Getty Images Kmart didn't merge with Sears until 2005.
- Kmart's parent company, Sears Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on October 15. The company says it will close 142 Sears and Kmart stores before the end of the year, and its CEO, Eddie Lampert, has stepped down.
- This isn't the first time that Kmart has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It did so once before in the early 2000s, before it became part of Sears in 2005.
- For decades before then, Kmart was a hugely successful discount store that had more than 2,000 stores throughout the US.
- READ MORE: Inside Sears' death spiral.
The company says it will close 142 stores before the end of the year, and its CEO, Eddie Lampert, has stepped down. Lampert is staying on as chairman and is reportedly in talks with at least one potential partner about sharing the burden of a $300 million bankruptcy loan for the company.
Sears has been closing stores and selling off assets following years of crippling sales declines. The company operates 687 Sears and Kmart stores, according to its bankruptcy filing. That's down from nearly 2,000 stores in 2013.
This isn't the first time Kmart has faced bankruptcy. In 2002, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection before merging with Sears in 2005. At the time, it was the largest
Before things started going downhill, Kmart had thousands of stores across the US.
Here's how Kmart ended up where it is now:
