So I was reading this article about how K-Mart is dying, that’s also overflowing with a bunch of depressing pictures of an unfortunate store, and I can’t help but feel a little bit sad for the once prominent giant in the world of commerce.
Given the general popularity of Target, it’s no surprise that K-Marts are getting destroyed by them, but what really has to suck for the K is that they’re also getting dominated by Wal-Mart, which basically has the reputation of like, herpes or something not necessarily fatal, but kind of an embarrassment and a thing that people don’t really want to talk about. A lot of people really, really dislike Wal-Mart, and personally I don’t really hate them or anything, I just don’t like the fact that a trip to Wal-Mart guarantees you to be there for at least 30 minutes, if for any reason at all, is that there’s never anyone working the cash registers and the one open line is six customers deep, all of whom are buying 50 items. Wal-Mart is a place synonymous with wasting time, and I do not like to waste time if possible.
But yeah, K-Mart is losing to them too. Typically I often accuse articles like the aforementioned one of utilizing a bit too much hyperbole in their objective, but it’s hard to argue the points being made in this one, that are backed up in both statistical and photographic evidence. K-Mart really is dying before our very eyes, and it kind of makes me sad. It’s not so much the unfortunate demise of a gigantic, long-standing, well-known brand, or the countless people that will undoubtedly be losing their jobs if/when they go under. No, I’m far too self-centered to really concern myself about that kind of collateral damage, although it would no doubt suck for all of them too. But it’s the fact that K-Mart is kind of a symbol of nostalgia for me, and to see it crumble and collapse is somewhat a metaphor of the demise of a facet of my childhood.