Kmart World

March 6, 2011

Special Report: The slow death of Super Kmart Centers & the rise of Eddie Lampert

One of my most popular posts on this site was from back in July 2009. It was a spotlight on Georgia's last Super Kmart Center and the subsequent removal of the "Super" part of the store. Fast forward to March 2011 and we are getting closer to talking about the Nations last Super Kmart Center. Super Kmart Centers are becoming an increasingly dying breed and it's unclear how many Super Kmart Centers are now left in the US. Kmart has removed the Super Kmart Center part of their website and thus the store locator for Super Kmart Centers. As of last count, there were just over 30 left but now that number is less because of the recent de-supering of several locations. And by de-supering, I mean the increasingly frequent practice of Kmart completely removing the grocery sections and changing them to Big Kmart's, which are no longer open 24 hours as the Super Kmart Centers were. This was the fate of the Rome, GA location I visited and reported on. Locations that aren't worth changing to Big Kmarts are closed all together, which happened quite a bit in the earlier 2000's during Kmart's bankruptcy stage.

You can pretty much put the final nail in the coffin of Super Kmart Centers. It's an unfortunate but true fact as the number of Super Kmart Centers dwindle down closer to zero with the closure or de-supering of most locations. Sears Holdings has all but given up on the concept, realizing that it's too little, too late now to try to expand it further to compete with Walmart Supercenters.

I am for one disappointed that they didn't try to maintain and expand the concept in the late 90s/early 00s, before Walmart got a stronger hold than it already had on the grocery market. Instead, during their bankruptcy of 2002, they closed several of the Super Kmart Center locations. Then in 2003 when Eddie Lampert started his rein of the company, you could all but forget any hope of progress for Super Kmart Centers.

Ever since Lampert has taken control of Kmart and then subsequently Sears any chances of progress for the company has died before it even started. Lampert runs the company to get profits for his hedge fund, instead of worrying about increasing sales or making improvements to the stores. Most people can tell this from the 90s and even 80s time warp they get when stepping into most Kmart stores. A lot of us love the nostalgic feeling we get when going into Kmart's but no matter how much we love it, it's bad for business.

Sears Holdings idea of progress is their never ending testing of different concepts, only for them to be abandoned or die a slow death. I recently did an article on mygofer, one of Sears Holdings most recent concepts that they have been focusing on. To give you a short summary, I'm not that impressed.

I hate to be critical about Kmart and Sears Holdings so much lately, but there really isn't much they've done recently to be positive or happy about. Here's hoping that Sears Holdings can do something to make Kmart a tour de force in the retail world again. Until then Kmart's outlook is looking as bleak as these pictures.

Special thanks to Kate Bingaman-Burt of Obsessiveconsumption.com. She captured these awesome photos after her local Super Kmart Center went out of business. She wrote an interesting article about that location to go with these photos, it can be read on Core77.com. These photos are sole property of Kate Bingaman-Burt.

February 12, 2011

Special Report: Mygofer or Mygoof, a concept worth the effort?

By now you've probably heard of mygofer, one of Sears Holdings many concepts and tests. If you haven't, it's in short, a bit of a hybrid type shopping experience. You can order groceries, health & beauty, and general merchandise items online and have them delivered to you or pick them up at select Kmart locations. All you have to do is go to the website, select your Kmart store, pick out the items you want, then go to the store to pick them up. There's also a mobile app that you can order items from in lieu of using the website.

(Image courtesy of newmarketbuilders.com)

It's a good concept, but I'm afraid the execution is once again flawed. For example, when you're shopping for groceries on mygofer.com, you're limited to picking out whatever that Kmart store you select carries. Unfortunately, most Kmart's have a small selection of groceries. Upon browsing my local Kmart on mygofer.com, you can buy a gallon of milk yet you can't buy a carton of orange juice. Browsing further in the category of frozen foods, all it brings up is a half gallon bottle of prune juice, which is not even a frozen food item. You can see where I'm going here, there's a very limited selection of grocery items that you can order online and get in store.

There's many other catagories that you can chose from to order on the site and pick up in store (electronics, household items, etc.), but that's really no different from ordering on Wal-Mart's website and selecting their site-to-store pickup. The food and grocery catagroies are displayed prominently on mygofer's website and seem to be the main draw of the service, yet it's the part most lacking. I will go a step further and say that if you're close to an actual mygofer store (of which there is only one in existance) or a Kmart Supercenter (not many left in existance) you can chose from a better selection of grocery items. Honestly, what's the point of heavily promoting the service, if only a few places in the US can take full advantage of it?

Another point to make is the website itself is not especially quick or even easy to use. It makes a decent alternative to Wal-Mart site-to-store pick up service. If that's Sears Holdings goal, then why not just integrate the 'order online, pick up in store' service into Kmart.com and Sears.com. Instead of having a whole separate website to shop from. Yes, I understand that Wal-Mart's service won't let you pick up your items within a couple hours of ordering them, like mygofer can. That's definitely a positive, but it's only beneficial in certain situations.

Now let's look at the actual mygofer store locations, which at last check, there was only one. Joliet, IL is the original full fledged mygofer location, born from a converted Kmart building. It's basically a small showroom, with computers to order items, and a drive thru to pick them up. The majority of the building is warehouse space for all the items they sell. The city of Joliet has a webpage all about this location, including several pictures. To me, the actual mygofer store locations are a more innovative and intriguing concept than the mygofer at Kmart pickup service.

