Timeline of Bigbox
1962 was the beginning of 4 of
the largest retail chains the US has seen.
Though
they
all
started
the
same year they each had very different trajectories.
Kmart initially doing better by
far, reached 2000 stores in just under 20 years. A decade later it peaked, coincidentally at the same time Amazon emerges as an online bookseller. From there, the next 2 decades would take its toll on the business
As Target, Walmart, and Amazon
seamlessly merge to the online platform Kmart
seems
to
flounder,
especially
in the late 90's and early 2000's. The writing was on the wall as it nosedives for the next decade, pulling out of the Canadian market, going into bankruptcy, and merging with Sears.
Until
their
2018
bankruptcy
(again) there were around 700 Kmarts left. Since then the exact numbers are shrouded in secrecy now that the remaining Kmarts are owned by Transform Co. The rough estimate of the amount remaining as of 2020 is around 30. Allegedly,
the
best
financially
performing Kmart is currently located Guam.
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