K-Mart

[Kmart4life]

I found out while applying for a part time job at the forthcoming Kmart that if this store does really good a new store will be built on the north side of town. there is talk that they may take over the old location that is now Bealls which that location is not doing good anyway. I used to work in the north side Kmart and we did pretty good business. Mainly because the walmart across the street was old and nasty and smelled like mold.

[Kmart4life]

Going to Svierville Tennessee next weekend and will get shots of old and current Kmart locations.

[Kmart4life]

New Kmart sign

[jamesway_95]

The Sears Essentials in Lawnside, NJ is being converted back into a Kmart in November. Guess it shows how well that concept worked out.

[KmartDanny09]

So my Kmart had it's annual Physical inventory and the results were... well, pretty bad. We shrink totaling -$140,640 dollars. For those not familiar with inventory terms, that's the difference between what our store SHOULD have and the actual dollar value of things on our shelves. Most of the difference was because of theft... we spent a lot of time with a Loss Prevention Officer and shrink was at a record level at our store.

Anyways, our manager is concerned that our store will be placed on a "Profit Maximization Plan" and I was wondering if anyone knew what EXACTLY a PMP was. I have heard, in passing, that stores on PMP's are stores that being are on a preliminarily watch list for closure.

Now I don't know if that is entirely true... Our regional coach has be reinvesting in our store... getting new shopping carts, an expanded pantry department, and nurse scrubs. Our store lease was recently resigned. Our sales have been strong, we even had the highest sales variance last year in our district!

Should we be concerned? Any Kmart associates familiar with PMP?

[Kmart4life]

Yeah from the way it looks Sears is in grave danger, while the Kmart side is looking alot better. I Kmart shuttering all Sears stores in the very near future. another one biting the dust! :'(

[Kmart4life]

Was not able to get picks in Tennessee but I will get picks of my newly reverted Kmart shortly.

[Kmart4life]

Saw this at my newly reverted Kmart today as I was getting a prescription refilled. It is the old style logo that was covered up by the old Sears Essentials sticker on the blood pressure monitor.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Yeah from the way it looks Sears is in grave danger, while the Kmart side is looking alot better. I Kmart shuttering all Sears stores in the very near future. another one biting the dust! :'(

It does not look good for Sears Holdings...

Are Sears and Kmart Goners?
Forbes
8/31/2011 @ 2:42PM

Can Sears and Kmart continue for much longer? That’s the question posed by Ken Kurson, writing for Esquire and aptly titled, “The End Old Friend.” Sears and Kmart may well be goners with in a year. 

Many readers may wonder if Sears and Kmart even exist anymore. We rarely hear of them in business circles and shoppers are far more likely to head to Target or Walmart for discount goods and to Home Depot and Lowe’s for appliances and home improvement supplies. Don’t just take my word for it, there’s plenty of data to back this up. Consumer have been voting with their dollars for year.

Kurson blames Sears’ CEO, Eddie Lampert, and with good reason.

Source:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/lauraheller/2011/08/31/are-sears-and-kmart-goners/

I know things don't look good for Sears and Kmart. Their stores are dropping like flies, with their clientele favoring other retailers, both national and regional, like Walmart, Target, Shopko (Midwest, Mountain, Pacific Northwest), Fred Meyer (West Coast),and Meijer (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio).

[retailisking]

Leaving aside Eddie Lampert's failed real estate strategy for Kmart and Sears (and that's ALL it ever was) retail history teaches that two struggling chains do not add up to one turnaround.  Both should have been kept separate to either sink or swim on their own.  Now the weaker of the two chains stands to sink the whole enterprise.

[Zayre88]

Leaving aside Eddie Lampert's failed real estate strategy for Kmart and Sears (and that's ALL it ever was) retail history teaches that two struggling chains do not add up to one turnaround.  Both should have been kept separate to either sink or swim on their own.  Now the weaker of the two chains stands to sink the whole enterprise.

Totally agree!

