what happened to Kmart is that they got "dirty" looking....poor merchandize layout...too crowded with stuff...and their prices really were not all that great....
Fred Meyer here on the west coast is a little bit up the food chain from the Kmarts and Walmarts...clean stores, with a supermarket attached, decent prices, and most of all, they have good coupons....
I predict the next big closing will be in the grocery dept and I predict Albertsons will close many stores...our local one can't keep up with Fred Meyer...
Albertsons are already closing in Texas!
A couple of Albertson’s in my area have closed in recent years. Fred Meyer and Safeway seem to be going strong, along with some of the more upscale places like Whole Foods and Central Market (I don’t know if Central Market is independent or part of a chain.) And in the pharmacy niche, we now have Rite Aid and Walgreen’s everywhere, with the edge going to Walgreen’s. (Rite Aid has a bit more of a blue collar feel, and I’ve heard rumors they’re struggling.)