I was headed to Oak Brook and happened to pass by the Elmhurst, Illinois Kmart on Route 83. A large “Store Closing” banner was hanging on the front of the store, so I took a detour and went inside to see if there were any good deals. This store is slated to close mid-November, but the staff did not have an exact closing date to share.
The “Blue Light Special” lights were spinning nonstop during my visit.
Much of the general merchandise in the store has been sold, but there was still a lot of clothing left. If you are in need of Chicago Cubs 2016 World Series T-shirts, and you’re remotely in the area, I’d advise heading over. They had many racks of shirts priced at just $2.00 each! (There were two more racks behind me when I snapped this photo.
When the Cubs won last year, I thought about the T-shirt quilt I made my daughter for her 18th birthday, and I made a mental note to keep the boys’ Cubs World Series t-shirts for their quilts. Then I thought, “What if they want to keep those for their kids someday? Maybe I shouldn’t cut them up.”
At $2.00 per shirt, I picked up extra shirts for each of them. Their birthday quilts will definitely have Cubbie blue in them now, as I can cut these shirts into quilt squares guilt-free…
There were a lot of jeans for both boys and girls. A bunch of them were in the $20 price range – $6 after the 70% off sale. However, I found a couple pairs that were marked $10, and I paid $3 per pair.
There was a rack of girls’ dresses, and many were marked down to $6.99 — just $2.10 after the 70% off sale.
I also saw several racks of name-brand clothes that I suspected may have been brought in by the liquidator — I don’t recall Kmart selling clothes from Jones New York or The Limited, and the tags on these items were not Kmart tags. These tanks and sleeveless shirts were $12.
This rack of shorts and skirts was marked down to $4, but I bought one and it rang up at $3.20.
There were a few shelves of toys remaining, and they were all 50% off. These Kmart-exclusive Star Wars action figures were marked $23.00 — $11.50 after the 50% discount. I have to say, too, that I was a tiny bit irked to see so many Kylo Ren Starkiller Base figures here after wasting a great deal of time chasing them down for my Star Wars lovin’ family in 2015…
These kids’ rain hats were just .40 each! I also saw a pretty large display of women’s summer sandals and shoes. I picked up a pair of heels for $1.40!
By far, though, the Cubs World Series shirts were the deal of the day.
wolverine70 says
Is Elmhurst further away from you then Rockford? That looks to be a fairly new store, at least in Kmart terms. Even in their former Michigan stronghold, Kmart is now a slight shadow of its former self. Only three stores left in all of Metro Detroit after the latest rounds of closings complete. The company started and was headquartered here until 2005. I still have one near me, so I’m lucky, I guess. I remember the Kylo Ren saga you endured. I don’t know if they’ll have any exclusive figures tied to the forthcoming movie. If they do, I can always check out the store one mile from me. I think this is a managed liquidation of the company. Sears Holdings is not at all being managed to sustain itself. It’s really sad to see.
Coupon Maven says
Yes, it’s a bit further from me — I was just in the area for an appointment and stopped in when I saw the sale there. The Rockford location is about 35 minutes from us
I don’t often share the business side of blogging, but a couple weeks ago, both Sears and Kmart emailed bloggers to let them know they would be paying 0% commission on any sales this holiday season. I understand the company is in big trouble, but if they cannot even afford to pay the 3-4% commissions they were previously paying, they will not have much social media promotion for the holidays. I agree that it is very sad to see.
SSMark1 says
Reading this now just mad me both angry & sad about the 0%.
Coupon Maven says
It’s tough because commissions across the board are generally low anyway, and I don’t blog too many Sears/Kmart deals anymore (they are few and far between) but that little percentage is what keeps blogs like mine going & what pays the bills. Blog affiliate commissions are a much less expensive way for retailers to advertise & drum up traffic vs. traditional advertising, so when Sears/Kmart pull what could be considered to be a low advertising expense, it does show where things are at financially for them.