[katnapped]

Sounds like there might end up being one more closing in the not too distant future depending on whatever decisions are made.

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/business/businesses-digging-out-pondering-future-1.1203554#axzz1Y8KZOiI3

What that Redner's spokesperson makes sense...spend all that money and watch it disappear when it happens again (that's even assuming the shopping center is insurable any longer)

[Kmart4life]

I don't understand it, all of our Kmart stores within a 25 mile radius of me get pretty good business. Since Kmart reverted Sears Essentials back to Kmart #3985 business has been nonstop. Winter Haven Fl. #3624 also does really good. And both of these store are within a mile or 2 from a Walmart. And the store in Zepyhrhills Fl. is across the street from a Walmart super center and when I was in there 3 days ago it was packed with customers. Granted all of these are older stores but they are kept up and pretty nice inside, but they seem to be doing really good. Our Sears store at the mall on the other hand is always dead. I guess some areas are better for Kmart than others. If Kmart does go I will miss the great clearence deals along with the fact that it is the last remaining good store here for me except for Target. ???

[AmesNewington]

I think Kmart still has a chance. Kmart has the platform to be a great alternative to Walmart and Target. The Cromwell, CT store seems to do pretty well. I live in Newington and have Walmart and Target within a close distance, but I'd rather go to Kmart. They do have some good sales and the quality of their merchandise is mainly very good. Over the past year or so, as opposed to when I started going there in late 2009, they have really expanded their selection and brands. I also like their Shop Your Way Rewards program. Hopefully they can stay around and succeed.

[gu4ever]

I recently shopped at the Kmart in Salem, NH. This is an old school Kmart location with very little done to modernize it.
Surprisingly they have a great assortment of stuff for the house and prices weren't bad for the quality they carry.

[Kmart4life]

I like the Shop Your Way Rewards program too. I already have close to $20.00 in points!

[Kmart4life]

Picture of the Winter Haven Fl. #3624 road sign at night.

[Kmart4life]

Not to mention that they have layaway all year long unlike walmart who brought it back for a limited time. We will do all of our christmas shopping again this year at Kmart and use the layawy program. ;D

[EddieJ1984]

I like the Shop Your Way Rewards program too. I already have close to $20.00 in points!

I got Batman: Arkham City at kmart, and got a $30 gaming coupon off the next game I get, that's pretty sweet!

[Kmart4life]

1983 Kmart newspaper ad with Bartow Hwy. location listed at the bottom in very small print.

[patk]

By The Official Nathan's Famous Page
Have you seen a Nathan's restaurant inside K-Mart? We have just recently open 28 units inside K-Marts across the country. More to come next year.
:o

[TRJ_22487]

1982 Hudson Valley Mall KIngston, NY from Flickr user richie 59

[XDeSuEhTX]

By The Official Nathan's Famous Page
Have you seen a Nathan's restaurant inside K-Mart? We have just recently open 28 units inside K-Marts across the country. More to come next year.
:o

That's funny. I nearly every WV location I've been in, they've done away with the K-Cafe and Little Ceaser's, sadly.

[XDeSuEhTX]

I was in Kmart today and not surprisingly, they no longer have a music CD section in electronics.

[jason83080]

The Sears Grand in Westlake, OH, is actually going to be reverted *back* to a Kmart store, after the failed 7-year "trial" of it being a Sears store. They're having a "remodeling sale" right now, with "certain departments" (read: the Sears stuff) being marked down, currently, to 20-40% off.

The signholders' posters don't tell you what's coming, but you see "look for your new KMART store" on the signs in the windows of Sears Grand. I'm excited to have a Kmart store again within a reasonable distance from my house, since it'll give me somewhere new to shop. Also, I should use this opportunity to buy stuff for NEXT Christmas, since I always seem to do pretty well in GOOB sales. Also, you can't return anything, because the store's not there anymore!

(I've always wondered if the old registers from its original Kmart days actually WORK, because, every time I've gone there, I've had to check out at the Service Desk. I don't think I've ever seen the actual register terminals being used.)

