Kmart shutting its last store in California

Kmart is one of the well-known names when it comes to thrift shopping in the United States. However, the retail store chain is now closing out its remaining outlet in California.

The branch in the Grass Valley area is the only operating Kmart in the state. It is the last to remain open while others have already shut in recent years. Unfortunately, the company announced it was scheduled to close this coming Sunday.

With its closing, only a handful of Kmart's will remain in the U.S. These are the ones that have survived and are lucky to still be in business as this year ends. According to ABC7's Eyewitness News, since the retail store is shutting down in a few days, all the items were put up for sale. They are up for grabs until the day of the closure and the consumers can buy home fixtures, furniture, and more.

"I used to work here a long time ago so I thought I'd come by and say goodbye," Shawn Sutton, a resident of Grass Valley, said. "It is kind of a sweet and sad moment at the same time but yeah, I miss it."

Other shoppers of Kmart also expressed pity that the store suffered this fate of decline. "It was going downhill slowly but surely as far as stocking things, but poor Kmart," a regular customer, Joanne Haines, said.

It was reported that Kmart also closed down its last store outlet in Michigan, the state where the retail chain was first launched in 1899. The store filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and at that time, it still has 2,100 outlets.

Later in 2005, it was bought by Sears out of bankruptcy and the number of Kmart stores subsequently went down to 1,400. Based on the update, Kmart's exit in Grass Valley may not be felt by the locals because the store is set to be remodeled and re-open as a Target store.

Finally, ABC10 News reported that Steve Mensinger, the chief executive officer of developer Mesa Management, said the talks of shutting the Kmart in Grass Valley started around five years ago. He suggested that the closures were the result of struggles due to bankruptcy and reorganization.

"That was a big deal (the closure). Kmarts were today's Walmarts and Targets," he said. "At that time, if you had a Kmart anchored shopping center, you had the 'coupe de grace,' the best of the best, in terms of retail shopping centers."