Kmart Yanks Christmas Decoration From Shelves After Complaints

Kmart may not have many stores left, but they are still getting noticed after photos surfaced showing Christmas decor some found offensive.

According to Distractify, Kmart stores in Australia pulled a Christmas-themed bag from shelves after shoppers called out its attempt at clever wordplay and how it is affected by current events.

Why Kmart Removed The Bag

The report from Distractify noted the Australian Jewish Foundation as one of the first to draw attention to the bag that contains the message “Merry Ham-Mas.”

“We suspect some product manager may cause the company some embarrassment,” the group shared on X (formerly Twitter) in reference to the bag’s text and its connection to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The bag was designed to hold a Christmas ham, hence the ham pun. The meat continues to be a popular meal on Christmas Day for many families in Austrailia.

Kmart was certainly not the first to use the play-on-words, either. Several businesses in Australia have used the “Merry Ham-mas” phrase when advertising their holiday meat specials.

A followup post from the Australian Jewish Association noted they were contacted by “senior management” at Kmart who said the bag would be removed from stores and the Kmart website.

Yes, There Are Still Kmart Stores

Kmart’s parent company, Sears Holdings, filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Several store closings followed between 2019-2022.

While Kmart continues to exist in Australia and New Zealand, the brand is fairly limited in other parts of the world.

Only three stores remain in the continental U.S. You can currently find Kmart in Miami, Westwood, New Jersey and Bridgehampton, New York.

Here is a look at other retail chains that have suffered closures in recent years.