So what do you think, is mygofer a concept Sears Holdings should keep testing or do you think it's yet another failure by them?

January 27, 2011

Kmart World is back for 2011!

That's right, we're back! The World of Kmart, now known simply as Kmart World is back from hiatus. We have revamped the site and are ready to post new updates for 2011! Be sure to bookmark the site, share it with others, follow us, like us on Facebook, send us suggestions, and whatever else you can do to get involved with Kmart World.

We are in desperate need for contributors around the country for our store Spotlight features. If you'd like your local Kmart featured on the site, please send us photos and some information about it to the email address here. We will give you full credit for your contribution in the post.

Thank you for sticking with us, we hope you are looking forward to an exciting year in the world of Kmart!

January 4, 2010

Kmart Photo Challenge Winner!

World of Kmart wishes everyone a Happy New Year! The new year will bring new and exciting things to the World of Kmart site! The first is the winner of the Kmart Photo Challenge that was announced last month.

And the winner is the user who submitted this entry-

"This Big Kmart store in Hendersonville, TN has some interesting features that are shown in the pictures. The first, of the road sign, shows the newest Kmart logo - pretty rare for your typical Big Kmart in the South. However, as you can see in the background, the main exterior storefront signage is still the standard Big Kmart design of the 1990s. The second photo shows a relatively unique Big Kmart Garden Shop patio exterior. Since these pictures were taken in December, there was nothing growing and the external doors to the Garden Shop were locked, though one could go in through the store to see some bicycles blocking the Garden Shop exit and the usual array of hoses, garden tools, and stacks of bottled water somewhat haphazardly strewn about.

The interior picture of the center aisle of the store is shot from the rear toward the front, and you can see the "Thank you for shopping Big Kmart" signage that is found in most stores. The American flag seems to be a new and nice touch, though. You can see the old-style large circular air vents, even! The store is organized such that the soft lines (clothing, shoes, and infants) and cashiers are on the right side upon entry, and everything else is on the left side. There were a lot of carts intruding upon the entry lobby space, and the atmosphere, well, it was fantastic for a Kmart fan but still cannot really compare to a Target or Wal-Mart. This store is fairly large and well organized, and there were plenty of salespeople and cashiers to help in the week before Christmas. In fact, there were more cashiers than shoppers checking out - plus, the cash registers were numbered 4-7. I believe they removed #1-3 to make room for seasonal merchandise,
recognizing that four cash registers were plenty to handle the amount of business a Kmart does - but I wonder how Black Friday went with only 4 registers and the Customer Service desk? (Note: for comparison, the nearby Wal-Mart has 20 + 8 self checkout lanes; whereas other Middle Tennessee area Kmarts generally have 7 checkout lanes, even if only a couple are open at most times.)

Ok, before we get too far into details, let's wrap up with the history and competition trivia. The 89,000 square foot Kmart opened in 1976 (any surprise from the standard 70's Kmart exterior facade so prevalent in the South?) alongside some grocery stores, but by 1991 the grocery stores were all closed, and by 1997 Eckerds left, leaving Kmart as the sole large/chain anchor. Today, some competitors to Kmart fill up the other major spots in the shopping center - Big Lots and Dollar General. In 1989, a Wal-Mart opened down the road, but luckily this Kmart survived... until 2005, when it relocated away from Main Street and opened as a 205,000 sq foot Supercenter. Somehow, this Kmart remains open as of Christmas 2009 though. The average household income within a 5-mile radius is almost $75,000 - not sure if this helps or hurts Kmart's business. The City of Hendersonville seemed to have wanted to "revitalize" this corner of the city center and make a new hip-urban lifestyle center, but from our visit, an aging shopping center still stands.

Overall, the interior of this Big Kmart is pretty standard and well-decorated and nicely stocked for a Kmart, but with some twists on the exterior signage. I'm surprised it remains open with a Wal-Mart Supercenter so close, but hopefully there is enough population to support both stores. All in all, a pretty nice, but aging, store."

Thanks to everyone who participated and congratulations to the winner! Your Kmart gift card will be on its way soon!

November 21, 2009

Special Report: Shop Your Way Rewards

K'Ching Round 2?

Back in July, I wrote about a new program Kmart was testing in select markets called Kmart Smart Rewards. The program including using a card to get discounts and rewards when you shopped at Kmart stores. A few weeks ago it was rolled out nationally under the name Shop Your Way Rewards. It still has the same benefits as before, including the K'Ching surprises at Kmart, 1% back in rewards, & no receipt returns, but now its available for the Sears Holdings family of stores and websites. The card can now be used at not just Kmart stores but also at Sears stores, Lands End at Sears, Craftsman.com, Kmart.com, Sears.com, and Mygofer.com.

When I wrote about the original Kmart Smart Rewards program I said it can help build loyalty and return trips to Kmart. I again echo that sentiment, now that this program has gone national. I believe it can be a slight edge for them against Wal-Mart and Target. Most stores these days have some type of loyalty card program, because it works. Everywhere from Dick's Sporting Goods, Best Buy, CVS, Kroger, to PetSmart have a loyalty card program. Wal-Mart and Target are in the minority now as stores without it.

I signed up for the original Kmart Smart Rewards Program as it was available in my area and they automatically sent me a new Shop Your Way Rewards card when it was launched to replace the KSR program. I get frequent emails for special deals with my card at Kmart and Sears. So far from first hand experience, I think it will be a successful endeavor for Sears Holdings.

What do you think? Is this program a good idea or is it another one of Sears Holdings failed attempts to spur business?