Kmart (sometimes spelled as "K-Mart") is a chain of department stores in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The chain merged with Sears in 2005, creating the Sears Holdings Corporation. Kmart also exists in Australia and New Zealand (see Kmart Australia), although it now has no relation to the American stores except in name after US equity in the Australian business was purchased in the late 1970s. It is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and Target.

As of January 28, 2006, Kmart operated a total of 1,416 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This store count included 1,361 discount stores, averaging 92,000 square feet, and 55 Super Centers, averaging 165,000 square feet..

Kmart's world headquarters was located in Troy, Michigan in a sprawling complex which, since Kmart's relocation to Illinois, has been slated for demolition .

Kmart became known for its "Blue Light Specials." They occurred at surprise moments when a store worker would light up a mobile police light and offer a discount in a specific department of the store. At the height of Kmart's popularity, the phrase "attention Kmart shoppers" also entered into the American pop psyche, appearing in films and other media such as Rain Man, Troop Beverly Hills and Beetlejuice.

History

Sebastian S. Kresge, who had previously founded the S. S. Kresge dime store chain, opened the first Kmart store on March 1, 1962 in Garden City, Michigan and named Kmart after himself; this store is still in operation to this day. A total of eighteen Kmart stores opened that year. Kmart Foods, a now defunct chain of Kmart supermarkets, opened in that same decade.

During the 1970s, Kmart put a number of competing retailers out of business. In 1977, S. S. Kresge Corporation changed its name to Kmart Corporation. In 1987, the Kmart Corporation sold its remaining Kresge and Jupiter stores in the United States to McCrory Stores, although Canadian Kresge stores continued to operate until 1994.

Changes for Kmart

During the 1980s, the company's fortunes began to change; many of Kmart's stores were considered to be outdated and in decaying condition. In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the corporate office shifted much of its focus from the Kmart stores to other companies it had acquired or created, such as The Sports Authority, Builders Square, and Waldenbooks.

In 1990, in an effort to change their image, Kmart introduced a new logo (dropping the old-style italic "K" with a turquoise "mart," created 1962), and renovated many stores. (This logo forms part of the "Big Kmart" logo pictured below]].) However, most stores were not re-modeled until the mid-1990s, and some have not been completely renovated to this day. This logo was replaced in 2004 with the current logo. In the early 1990s, Kmart also tried to reinvent itself by using the short-lived Today's Kmart name.