Spotlight: Big Kmart - Buford, GA

Big Kmart 1605 Buford Hwy in Buford, GA.

(Note: This store is also featured in a post here about its closing in April 2012.)

Recently I visited the Kmart in Buford, GA, which is only a few miles away from the Mall of Georgia (largest mall in Georgia).

This store used to have a K Cafe. The area is now more selling space for the baby/infant section. One odd thing they did at this store was they removed some of the registers and made it into more selling space. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of either. This is one of the Kmarts that has a Large Appliance section in it. (picture below)

Overall not too much exciting or unique about this store.

Sorry for the lack of updates to the blog in the last couple months, things have been very busy for me. I have several updates lined up, so keep checking back!

Special Report: Sears Grand, Viable Concept Gone To Waste?

(Editors Note: Kmart World toured the Las Vegas Sears Grand in 2016, click here to check it out.)

Sears Grand is one of countless concepts rolled out by Sears Holdings, but one that had great potential. Back in 2003 the first Sears Grand store opened in West Jordan, Utah, followed by 4 other locations, including one in Las Vegas, NV. The Review Journal has an article about Sears Grand and the Las Vegas location. In the article Sears Vice President, speaking of the Sears Grand concept said "This offers us an off-mall growth opportunity." A few years later that opportunity turned out to be Kmart and the Sears Grand concept was all but abandoned.

(Image courtesy of Searsmedia.com) Unknown Location

(Image courtesy of Unknown) West Jordan, Utah

So here we are in 2009, Sears and Kmart are both struggling and still trying new concepts (mygofer anyone?) to little success. What if Sears would have went with Sears Grand and rolled it out nationwide? Would things be different for Sears Holdings today?

(Image courtesy of Searsmedia.com) Las Vegas, NV

One thing to remember is that the Sears Grand concept was developed and opened just before the Sears-Kmart merger. Sears Grand was the brain child of the then CEO of Sears. Once Kmart purchased Sears and Eddie Lampert began his rein of the companies, all previous concepts and ideas pretty much died in their current form. What Lampert did was a cheap remodel of some Kmart locations into Sears Essentials, Lampert later dumped the Essentials and renamed them all Sears Grand. Unfortunately those Sears Grands were just Kmart's with an expanded assortment of Sears items in a cheaply remodeled store.

(Image courtesy of AP) West Jordan, Utah

The thing is the original Sears Grands were pretty much a hybrid of a Sears and Kmart store. They weren't a Kmart with a few Sears items thrown in though. They were a from-the-ground-up new store. Below you will find the Sears Grand Fact Sheet, that will give you an idea of what to expect at one of the few original locations.

Overview:
Sears Grand is a one-stop home and family solution center that delivers a mix of quality products such as Sears' proprietary and national brands that no other store provides. Everything busy people need to maintain their homes and keep their family on-the-go can conveniently be found here, under one roof.

Sears Grand is a one-level store that carries everything from milk to refrigerators, bathing suits to sun block and car seats to baby food. Sears Grand offers the best of what Sears is known for – appliances, lawn and garden supplies, electronics, tools, automotive products and services, sporting goods, apparel and hardware – with an innovative mix of convenience-inspired items - health and beauty products, greeting cards, dry grocery, pet food and magazines.

Brands/Products/Services:
Sears Grand offers a mix of quality brands that no other retailer offers, such as Kenmore, Craftsman, Lands’ End, Die Hard, as well as Nike, CoverGirl, GE, Levis, Sony, Carters, Huggies, Apostrophe, KitchenAid and more.

Sears Grand’s unique product and service offerings enable multi-tasking families to efficiently manage their busy lives and households. Sears Grand product categories include: apparel, appliances, lawn and garden, plant nursery (in some stores), sporting goods, toys, baby care, cleaning supplies, mattresses, home/seasonal décor, pantry items, pet food, cards and party supplies, books, magazines and electronics (TVs, CDs, DVDs, games).

Shoppers also will find an array of convenient services at Sears Grand including: an auto center, custom paint mixing, window blind cutting and key cutting.

Shopping Experience:
The Sears Grand concept was created based on what customers want and need. The one-level store is brightly lit with wide, uncluttered aisles and easy checkout lanes at the exit. A racetrack format combined with colorful, bilingual signage make it easy for customers to navigate the 165,000 to 210,000 sq. foot stores easily. Additionally, price verifiers throughout the store enable customers to easily identify the price on any product or call for assistance if needed.

To make the shopping experience even more convenient and fun, Sears Grand features shopping carts that have a kid-friendly racecar theme and are equipped with cup holders for mom and dad. The stores also feature convenient services and a café where busy families can grab a bite to eat. 

(Image courtesy of Salt Lake Tribune) West Jordan, Utah

Special thanks to Erica n Juan on Flickr for the three photos below. This is the Sears Grand in Austin, TX.





So there you have it- Sears Grand, a viable concept gone to waste?

What do you think, did Eddie Lampert make a mistake by not continuing the expansion of Sears Grand, or was it just another disposable concept?

Spotlight: Jacksonville, FL Kmarts

(Neptune Beach, FL)

Well its been a few weeks since the last update, sorry for the delay.
Jacksonville, FL is home to several Kmart locations, and today we are going to look at a couple of them.

First is located on the outskirts of Jacksonville in Neptune Beach, FL. This location was remodeled and expanded in the very early 2000's. Before that it was a very small and outdated store, complete with wood trim inside. Today, it looks like most regular Kmart inside, with nothing really special about it. It does not have a K Cafe or any restaurant inside. The side of the store has the former Auto Center bays, which are sometimes used for special sales and storage. Pictures were taken in September of 2007, location is still open today.



In the picture above you can see on the right where the store was expanded (the lighter colored roof part). [Image courtesy of Bing Maps]


Second location is on Beach Blvd. in the middle of Jacksonville, FL. This location I have visited since being a small child and can remember the old pre-1990 logo on the building and road sign. This Big Kmart lives up to its name, as its a very big store. It still has a K-Cafe in it, which was formerly a Little Caesars. At one time this location had a Kmart foods attached to the left of the store. It was then a craft store for many years and is currently vacant, Kmart occasionally uses the space for special sales. I'd like to know approximately what year this store was built, if anyone has an idea please post a comment. Unfortunately the pictures I took of this store are on my desktop computer which is currently broken.

On the far left is up until the first white line in the roof is where the Kmart foods was located and is currently vacant. The rest of it is Kmart, but as you can see it's a very large store. [Image courtesy of Bing Maps]


The last location was in Jacksonville Beach, FL. It closed in the mid-2000's to make way for a Home Depot. This was a nicer looking and well kept store inside. It also had a K-Cafe. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it before it closed or any history of the store.

[Image courtesy of Bing Maps]


That concludes today update. The next one will be very soon, not 2-3 weeks, I promise!