Published April 2002

Edmonds Kmart to close;
80 to lose jobs

Herald Business Journal Staff

The Big Kmart store in Edmonds is among nearly 300 stores nationwide that will close as the discount retailer reorganizes under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The store, at 22951 Highway 99, is among six in Washington that Kmart Corp. intends to close, according to information released in March.

Nationwide, 284 unprofitable stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico will shut their doors, cutting about 22,000 jobs — about 9 percent of Kmart’s total work force.

The 80 employees at the Edmonds location could be out of work by early May, according to the company. A required notice filed with the state Employment Security Department states that the store’s employees will be laid off “on or about May 7.”

The date still depends on how fast the bankruptcy court approves the closure plan and when the store’s inventory is mostly sold, a Kmart spokesman said.

The Edmonds store anchors an older shopping center that includes Rite Aid and PayLess Shoe Source as other tenants, at the corner of 224th Street SW and Highway 99. The shopping center was built in 1967, according to city records.

Other Kmart stores on the closure list for Western Washington are in Bellevue, Renton and Port Orchard. In Eastern Washington, stores in Sunnyside and Veradale will be closed.

Kmart, the nation’s third-largest discount retailer after Wal-Mart and Target, operates more than 2,100 stores.

The company filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 22, following lower-than-expected holiday sales, downgrades by several credit-rating agencies and a stock dive.

By closing stores, Kmart estimates it will save about $550 million this year and about $45 million annually after that.

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