Original Kmart Among 10 in Michigan Closing this Spring

The Garden City Kmart store, the first store opened in 1962 in the empire founded by American businessman Sebastian S. Kresge, is among 10 in Michigan and 108 nationwide that will close this spring. Sears Holdings, the corporate parent of Kmart and Sears, made the announcement Wednesday.

The financially struggling retailer is also closing 42 of its Sears stores, or about 10 percent of the Sears’ base. The 150 total stores to be closed include 30 Kmart and 16 Sears stores that were announced on Dec. 27.

In a statement, Sears holding said the decision to close unprofitable stores was “a difficult but necessary step” to turn around the money-hemorrhaging company.

“Many of these stores have struggled with their financial performance for years and we have kept them open to maintain local jobs and in the hopes that they would turn around,” the company said. “But in order to meet our objective of returning to profitability, we have to make tough decisions and will continue to do so, which will give our better performing stores a chance at success.”

Liquidation sales will begin as early as Friday, Jan. 6, at the stores that are closing.

Employees at the stores affected by the closure will receive severance pay and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart and Sears stores, the company said.

• See Also: 4 Michigan Macy’s Stores Among 68 to Close Nationwide

More Kmart stores in Michigan than in any other state are closing. Besides the original Kmart store 29600 Ford Road in Garden City, other Michigan stores slated for closure are located in:

• Plymouth, at 40855 Ann Arbor Road
• Roseville, at 17580 Frazho Road
• Waterford, at 3541 Highland Road
• Westland, at 165 Wayne Road
• Jackson, at 3555 O’Neill Drive
• Adrian, at 1396 South Main St.
• Lansing, at 5400 S. Cedar St.
• Muskegon, at 1501 E. Apple Ave.
• Acme Township, at 6455 U.S. 31 N

A Sears store at 3099 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids, is on the list of Sears and Kmart stores to be closed.

The announcement was made on the same day that Macy’s announced it is closing 68 stores nationwide, including four in Michigan.

The Garden City Kmat store opened on March 1, 1962, according to the Facebook group Garden City Mi. Nostalgia. Sebastian S. Kresge bought a handful of five-and-dime stores from variety store pioneer Frank Woolworth in 1897 and operated S.S. Kresge stores for many years before noticing a change in consumer habits after World War II.

The first Kmart predated Walmart by about four months as the nation’s first big-box retailer. It was known for its “blue-light specials,” In its heyday, the popular phrase “attention, Kmart shoppers” that announced the discounts was worked in the scrips of films and other media, including Troop Beverly Hills, Six Days Seven Nights, Rain Man, Beetlejuice, Madea Goes to Jail and Dawn of the Dead.

Read more history below.

Feature photo by Mike Kalasnik via Flickr Commons