Santa Fe Kmart store STILL GOING STRONG
Local outlet bucks the trend of nationwide closures
SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Kmart, in a nonglamorous shopping center on St. Michael’s Drive, is a survivor in an uncertain retail world.
It has been around as long as Monick Martinez can remember. The Chimayó resident, 45, remembers coming to the bigbox store with his grandparents as a kid. Now, as a commuter who works in Santa Fe, he shops at the same store.
Speaking to the Journal after a quick shopping trip this week, Martinez said he is driven by convenience. The Kmart is closest to his work at the state Department of Transportation — he sometimes gets some shopping done on his breaks — and he said that being a frequent shopper comes with deals.
The Santa Fe store is one of a handful left in New Mexico and just a few hundred in the United States following years of closures as the chain has been buffeted by Amazon, competition from Walmart and Target and new expectations among shoppers.
The Sears Holdings Corp., which owns Kmart and Sears, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-October. It announced it would close 142 more Sears and Kmart stores by the end of this year. A few weeks earlier, it had listed 42 other “unprofitable” stores it planned to close by the end of the year.
But the St. Mike’s Kmart so far has avoided the hit lists, as have the only other New Mexico locations, in Hobbs, Farmington and Roswell. All the Kmarts in Albuquerque have closed in recent years.
So how has the Santa Fe outlet kept its head above water?
A corporate spokesperson declined to comment, and attempts to reach the local store manager were unsuccessful. However, Simon Brackley, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, said one reason is that the store seems to have a good niche location. It is off busy St. Michael’s Drive, with plenty of parking and a grocery store nearby, he said. “It’s convenient for people to do a week’s worth of shopping,” he said.
Also, he said, it is not only the closest bargain “variety” store for people who live in midtown Santa Fe, but also those from Eldorado, Pecos or Glorieta who come into town to shop. A major factor, he said, could be customer loyalty. People and families that have been shopping there for years may be in the habit of going there and know where to find the items they want.
“I think Santa Feans are creatures of habit,” Brackley said when asked about the importance of loyalty to local consumers. “We don’t change very easily, and that’s a component of it. It might be loyalty to a restaurant, or loyalty to a discount store.”