In 1991, Kmart was expanding and rebuilding rapidly. Joe Antonini was set on reimaging Kmart, and I believe that the purchases of Borders, Builders Square, Office Max and others were done with the intent of using those finances to pay for Kmart's revitalization.SamSpade wrote: ↑November 3rd, 2017, 9:49 amI was able to find (weird!) an online database courtesy of the City of Ammon, Idaho that mentions KMart's grand opening in city council minutes from (wait for it...) 1991!wnetmacman wrote: ↑November 3rd, 2017, 8:05 amAlso, many of the Kmarts beyond the ones I named (though not nearly all) are 90's stores; could be a lease ending situation.
So yes, lease ending there is a strong possibility.
I can't believe that KMart was so "progressive" in 1991. There was hardly any retail out there, unlike today. Unfortunately, stronger operators eventually followed.
Of course, we know the story that all of Kmart's purchases failed under Kmart leadership or shortly after, and that hurt Mr. Antonini's time with the company. Sam Walton was concerned that if their trajectory had continued, he would be concerned for the future of Walmart. That didn't end up being a concern, as Kmart's board stopped that. Instead, Walmart became the world's largest retailer by any measure, and Kmart ended up as a chapter in the book of Bankruptcy, then sold out to Fast Eddie Lampert, who has done his damage.
Sadly, when he merged this disaster with Sears in 2005, it doomed both companies.