Kmart was founded by Sebastian S. Kresge, who opened the first Kmart store in Garden City, Michigan on March 1, 1962. Just a matter of decades later, it became the third largest discount chain in the world, trailing only Walmart and Target, but there have been a lot of bumps along the way.

On this day, January 22, in 2002, chairman Chuck Conaway and president Mark Schwartz made the decision to file Kmart for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Kmart became the largest company in United States history to do so. Over 300 stores were closed and more than 30,000 workers lost their jobs.

Over the next decade, the company began restructuring everything from their logo to their store setups. They also purchased the retailer Sears in 2004 and saw some increases in profits here and there before a rough December in 2011, when another 100-plus Sears and Kmart stores were closed.