The Aspen Hill Kmart is closing. This is one of the saddest posts I will have to write on this website, but the closure was announced late Thursday. According to the announcement, the venerable Kmart at 14014 Connecticut Avenue will close in mid-April. A closing sale will begin in the near future.
This has always been my Kmart store, and as one of the best-run in the chain, it has outlasted many rounds of closures. But the vulture capital monster usually prevails in the end, after draining all of the value out of a brand, and Fast Eddie Lampert has been no exception.
Expect a monster real estate development on this site in the future. The Montgomery County cartel has been rubbing its hands over this property, and others in Aspen Hill, for more than a decade.
At one time your lament about Kmart was true, however once they became a property of Sears this all fell by the wayside. As a retail giant they failed to keep pace with their competitors (Walmart,Target, and Kohl's) in the neverending big box arena. I grew up on Kmart, its parent S.S. Kresge's, G.C. Murphy, and F.W. Woolworth stores. These retailers are all of the former generation, and became dinosaurs of the past. Enjoy what they have created for us today, before they too are history.
ReplyDeleteActually KMart bought Sears, but kept Sears as the name of the merged company. This is actually the first time I've heard of anyone having any affection for KMart. Some of the older folks may miss Kresge's, though.
DeleteAwesome, property values are about to go up! That store was an eye sore frontage in the first place, second they sold nothing but trash, third they took up too much Real Estate. Its about time!
ReplyDeleteBefore the pandemic, I would find interesting things there. Like a squirrel proof bird feeder that really foiis the squirrels and upside-down vegetable planters. Also inexpensive good enough shoes.
ReplyDeleteReopening after the coronavirus shutdown though, all that quirky stuff was gone. They did not even have laundry supplies!