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Sebastian Spering Kresge (July 31, 1867 – October 18, 1966) was an American businessman. He created and owned two chains of department stores, the S. S. Kresge Company, one of the 20th century's largest discount retail organizations, and the Kresge-Newark traditional department store chain. The discounter was renamed the Kmart Corporation in 1977.
S.S. Kresge Company. Before discount stores, there were variety “dime stores,” called so because products sold for either a dime or a nickel. Kresge, founded in 1899, was a Detroit-born dime store where shoppers could find daily needs such as housewares, linens, clothing, school supplies, and toys.
S.S. Kresge (born July 31, 1867, Bald Mount, Pa., U.S.—died Oct. 18, 1966, East Stroudsburg, Pa.) was an American merchant who established a chain of nearly 1,000 variety and discount stores throughout the United States.
Industry: Retail. Era: 1900. Kresge built the precursor to K-Mart, one of the first mass discounters. He started with ten-cent stores and developed full-fledged variety stores. By his retirement, his chain had almost 600 United States stores, a Canadian subsidiary, and annual sales of $156 million.
Founded by retailer Sebastian S. Kresge in 1924, The Kresge Foundation continues to fulfill his mandate: To promote human progress.
The S.S. Kresge Co. grew to be the second-largest variety chain in the U.S. The stores changed as retail trends matured over the years. The company battled anti-chain store sentiment in the 1920s and 30s.
With swift expansion through the Midwest and across the nation over the next half century, the S.S. Kresge Co. would later become the iconic American department store chain, Kmart Corp.
S. S. Kresge worked hard, spent his money only when necessary, and saved it wisely. This penny-pinching attitude, which began early in life, led him to become an extremely successful businessman and a generous multimillionaire.
Retail chain founder Sebastian Spering Kresge was born in Bald Mount, Pennsylvania on July 31, 1867. His parents, Sebastian Sr. and Catherine Kunkle Kresge were Pennsylvania Dutch farmers.
S. S. Kresge Biography. (Sebastian Spering Kresge) merchant, philanthropist. Born: 7/31/1867. Birthplace: Bald Mount, Pa. With a newly minted business degree in hand, Kresge worked as a traveling tinware salesman (1890–97) before opening the first of his discount retail stores whose merchandise was all priced at less than a dime.
