photo by Eric Johnson

A customer walks out of Kmart Wednesday afternoon. It was learned Wednesday that after 19 years Austin’s Kmart will be closing its doors in May.

Kmart in Austin to close in May

Employees informed of decision on Wednesday

By Jason Schoonover | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Thursday, February 4, 2010

AUSTIN — Officials announced the Kmart store that serves the region will close this May.

Kim Freely, a spokeswoman for Kmart’s parent company Sears Holding Corp., confirmed that employees were informed of the decision Wednesday morning. The Austin store will begin liquidation Feb. 21, and the store will be closed to customers May 9.

While there have been rumors about Kmart closing, Austin Area Chamber of Commerce director Sandy Forstner said he was disappointed to hear the news.

“That’s certainly too bad,” Forstner said. “Obviously they’ve been part of our retail community for a number of years.”

Austin’s Kmart opened in 1991 at 1400 18th Ave. NW. Sears Holding Corp has about 3,900 stores nationwide — 1,300 of them are Kmart stores. Freely said the Austin store is the only one closing at this time.

Freely said the decision to not renew the lease and close the store was based on a number of factors, including performance.

“Performance is always a factor,” Freely said.

Kmart has about 71 employees, and Freely said employees who qualify will receive severance packages.

The stretch of 18th Avenue Northeast is one of the retail centers of Austin, with Oak Park Mall and stores like Target, Shopko and Walmart Supercenter, which opened in July 2008.

Kmart’s closing will mark the second chain store to close along 18th Avenue Northwest in the last few years. Cashwise Foods, formerly located next to Kmart, closed a few years ago.

“It’s a big hole along 18th Avenue,” Forstner said.

However, Forstner said he hopes the vacant building can attract new businesses to Austin.

Kmart, based in Troy, Mich., originated as a five and dime store in the Detroit area. Sebastian Spering Kresge opened the first S.S. Kresge Co. store in 1899. By 1912, he had 85 stores and eventually they were found across the country by the hundreds. According to the Kmart Web site, the first Kmart discount department store opened in 1962 in Garden City, Mich. In 1966, there were 162 Kmart stores and 753 Kresge stores. In 1976 alone, 271 Kmart stores opened in a single year. In 1977, S.S. Kresge Co. changes its name to Kmart Corp. In the 1990s, the chain redesigned its stores and rolled out several stores called Big Kmart.

In 2003, the company emerged from bankruptcy. The company bought Sears in 2005, and Kmart Corp. formed under the name Sears Holdings Corp. In recent years, the company has been going through restructuring and rebranding.

According to Kmart, as recently as 2006, there were 1,416 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. On Jan. 31, 2009, there were 1,368 Kmart stores across 49 states, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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