Former retail giant

The answer to the crossword question “Former retail giant is KMART” is a four letter word, K-M-A-R-T. Kmart is a former retail chain that was once one of the largest in the United States. It was founded in 1899 as SS Kresge Corporation and went through a few changes before settling on the name Kmart in 1977. At its peak in the early 2000s, Kmart had over 2,100 stores worldwide. However, it was unable to compete with larger retailer like Walmart and filed for bankruptcy in 2002. Kmart still exists today but it has significantly downsized with only a few hundred stores left in operation.