So I've noticed that Kmart has an unusual "following" of YouTubers and photographers. People like Manny Q, some guy named Wallie, and another guy named Mike K. Why are they into Kmart and filiming out stores? When we closed my last store, we had some kid (couldn't have been older than 12 or 13) want to buy the Bluelight pole? All my coworkers thought he was strange... Why are these people into Kmart so much? Seems to be a weird obsession or weird cover-up to photograph women in public spaces.
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Mike Kalasnik never heard of S.S. Kresge? That’s because Kmart was named after the K for Kalasnik! Mike Kalasnik is Kmart. Take that to the bank!
- S. Kalasnik has a page on Facebook called Dead and Dying Retail that is filled with Kmart photos and anecdotes! You should all see what he’s got to say before you judge him!
There is some truth to the idea that I hate seeing my the world I grew up in dismantled, but that goes ways beyond Kmart. The world we grew up in doesn't exist anymore and it's getting crazier by the day.
The main thing is that Kmart holds a lot of good memories for us, even from when we were already adults.
I don't really see the difference between memories of an old house, television show, or anything. Surely every single human being on earth can relate to people wanting memories of things that have been important in their lives?
This is the kind of thing that retail geeks do with their pictures.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/163752930992975?view=permalink&id=649161405785456&ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment
This is the kind of thing that retail geeks do with their pictures.
m dhot facebook dhot com/groups/163752930992975?view=permalink&id=649161405785456&ref=m_notif¬if_t=group_comment
If Mike K hasn't documented it, it's not legitimate Kmart memorabilia, photos or information.
Mike Kalasnik doesn’t even know who S.S. Kresge is. Manny breaks into breakrooms and goes in the refrigerator. Wallie never loved Kmart as much as he does Ames. They’re not as big of Kmart fans as it would appear. They just love the ruins.
Signs and brand items are used in the home or man cave decors, in theme restaurants etc. People collect and trade these. In the future it will be more valuable since these brands will be gone. Just have place to store them if you are into these trade. I won't mind having one or two of these in my bar.
Some people collect coins and stamps, we collect pictures and artifacts of stores. It's a hobby, simple as that. Also, the average hobbyist isn't trying to take pictures of women on the sly. They just want a picture of the store, how it's designed, how it looks, etc.
Nostalgia and a longing for things to be like their childhood that they have fond memories of being a happy time. Often these people's lives today are empty and feel meaningless, many of them most likely are in dead end jobs, if they even have jobs, and they are most likely suffering from depression.
Their lives are vastly different to what they imagined as little kids walking around Kmart with their parents looking at all the amazing things they hoped to buy when they were adults.
People often regress back to comforts of childhood when they hate the lives they have today and seeing what they thought was a utopian childhood being dismantled today sets them on an obsessive path of trying to soak up as much as they can and hold on to bits of it such as buying the blue light and I guess anything with Kmart on it. What they really need is help with their mental health as they have issues.
It honestly has to do with keeping the memories alive. In my case specifically, I went to Kmart all the time as a kid. I'd always get salted pretzels at the KCafe. In fact, I think Kmart is where I first got a couple of those collector's cars that are Hot Wheels-style but all metal- Usually you are lucky if you see any of those little cars these days that are even half metal half plastic; metal cars aren't something you see everyday anymore.
Lol on the aspect of women, that's the least of my focus and others... Even though technically it is a public place, I still try to keep people out of the shot unless it's practically unavoidable. I don't know how much I can speak for others, but in my case, my goal is to document the store for what it is, whatever store (or place) it may be.
In the case of my Kmart, to this day there is literally only about 10 photos online, and no videos of it online what so ever. There's like three of the front entry from the outside, like three looking inside through the front door (and you can't even see inside much because of the double door setup that creates glare), and two or three others inside the store itself, but they don't help hold the memory of the store much (one of part of the tarp over my KCafe after it closed, the other two from like the last week of being open). Had I started getting involved in retail like the way I am today sooner, there'd most likely be more photos and videos of it. I went there a lot as a kid, I have tons of memories buried in my brain that I can't show people. Sure, I can share what I remember, but it's just not the same as actually being able to see the store. I'm sure many others could reflect similarly that they have memories at said Kmart (or any Kmart really), but no photos and no videos... Makes it hard to truly keep the memory of the store alive. Really a memory is something only one person can see to it's fullest capacity, but photos and videos allow everyone to see it for what it was at practically full capacity (although virtual reality isn't the same as reality). As the quote goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words," and a video means so much more depending on the frame rate, pun intended.
Granted any store you go to always will have those things that make it better or worse than another store, Kmart just has a vibe to it that just feels much more welcoming to me... Whether it's employees that seem to care more about the customer and the community, or even just the physical atmosphere of ceiling tile instead of the modern framework that feels like you are in a car factory or something-It's just not the same anywhere else. Seeing that stores like Kmart are going away, my goal (in addition to others' goals) is to document them while they are still here.
If something takes over, it probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But it's interesting to see how the store floors differ before and after; plus, if things one day do start to go south with a new store that took over a Kmart (or any other store for that matter), where, say, the electronics disappear, or the isles get very wide and barren, the photos and videos can allow us to see what it did look like and keep many aspects alive that otherwise would have been forgotten entirely. Or perhaps worse, maybe the building is old and decrepit (or maybe not), and a new owner decides to completely demolish that building. Without the photos and videos, it's even harder in that case to have any idea what it looked and felt like to go to that store. There's tons of Kmarts around me, both newer and older, that hardly got a photograph at all; if there is even one photo, that one photo is very hard or practically impossible to find. As a result, it makes picturing what said store looked like and felt like much more challenging to grasp. The characteristics that made a store what it was (in that case especially) are kind of just gone.
It’s nostalgia. I wouldn’t mind a Sears or Toys-R-Us sign to hang in my garage.
Doorbusters....bawhaaaa. nfw
Speaking of doorbusters, are they planning any this year?
Because Kmart wasn’t just any store! Many of us Kmart fans, grew up shopping at Kmart. From the blue light specials, to the Kmart cafe. The amazing thanksgiving door busters. I spent most of my free time shopping at Kmart. Not matter my mood Kmart always put a smile on my face. It was devastating when the manager called me to tell me the store was notified it would be closing. I lost my Kmart family. Luckily I was able to take all the Kmart signage and stuff around the store home and build a room dedicated to my Kmart. It’s sad to see Kmart slowly winding down.
Yes I know the young kid you mention about the blue light. He came into my closing Sears asking about Sears signs and carts. Definitely strange all he wants is things with the logo on them. I didn't sell him anything with the logo on it because corporate gets pi***d about when that stuff gets sold to the public.
Same reason why I enjoy fixing my car or going out golfing! For the joy and love of it!