Once a retail giant, Kmart nears extinction after closure

By DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

AVENEL, N.J. (AP) — When the Kmart in Avenel, New Jersey, closes its doors on April 16, it will leave just a handful of remaining locations for the former retail powerhouse. It’s a far cry from the chain’s heyday in the 1980s and ‘90s when it had more than 2,000 stores and sold product lines endorsed by Martha Stewart and former “Charlies Angel” Jaclyn Smith. Kmart’s demise is attributed to the rise of Walmart and Target and online behemoth Amazon. But retail expert Mark Cohen says the company also was dogged by poor management decisions and could have stayed viable.