Harry Cunningham to design a discount store. Walton added that Cunningham should be remembered as one of the leading retailers of all time. Cunningham and Walton both visited, and were impressed by, the early and innovative discounter Ann & Hope in Cumberland, Rhode Island. Harry Cunningham Harry B. Cunningham (1907 in Pennsylvania – November 11, 1992 in North Palm Beach, Florida) was an American businessman and retailer who founded Kmart in 1962, along with S. S. Kresge. Cunningham had a vision to convert the retail chain into a discounter. At the time, Cunningham was sharply criticized by some, including Kresge shareholders, as
L.A. Joe Department Store L.A. Joe Department Store L.A. Joe Department Store was a chain of Charleston, West Virginia based discount department stores that existed until June, 1992. L.A. Joe was the retail brand name of Retail Acquisition Corporation which at its peak owned 70 discount department stores throughout West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Retail Acquisition Corp/L.A. Joe purchased the struggling Heck's Department Store chain in 1990. The company experienced $19.5 billion in losses between 1990 and 1991, and in 1991 liquidated 22 of its stores under Chapter 11. By June 1992, the remainder of the stores had been liquidated. Creditors