US retailing group Kmart confirmed this afternoon that it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as it crumbled under pressure from a cash crunch and a loss of confidence among suppliers.
The discount store, which was crushed in competition with its bigger rivals Wal-Mart and Target, vowed to emerge from its woes in 2003 after a reorganisation.
'After considering a wide range of alternatives, it became clear that this course of action was the only way to truly resolve the company's most challenging problems,' chief executive Charles Conway said in a statement.
Conway said the group aimed to reorganise while under the court's protection from creditors. In its filings in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in Chicago, Kmart said it had secured $2bn in financing.
