month.

The lone surviving Kmart, located at 2044 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton Commons, will shut its doors soon, a store employee told Patch, adding that deep store-closing discounts of 40-percent off are currently available.

The retail space, owned by Kimco Realty Corp., will definitely close in October, Jennifer Maisch, vice president of marketing and corporate communications for the firm confirmed with Patch.

For years, tony Hamptonites have headed to Kmart for the everyday basics at an affordable price — electronics, toys, clothing, bedding, furniture and home decor — that couldn't be found anywhere else without an hour-plus hike to Riverhead (and that's without summer traffic).

But Kmart devotees have long been worried that the end was near: Kmart's parent company, Tranformco, announced in 2019 that the Bohemia store would close in 2020. That store, located at 5151 Sunrise Highway, was among 96 Sears and Kmart store that were shut down in February 2020.

Transformco did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Patch about the Bridgehampton store's closure.

"Since purchasing substantially all the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation in February 2019, Transformco has faced a difficult retail environment and other challenges," the company wrote in a statement in 2019. "We have been working hard to position Transformco for success by focusing on our competitive strengths and pruning operations that have struggled due to increased competition and other factors. To support these initiatives, our owners (along with a third-party investor) have recently provided the company approximately $250 million in new capital."

As a result, the company made the "difficult but necessary" decision in 2019 to close the businesses.

After the closing of the Bohemia store, only one Kmart remained on Long Island, in Bridgehampton. A Farmingville Kmart closed in 2019.

After the Bridgehampton store closes, the only store remaining will be a smaller Miami location.

According to Transformco, Kmart was born when Sebastian Spering Kresge opened a five-and-dime store in downtown Detroit. Under the helm of Harry B. Cunningham, who became Kresge president in 1959, the first Kmart discount department store opened in 1962 in Garden City, Michigan; 17 additional Kmart stores opened that year, leading to corporate sales of more than $483 million, Transformco said.

"In 1977, nearly 95 percent of S.S. Kresge Company sales were generated by Kmart stores. To reflect this dramatic impact, the company officially changed its name to Kmart Corporation. Ten years later, Kmart sold the remaining Kresge stores to fully concentrate on discount merchandising," Transformco said.

"Blue-light specials," sales announced in store with blue lights that were available only for 15 minutes, were the stuff of memories for generations of families who shopped at the store.

Although by 2000, there were 2,200 Kmart, Big Kmart, and Super Kmart stores spread across the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, by 2002, faced with competition in the form of other discount chains, Kmart declared bankruptcy, Brittanica Money said.

Still the business forged ahead, closing some stores but ultimately emerging from Chapter 11, Transformco said.

Kmart is still a presence in the U.S. Virgin Island, with three stores, and in Australia, New Zealand and other locations overseas.

The Bridgehampton location, which took over the site of the former Caldor, had its share of Hamptons moments.

Justin Bieber was spotted in Bridgehampton Commons in 2016 — along with his three traveling tour buses and a few SUVs. Bieber had performed on tour in Baltimore and had a performance on Saturday in New Jersey, so his visit was a quick trip to the Hamptons.

But the star did have time to pop into the iconic Kmart, where an employee said: "On Friday afternoon, Justin bought a Panama hat here."