Kmart’s mission is to earn consumer loyalty by providing quality merchandise at affordable prices while maintaining superior customer service.
Situation Analysis:
In recent years, Kmart has established itself as the third leading discount retailer in the United States, following behind Wal-Mart and Target. Kmart’s low prices and array of product have appealed mainly to low-middle class families. Kmart has fallen from the glory days when it was the leading and only discount retail store on the block. After the opening of discount giant Wal-Mart in 1962, and second largest discount retail store Target in the same year, Kmart slowly began to enter the back of consumers’ minds. Kmart is mainly known for the Blue Light Special, which was first introduced in 1965, and then was retired approximately 30 years later for failing to appeal to consumers. Blue Light Specials were revived again in 2009 only to be offered on Saturdays for an hour long sale on certain merchandise.
During the 1980s, the company's fortunes began to shift. Many of Kmart's stores were considered to be outdated and too numerous to manage. On January 22, 2002, Kmart filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy under the leadership of chairman Chuck Conaway and president Mark Schwartz. Later, Conaway accepted full responsibility for the financial disaster and blamed the companies loses on himself. After terminating Conaway and Schwartz, Kmart closed hundreds of stores in the United States and laid off thousands workers as part of refurbishing the company. After rebranding and renovating again, the new layout was advertised as having wider aisles, cleaner stores, and an improved selection. However, Kmart could not afford a complete rollout in all stores after bankruptcy.
In 1994, Kmart closed 110 stores. Unlike its competitors Wal-Mart and Target, it had failed to invest in computer technology to manage its stores because they had no money to improve store quality. The main reason for
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