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Kmart Corporation And Its Impact On The Retail Market

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The name Kmart Corporation was first known as Kmart Discount Stores. One of the first stores was opened in Garden City, MI. This company was well known for great in-pocket discounts for consumers. This was the true ‘five and dime’ retailer. It was also the template for other retailers such as Walmart. “
The road from the original model to the current operation is long and broad. Kmart stores represent a dynamic example of growth and change, evolving and expanding into several retail market areas. They have gone through transformations from the original five and dime ideology, to discount retailer, and further down the line to include home product lines, using products and brands such as Martha Stewart. Attempts at gaining market share in…show more content…
The shoe and clothing industry, although not foreseen directly, there are seasonal highs and lows that come with the business. These are reflected, as such for example with the holidays. Products must be available, in stock, in order to be presented as saleable items to the customer. This is also overhead. Depending on the state of the economy, it can very well require sums of money being tied up in overhead, that could possibly lead to loss should the economy be in a downturn.
I believe, that should Kmart focus on returning to its original company development, it can regain its market share. The original five and dime philosophy worked. A successful approach that, at one time may have become somewhat outdated, but the greatest growth and expansion has in fact happened with the furtherance of the discount retailer motto. The shrinkage of excess overhead, and labor would enable the company to explore the development of a stronger base line. As stated, “At its peak, the Kmart property accommodated 5,000 employees. When it was sold in 2005, it had fewer than 1,900, many of whom were transferred to Illinois (Crain Communication, 2016).” Buying power has shown to be a very important factor in terms of profit margin. The need to increase profit margin being the number one change needed.
Kotter’s 8 Step Approach
Using Kotter’s eight step approach, the first step being a sense of urgency. As stated in the textbook, “Kotter (2008) argued that a significant change
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