Kmart liquidation reaches 40 percent off with store closing Oct. 1

The Big Kmart store at 2500 Airport Thruway in Columbus is more than two months away from its final moments.

The discounter’s inventory liquidation has still yet to top 40 percent off, with shoppers moving in and out of the store Friday amid the rapid beat of music from the 1980s. There remains plenty of clothing left on the showroom floor, with other departments stocked reasonably well.

The Kmart, which is the last remaining Sears Holdings property in the city, has set Oct. 1 as its closing date. The pharmacy halted operations on Aug. 2, with the records of prescription holders being transferred the following day to the Walgreens outlet at 5707 Veterans Parkway.

Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Sears Holdings announced in early July that the end was near for the Airport Thruway Kmart and 33 other Kmart and Sears stores across the nation.

In a previous round of closures, completed by the end of March, the Sears department store on Whittlesey Boulevard at Columbus Park Crossing was shuttered, as well as the Kmart on Macon Road in Columbus and the Kmart on U.S. Highway 280 in Phenix City. None of those spaces have been filled.

“It is obvious that we don’t make decisions to close stores lightly,” Sears Holdings Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Eddie Lampert said in July during the latest closing announcement. “Our efforts have been, and will continue to be, fact-based, thoughtful and disciplined, with the goal of making Sears Holdings more relevant and more competitive for our members and other constituents.”

The company’s most recent major news three weeks ago was that it will be selling Kenmore-branded products on Amazon.com, expanding the distribution of those goods as the retailer slashes its traditional brick-and-mortar presence.

This story was originally published August 11, 2017 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Kmart liquidation reaches 40 percent off with store closing Oct. 1."