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From Blue Light Specials to bankruptcy: What happened to Kmart?

The last Kmart in Metro Detroit
The last Kmart in Metro Detroit, at 10 Mile Rd. in Dequindre, is pictured shortly before it permanently closed.
Mike Campbell/WWJ - FILE

(WWJ) Back in its heyday, Kmart had everything you needed at a great price.

Until it didn't.


"It lost the direction of where it was going, and that was so many years ago...and it's still around! It's bizarre," said retail historian and author Michael Lisicky.

Beginning in the early 1960s, Michigan-based Kmart revolutionized the way people shopped, creating a discount department store. But what was 2,400-plus stores is now down to only three.

In today's episode of The Daily J podcast, WWJ's Zach Clark takes a deep dive into the downfall of an original retail icon.