So I went to Kmart yesterday here in Baltimore and my experience only increased my first hand knowledge of why Kmart is failing in the Big Box Store category. My experience started in the parking lot. It was full of pot holes, the parking spots were barely distinguishable and there were carts all over. I rarely shop at Kmart and only went there because I was in another store across the street. I went in looking for tank tops, that is all I wanted. I am disabled and need a scooter, there was one scooter and it had an out of order sign on it. The areas of the store were not clearly marked so here I am leaning on a cart because I couldn't get a scooter and of course searching the store starting at the wrong end. I get to where they are supposed to be...notice the wording...and the aisle was horrendous! It was a good thing I didn't have a scooter because the floor was so cluttered with packages that had fallen I wouldn't have gotten in there. Of course there were no tank tops at all on the shelf (after having to dig through stuff that was shelved wrong). So I set off trying to find an employee to ask. The nearest one was leaning on a register talking to another employee, and not having any of my interrupting her conversation. Needless to say I didn't get my tank tops and will take my business to Walmart or the like and never return here.
That's how it looks on a daily basis it's a mess in there. I stopped shopping there because of all of the clutter in the isles. Once a business starts to have a bad reputation there's nothing they can do to recover. Walmart has most of the customers because of their wide selection from electronics, clothes, and groceries. It really is a one stop shop for everything you need. R.I.P Kmart you won't be missed.
Kmart really is going down the drain everywhere you go. I know of three in the city where I live and they are absolutely disgusting, even from the outside (as you stated, potholes for example). Walmart really is taking over and soon Kmart might go under.
The K Mart over where we live has always been a mess. Even when K Mart was the big store around, it was always messy and the customer service was/ is poor. It's bad that you being disabled that their store wasn't properly equipped to make your shopping easier as well. And I had no idea K mart was closing up shop. Although, it makes perfect sense. I haven't seen one of their commercials in ages.
The writing is on the wall for Kmart. It has been announced that several are closing by the end of the year. The merge with Sears did not save the store as hoped.
Well, that was a disheartening story, but Kmart isn't dying out because of all of that. That is a result of Kmart dying out. They weren't able to compete with the leases that they were pretty much stuck in and the proliferation of mega malls. If you've already invested X amount of years in a neighborhood or city and the city decides to move in another direction with their renewal plans, you pretty much find yourself just waiting for it to finally be over.
I have noticed a lot of K-Marts in the shape you described - neglected and disorganized. I think they have literally given up and no longer care anymore.
Honestly, why is this store still around?!? I remember when they built one in our neighborhood when I was young. Right from the start it looked white trash. My mom wanted to go check it out, so off we went. I was young, maybe 10 years old, but I still remember that clothes were thrown on the floor, with employees never bothering to pick them up, rude/unhelpful employees, people that shopped there looking like they had just rolled out of bed and didn't even bother to put a comb through their hair let alone put on an outfit that was clean, and dirty kids running around unsupervised and throwing things everywhere. And this wasn't even in a bad neighborhood where you'd almost expect all that. This store can't go under soon enough for me. The second I read or hear the name, Kmart, the first word that comes to mind is "YUCK".
Damn. Been a long time since I've been inside a Kmart. If I recall correctly, the last time I was shopping or have shopped at Kmart, was when I was 18 or something. I too thought they had died out to just about 5 stores across the country. Wal Mart put them out of business though. Honestly, it's just the better and superior, "mart". Of the two.
There's only 2 advantages that Kmart has. Walmart stopped having layaway and Kmart still does the layaway thing. Walmart is closed on Christmas and Kmart is open on Christmas Day. A young dude at Kmart told me Christmas is when they make a lot of their money because they're the only store open. Walmart has better variety and prices and Target has style and cachet and famous designers doing budget lines for them. All Kmart has is layaway and being open on holidays.
That is an awful story Especially being unable to get a scotter. What a disaster. I have a K-Mart not far from where I live. Although it may be closed by now, as I have not been there in a while. But when I did visit the store, it was orderly, with no carts in the lot, as the attendents or shoppers put them back in place. It's sad to see chains closing down the stores. It makes you wonder who will have staying power.
Kmart should've just become an online retailer like amazon. Online retail is the future. Human beings are at times an ungodly bunch. That's why it's good to have the option of online shopping. You don't always have to leave the house to shop.
I knew from the time I was old enough to understand such things that Walmart was going to put Kmart out of business. Kmart doesn't really act like a big box store should, they manage thenselves like a smaller local store (At least the one around here does). I don't know why but I think it's one of the reasons it's failing. Walmart has a sort of "Mass production" feel that people like.
There is a Kmart that I know of that is a disaster. They just weren't able to keep up as Walmart and Target ran past them. Just for the sake of the jobs I hope that they can get their act together.
I haven't been to a K-Mart in years. The one we had in our town actually closed down and now I'm not surprised. It's a shame too because I actually enjoyed shopping there occassionally.
This is actually a good idea. Maybe you should e-mail Kmart and tell them! I rarely go to Kmart because their prices are not competitive and none of the merchandise really stands out as remarkable. It must be a nationwide thing that Kmarts are dirty and not maintained very well. It really makes one wonder why there don't seem to be any levels of management that can see what the problems are... Customers seem to see the problems very easily.
There are two near me. One is decent and the other is awful. Fifty percent is pretty bad. The awful one there is never anything where it is suposed to be. The isles are cluttered, the shelves are empty.The store is dirty. There is rarley an employee to be found. Not to mention everything is usually higher priced, than say the Wal-mart next door. I like the fact that they have lay-away but its not enough to make me put up with a dirty store.
Ugh, that really sucks. I wish I could say that it's only a single store that is that way and that you were unfortunate, but I've seen several like that actually. We only have a single one left in our area that's still open and people don't even want to work there, much less shop there. It's not a pleasant experience at all.
Another thing I've noticed about Kmart is that the colors are weird and depressing. It does not feel good to be inside a store that has light brown walls with orange and rust colored borders. Those are retro 80's McDonald's colors, so on the rare occasion that I do end up at Kmart, I feel like I've stepped into a time warp. And at least Walmart tries to make their furniture cute like the IKEA knockoff footstool I recently bought. Everyone knows how cute the furniture at Target is because they have designers like Michael Graves and Karim Rashid doing home goods for them, but Kmart furniture is the same generic woodgrain stuff from the 80's. It hasn't been updated. Kmart makes me sad.
I am in the UK so not familiar with KMart but it does sound exactly like a store near me!! I only ever really shopped there because it was close to home but now I would rather go further out and avoid the experience. The shelves are always empty and the store resembles a jumble sale - they have certain items in one week and never again after. It's a shame, because it used to be really popular!
