New Kmart Grocery Prototype

[Super S]

Looks like Kmart is trying a new grocery concept called K-Fresh:

http://www.chillicothegazette.com/story ... /23507299/

With the general direction Kmart has gone in the last few years, I think that this is too little, too late to be worthwhile unless they can somehow do some MAJOR remodels.

[storewanderer]

It is a downgrade to the Super Kmart to do this. But, it will probably cost less to operate this way.

It could be a potential upgrade for larger Big Kmarts with decent traffic. But then, it sounds like Big Kmart with maybe more fresh product? So, like a Target P-Fresh (a proven sleeper of a concept in most locations).

It is amazing how long it is taking for them to eliminate the Super Kmart format. It really was a pretty good format. The main issue was a lack of store penetration in any given market, and also that grocery was ordered from a wholesaler so the pricing was not as strong as it needed to be and perishable quality and merchandising varied by market (gee, sounds like someone else who is in the process of a rapid expansion over the next 116 days).

[submariner]

Sounds a lot like Target's strategy for it's mainline stores. Even the name - K-Fresh - is a rip of Target's PFresh store strategy.

[Super S]

Sounds a lot like Target's strategy for it's mainline stores. Even the name - K-Fresh - is a rip of Target's PFresh store strategy.

At this point in time, though, ripping off Target's strategy can't be any worse than the way Lampert has been doing things.

[submariner]

At this point in time, though, ripping off Target's strategy can't be any worse than the way Lampert has been doing things.

You won't get an argument there!

[wnetmacman]

At this point, what's left of Kmart is in either one of two modes: survival or maximization of real estate value. Survival will see some new items, but only enough to barely stay afloat. The other; well, just watch for continued closures.

That being said, Kmart has never pulled off a Target or Walmart strategy. In about 1991, Kmart tried the initial remodelings with the new logo, which made them more like Walmart at the time. Even Sam Walton said he was concerned, but the concern faded because you can copy, but you must emulate properly if you do so. They tried People Greeters, but nobody in Kmart was nice enough. They tried larger stores, but they just filled them full of more inventory that they couldn't sell. They tried copying Target's upscale style of inventory, but because of the early Kmart market saturation, pretty much everyone didn't think they could pull it off, and they were right. (Kmart had 500 stores by 1970; Target had about 19. Target's growth came at the same time Walmart grew.)

[Super S]

At this point, what's left of Kmart is in either one of two modes: survival or maximization of real estate value. Survival will see some new items, but only enough to barely stay afloat. The other; well, just watch for continued closures.

That being said, Kmart has never pulled off a Target or Walmart strategy. In about 1991, Kmart tried the initial remodelings with the new logo, which made them more like Walmart at the time. Even Sam Walton said he was concerned, but the concern faded because you can copy, but you must emulate properly if you do so. They tried People Greeters, but nobody in Kmart was nice enough. They tried larger stores, but they just filled them full of more inventory that they couldn't sell. They tried copying Target's upscale style of inventory, but because of the early Kmart market saturation, pretty much everyone didn't think they could pull it off, and they were right. (Kmart had 500 stores by 1970; Target had about 19. Target's growth came at the same time Walmart grew.)

The Kmart stores built during the 1990s had a lot of Walmart influence. Some aspects of the layout (in non-supercenter stores), such as the service desk, restaurant, and other parts of the store layout including the doors, were very similar to Walmart's non-supercenter stores from the same time period. Even the lighting fixtures were similar. Kmart could have made a better impression if they would have done thorough remodels on their oldest stores at the same time. Instead, many of the older stores are approaching 50+ years of age and have received minimal remodeling.

[BillyGr]

The Kmart stores built during the 1990s had a lot of Walmart influence. Some aspects of the layout (in non-supercenter stores), such as the service desk, restaurant, and other parts of the store layout including the doors, were very similar to Walmart's non-supercenter stores from the same time period. Even the lighting fixtures were similar. Kmart could have made a better impression if they would have done thorough remodels on their oldest stores at the same time. Instead, many of the older stores are approaching 50+ years of age and have received minimal remodeling.

Either they should have been renovated, or they needed someone in the company that could play up the history and make it seem like there was a reason that the stores looked older.

[pseudo3d]

I could see Kmart being picked up and run as a larger-format sister chain to a dollar store. Not the best fate, but I could see it happening that way.

Part of the biggest problem was they spent everything prior to 1991 building new stores across the nation instead of building slower and investing in older locations, leading them to having hundreds of out of date locations when competition started to heat up. This is similar to what happened to A&P, by the way.

[wnetmacman]

If you haven't read the book:

Kmart's Ten Deadly Sins

The book chronicles Kmart's repeated decisions that plagued the chain until just after the 2002 bankruptcy. Ironically, some of them continue today. It's a good read of what not to do in retail. And Kmart did it over and over again.