Attention Kmart shoppers: The blue light special will no longer be in State College.

As part of a restructuring process after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last month, Kmart will close the doors to 284 stores nationwide, including the local store at 100 Valley Vista Drive.

Kmart Corp. is closing the least profitable of its more than 2,100 stores to emerge from Chapter 11. The closing will effect 50 Kmart employees locally and 22,000 nationwide.

"The decision to close these under-performing stores, which do not meet our financial requirements going forward, is an integral part of the company's reorganization effort," former Chief Executive Officer Charles Conaway said in a press release. "We are confident that doing so will provide the Company with a healthier, more productive store base," he said.

Fred Hurvitz, instructor of marketing in Penn State's Smeal College of Business, said he doesn't believe the closing will have a significant impact on the local economy.

"Kmart has not been a major force in the local retailing environment," Hurvitz said. "I believe that Kmart's location kept them from realizing their potential in the State College area."

Some people believe Kmart has been hampered with the emergence of Wal-Mart and Target on the local scene.

"I'm quite sure that their (Kmart) sales volume was significant enough that both Wal-Mart and Target will benefit from the closing," Hurvitz said.

Kmart might try to liquidate much of the merchandise locally rather than quietly closing. The process of running a liquidation sale locally could take several weeks, Hurvitz said.

"This could be an opportunity for Kmart to raise some operating cash to help support the stores that are to remain in business," Hurvitz said.

If Kmart does run a liquidation sale locally, students may see the benefits of closeout prices.

"This could present local residents with an opportunity to buy some goods at bargain prices," Hurvitz said.

The local closing reveals the majority of student shoppers look elsewhere for their retail needs.

"There is nothing special about the blue light special," said Stephanie Gerace (freshman-information sciences and technology). "Most of the products on sale are items that no one wants."

Kmart often has cheaper prices but lacks the selection offered by Wal-Mart, Gerace said.

The plan to close the local Kmart awaits final court approval.

"These stores will remain open for business pending approval of the store-closing plan by the Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois and thereafter until the related store-closing inventory sales are completed on a store-by-store basis," Kmart officials said in the same press release.

Local Kmart officials declined to comment.