The store is being liquidated through Nov. 14 to make way for Wal-Mart, which owns the building and plans to open its own store on site.
Discounts at the store, at 2705 E. Parleys Way, vary by department. Signs throughout the toy section, for example, said prices were discounted 30 percent from the lowest ticketed amount - with grids to help shoppers calculate savings.
Chelsea Williams of Salt Lake City said she purchased five toys, two of which rung up higher than they should have. A cashier, and then a manager, working for Kmart's liquidation company refused to fix the error and pointed out that all sales are final. She estimates she was overcharged a total of about $12.
Kmart's corporate office, however, said it apologizes to customers who had this experience and will fix any errors.
"We've talked with the liquidator and if anyone was charged incorrectly, they can bring in their receipt and Kmart will refund the difference," said Kim Freely, a spokeswoman with Sears Holding Corp., of which Kmart is a wholly owned subsidiary. "We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused."
Kevin Olsen, director of the state Division of Consumer Protection, said that under state law, stores must honor advertised prices. "If they fail to sell the item as advertised, that's a deceptive sales practice," he said.
The closure of the Sugar House store will leave Kmart with 19 stores in Utah, where its brand has been shrinking. About five years ago, before it was acquired by Sears Holdings Corp., Kmart closed four "underperforming" locations, in Brigham City, Farmington, Park City and Sandy, as part of an effort to close nearly 300 stores nationwide.
Wal-Mart became Kmart's landlord at the Salt Lake City location several years ago when it bought the building that Kmart had been leasing.
Under the terms of the lease, Kmart could stay put until the end of November, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman said. Wal-Mart wants to open its own Super Center store, a format with general merchandise and groceries, by early 2010.
The global retailer's first choice is to demolish the existing 40-year-old building and construct a 120,000-square-foot store in its place. But after it failed to gain city approval for those plans, it is now moving forward with a remodel of the existing building.
Whether it builds a new store or simply moves into the old Kmart location, the addition of the Sugar House Wal-Mart would be the chain's second location in Salt Lake City. The other is at 350 W. Hope Ave., just off 300 West near 1300 South.
