Blue light blues for Kmart shoppers as one of last-standing stores gets even smaller

WEST KENDALL, Fla. – Kmart shoppers in West Kendall are finding their Blue Light Specials at a smaller store.

The store located at 14091 SW 88 St. at the Kendale Lakes Plaza downsized, revealing a smaller store in the garden area next to the previous retail space.

The store was under construction for several months late last year.

A store associate told Local 10 News the Kmart is here to stay, just in a smaller space because home décor giant, At Home, based out of Plano, will eventually take over the lease.

The number of Kmart stores in the U.S. – once well over 2,000 – is down to just three. The only stores left are in West Kendall, New Jersey and New York.

Kmart’s decline has been slow but steady, brought about by years of falling sales, changes in shopping habits and the looming shadow of Walmart, which coincidentally began its life within months of Kmart’s founding in 1962.

Struggling to compete with Walmart’s low prices and Target’s trendier offerings, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 — becoming the largest U.S. retailer to take that step.