"A Closer Look at the Kmart Corporation and Retail Stores"
Kmart is moving forward with the kind of determination that would have made S.S. Kresge proud. The Company currently employs more than 170,000 associates, a far cry from the staff of 18 first employed at Kresge's five and dime. Kmart has a good business plan, a strong core portfolio of stores, customer loyalty earned over many years, and the will to succeed. As Kmart continues to operate stores across the country, customers can be assured that their communities will always have "the stuff of life" a broad selection of top-quality products at exceptional values.
Scope
Only five years after the Kmart Corporation was established under its new name, the company opened the 2,000th Kmart department store. Within a decade, Kmart underwent a major amount of growth. The company acquired the Walden Book Company, Home Centers of America, launched the Jaclyn Smith signature sportswear collection and purchased two other stores; the Sports Authority and OfficeMax. In 1990, Kmart also launched a new logo replacing the turquoise-colored "mart" with white lettering but keeping the large, red "K," making an effort to show Kmart's commitment to change.
MethodsSixteen years after Kmart's incorporation, the company acquired Border, Inc. and entered the European market by purchasing 13 stores in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Two years later, Kmart launched a new line of exclusive clothes and swimwear in partnership with Kathy Ireland. That same year, Kmart sold 75 percent of its interest in The Sports Authority, OfficeMax and Borders, Inc. with completion of the sale by 1995.
In 1997, Kmart introduced a new format of stores called the Big Kmart (also known as "Big K" stores) which included the addition of a new logo. …