---

Also, the majority of the old Super Kmart building in the Cobblestone Square plaza in Sheffield Village, OH, is being occupied by something called "Bargain Warehouse," a very low-budget 'junk' store. There's never any heat on in the building, and they did very little to transform it into a new store. They're using the old Kmart registers, even leaving them in the original location. (They dead-end into the wall that was built inside, which separates it from the Litehouse that occupies a portion of the building and the adjoining Garden Center. Fun fact: The original Kmart "Welcome" stripes are still on the doors to what used to be the Garden Center.)

[dmx10101]

If you can get pictures of either the Sears Grand or the former Super K, I'd love to feature them on KmartWorld.com. It must be pretty cool yo get to go into the old Super K and still be able to tell it was one.

The Sears Grand in Westlake, OH, is actually going to be reverted *back* to a Kmart store, after the failed 7-year "trial" of it being a Sears store. They're having a "remodeling sale" right now, with "certain departments" (read: the Sears stuff) being marked down, currently, to 20-40% off.

The signholders' posters don't tell you what's coming, but you see "look for your new KMART store" on the signs in the windows of Sears Grand. I'm excited to have a Kmart store again within a reasonable distance from my house, since it'll give me somewhere new to shop. Also, I should use this opportunity to buy stuff for NEXT Christmas, since I always seem to do pretty well in GOOB sales. Also, you can't return anything, because the store's not there anymore!

(I've always wondered if the old registers from its original Kmart days actually WORK, because, every time I've gone there, I've had to check out at the Service Desk. I don't think I've ever seen the actual register terminals being used.)

---

Also, the majority of the old Super Kmart building in the Cobblestone Square plaza in Sheffield Village, OH, is being occupied by something called "Bargain Warehouse," a very low-budget 'junk' store. There's never any heat on in the building, and they did very little to transform it into a new store. They're using the old Kmart registers, even leaving them in the original location. (They dead-end into the wall that was built inside, which separates it from the Litehouse that occupies a portion of the building and the adjoining Garden Center. Fun fact: The original Kmart "Welcome" stripes are still on the doors to what used to be the Garden Center.)

[jason83080]

If you can get pictures of either the Sears Grand or the former Super K, I'd love to feature them on KmartWorld.com. It must be pretty cool yo get to go into the old Super K and still be able to tell it was one.

Depending on what the weather will do (we're supposed to get some snow), I'll try to get out tomorrow and take some pictures. The old Super K's definitely an experience, but I can't really get to the majority of the closed-off floor space without probably arousing some suspicion. All that Bargain Warehouse did was move some racks around and stock shelves. They're using the old jewelry counter for 'fine collectibles', and - this is the best part - the old Produce coolers in the front are used for merchandise.

They used to have a website, but I think it belonged to the previous owners. The 'new owners' only have a Facebook page, and all that you can see that would tell you "hey, this used to be a Kmart" is the front wall. This is a picture that I found online of the building:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EejcMrtdFjc/TrX2r3tlNvI/AAAAAAAAAKc/icArTk7hlw4/s1600/20111104170746.jpg

As for Sears Grand, I have no idea who thought of all-lowercase Arial-typefaced letters for the in-store wall signage for the various departments, but picture " home appliances" with the p's raised, white letters on a brown wall. It looks like something straight out of the '60s. The front facade is definitely unique to that location, being a part of a full remodel of the entire plaza back when it was a Kmart the first time. (That's also when it inherited the "Big Kmart" logo - up until then, it had the red-K/white-script-'mart' logo.)

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

Australia's 1st Kmart/Kmart Foods, Burwood, Victoria, Australia, in 1969:

[dmx10101]

Nice pics! It looks like the store was fairly good looking, compared to most Kmart's that haven't been remodeled in 20 years at least.

[jason83080]

Well, it was really cleaned up when it was transformed into a Sears Grand. Also, figure that there's been such little traffic over the past seven years, so there's been a LOT of time to keep things clean. ;)