Listen to this articleTarget will be opening a new store on the East End, replacing the country’s last full-size Kmart.
The Minneapolis-based retailer will take over the 89,935-square-foot space in the Bridgehampton Commons shopping center at 2044 Montauk Highway in Bridgehampton after Kmart closes its store on Oct. 20.
Target had been aiming to open a location in the Hamptons for a while. The chain bought out the Bridgehampton Kmart lease from its owner Transformco a few years ago in anticipation of Kmart closing, according to real estate industry sources. Terms of that deal have not been disclosed.
Target will become the co-anchor of the 304,959-square-foot Bridgehampton Commons center, joining the 61,892-square-foot King Kullen supermarket. Other stores on the tenant roster include TJ Maxx, Staples, Barnes & Noble, Ulta, Walgreens, Gap and several other national and regional brands.
A Target spokesperson would not comment on the new Bridgehampton store, responding: “We are continually evaluating potential store locations to serve new guests, but I don’t have any new-store news to share at this time.”
A spokesperson for Jericho-based Kimco Realty, which owns Bridgehampton Commons, also declined to comment on the new Target store.
While some big-box retailers have been closing stores, Target remains in growth mode. The publicly traded company, which has more than 1,950 stores in the U.S., announced it will open nine new stores this month. The chain has 20 stores on Long Island, including both full-size and small-format models. The nearest one to Bridgehampton is in Riverhead, 23 miles away.
Target, which employs more than 400,000 people, reported 2023 revenue of $107.4 billion, resulting in net income of $4.13 billion.
The Kmart in Bridgehampton is the brand’s last remaining full-size store in the continental U.S., though a small-sized Kmart in Miami will remain open. Kmart also still operates a few smaller stores in Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
At its peak, Kmart had more than 2,000 stores in the U.S., but it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2002 and announced it would close more than 250 stores. After it emerged from bankruptcy, Kmart merged with Sears in 2005, giving the combined company, Sears Holdings, about 3,500 stores. But Sears Holdings filed for Chapter 11 in 2018 and began a series of store closings.
Led by hedge fund executive Edward Lampert, Transformco was founded in 2019, buying the remaining assets of Sears and Kmart for $5.2 billion. In the years that followed, the company closed hundreds more stores.
The new Target in Bridgehampton, which still has to go through the permitting process, likely won’t open until late next year or early 2026.