area also contained a second area that sold popcorn, pretzels, and Icee drinks. Corporate affairs The Venture corporate headquarters were located in O'Fallon, Missouri. Bankruptcy By the late 1990s, the chain found that it was unable to compete against other retail chains, such as Kmart, Target, and Wal-Mart. Venture tried to return to its founding principles as an upscale discounter and remodeled most of its 90+ stores. While facing vast competition, Venture made a fatal mistake trying to expand into Texas instead of protecting its core markets. Venture sold the Texas stores to Kmart in 1996 and closed its distribution center in Corsicana, Texas. The company entered chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 20, 1998, and tried to operate with a smaller number of stores. The effort was not successful, and the company announced its closing on April 27, 1998. Liquidation of store inventory continued through July 1998. Most of the former Venture buildings were absorbed into other chains, primarily Kmart (for their new Big Kmart stores at the time), the final of which was located in Crystal City, Missouri, which closed permanently in March 2019. Others were absorbed by Kohl's, ShopKo, and Burlington Coat Factory. References External links Television commercials at The Museum of Classic Chicago Television Retail companies established in 1970 Companies based in St. Louis County, Missouri Defunct discount stores of the United States Retail companies disestablished in 1998 1970 establishments in Missouri 1998 disestablishments in Missouri Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1998