So I was reading this article about how K-Mart is dying, that’s also overflowing with a bunch of depressing pictures of an unfortunate store, and I can’t help but feel a little bit sad for the once prominent giant in the world of commerce.
Given the general popularity of Target, it’s no surprise that K-Marts are getting destroyed by them, but what really has to suck for the K is that they’re also getting dominated by Wal-Mart, which basically has the reputation of like, herpes or something not necessarily fatal, but kind of an embarrassment and a thing that people don’t really want to talk about. A lot of people really, really dislike Wal-Mart, and personally I don’t really hate them or anything, I just don’t like the fact that a trip to Wal-Mart guarantees you to be there for at least 30 minutes, if for any reason at all, is that there’s never anyone working the cash registers and the one open line is six customers deep, all of whom are buying 50 items. Wal-Mart is a place synonymous with wasting time, and I do not like to waste time if possible.
But yeah, K-Mart is losing to them too. Typically I often accuse articles like the aforementioned one of utilizing a bit too much hyperbole in their objective, but it’s hard to argue the points being made in this one, that are backed up in both statistical and photographic evidence. K-Mart really is dying before our very eyes, and it kind of makes me sad. It’s not so much the unfortunate demise of a gigantic, long-standing, well-known brand, or the countless people that will undoubtedly be losing their jobs if/when they go under. No, I’m far too self-centered to really concern myself about that kind of collateral damage, although it would no doubt suck for all of them too. But it’s the fact that K-Mart is kind of a symbol of nostalgia for me, and to see it crumble and collapse is somewhat a metaphor of the demise of a facet of my childhood.
I remember going to K-Mart with my mom and my sister when I was little; piled into our gray Toyota Celica. Obviously back in the 80s, K-Mart was the mother of convenience stores, where families could get everything from clothing, lawn equipment, pharmaceuticals and most importantly, toys. I can’t imagine how much of my childhood wardrobe might have been purchased at K-Marts growing up, but I can take an educated estimate in that at least 60% of the 50+ Masters of the Universe actions figures I hoarded were purchased at K-Marts. Slightly later in life, I’m fairly certain that many of my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and WWF action figures were purchased at K-Marts as well.
In a way, due to supplying my childhood sources of entertainment which helped feed my imagination, I feel indebted and grateful towards the existence of K-Marts. I can’t say I held apathy or disdain for them in my life, but I guess indifference wasn’t much better if I weren’t spending my money at them. By the time I grew to become financially independent, Targets and Wal-Marts were already around, bleeding K-Marts across the country, leading them down the path to slow extinction.
I remember in 2004 when news came out that Sears and K-Mart were merging, and I was actually slightly interested in it, as opposed to my typical apathy towards anything business related. In a way, I guess I was rooting for this merge to at least lead K-Mart back into somewhat prominence, and at least a strong, sustaining third place in the hierarchy of convenience stores, and not the “third-is-actually-last” position they appear to be in. Unfortunately, as the graphs in the link go to show, the merge actually didn’t help one iota, and appeared to mark a point where things would gradually begin bleeding a little bit quicker.
It’s sad to see K-Mart really headed down this slow bleeding to death, but I don’t think anything can really be done about it; it’s seemingly gone too far at this point. Reputation is everything, which is why Target is handily beating Wal-Marts in spite of having over 50% fewer stores. But if Wal-Mart has the reputation of a gigantic devil, then K-Mart’s reputation at this point is the sad, handicapped little brother that in spite of their best efforts, can’t attain the amount of success that its more capable superiors are producing on a regular basis. Nothing short of the perfect storm of a new business model, high-profile celebrity investors and backers, a litany of reputable brands and designers supplying them, and a brand-spanking new identity makeover is going to save K-Mart now.
But unless that pipe dream actually comes true, it’s going to be a sad day for my nostalgia when I start seeing K-Marts begin having obnoxious, fluorescent signs adorning their stores stating liquidations and store closings.
