K-Mart
Kmart is the #3 discount retailer in the United States behind
Wal-Mart and Target. Kmart sells name brand and private label
merchandise, mostly to low and mid - income families. It has more
than 1,800 stores and currently employs more than 220,000
associates in all 50 states, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands and owns an e-tailer BlueLight.com. As of Jan.30,
2002,Kmart had 124 Kmart Supercenters that combine a full grocery,
deli, bakery, video rental and 24 hour/seven-days-a-week
availability along with the general merchandise selection of a
Kmart discount store.
A core strength for the company continues to be the
expansion of Kmart Exclusive brands such as Martha Stewart
Everyday, Sesame Street, Jaclyn Smith, Kathy Ireland, and
Route 66. These brands-nationally available only at Kmart-
have progressively added to their assortments.
Despite that, the company filed for Chapter 11
Bankruptcy protection on January 22, 2002, after a year in
which its financial performance declined from unimpressive
to bleak. The filing came a day after Kmart's major food
distributor, Fleming Cos., said it had cut off most
shipments to Kmart because the discounter failed to make
its regular weekly payment for deliveries. Fleming said
Kmart, its largest customer, owed $78 million. This
bankruptcy filing let Kmart rid itself of unprofitable
stores and shrink the payroll. The company has closed 284
unprofitable stores and laid off about 22, ...