Super Kmart Blog!: June 2010

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Fall Fashion Lineup

Well, the new "lookbooks" for fall apparel is here - Kmart's apparel division is showing some relative strength ( http://www.kmartdesign.com/category/apparel_design/ ) with renewed vigor in brands like Jacyln Smith. Meanwhile, Sears apparel and "softlines" side still has very weak sales, despite stronger sales in the appliance/hardline side - it seems like people will just buy a fridge or stove without buying the other stuff at Sears, and who can blame them when some of the stores are in need of some renovation... though the small number of Lands End kiosks inside Sears are doing OK, from hearsay. However, instead of renovating stores, SHLD is looking to make some short-term cash by renting out spaces in stores (example: Edwin Watts golf shops "store-inside-a-store")... we'll see how that pans out. Maybe Sears can turn into an appliance & tools only store and all the apparel space becomes rented out... but then again, how many other companies are looking at mall based locations now??

Click to see:

and Kmart:

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Smallest Kmarts and Iowa Spotlight!

So most Kmart stores are 1 story (and aging...) - but there are some, like 2 in New York City, one in Philadelphia, one in Southbury CT, and one in Los Angeles, that are 2+ floors.

The average sales per square foot in 2009 at Sears stores was $111 and at Kmart stores $107, compared with $280 at Target and $416 at Wal-Mart, according to retail research firm Kantar Retail. So that got us thinking, where are the smallest Kmart stores?

We compiled a list of what we think are the smallest Kmart stores by area! This is probably quite accurate - if anyone who works at Sears Holdings has the list, feel free to comment. Here are the smallest 25 Kmart stores by square foot. The "average" Big Kmart store size is 90,000 ish square feet, with a range of probably 80,000 - 125,000. (Walmart Supercenters range almost 200,000 square feet.) Some former Super Kmarts now without groceries stand at around 180,000+ square feet. Probably one of the biggest that was not formerly a Super K is the 143,471 sqft Manhattan NY store - the only 3 story Kmart, we think! (And it has nearly 2.5 million people living in a 5 mile radius!) These smallest ones are all under 60,000 square feet (even some big supermarkets are larger than them!) and most are in rural areas where Wal-Mart is not in town.

Unofficial Rank - Store Number - City - Square Feet - Population (5 mile radius) - Address

1. 9243 Red Oak, Iowa - 39798 - 6,157
2501 N Broadway, Red Oak IA 51566

The store seems to be in a somewhat random location, and lacks much signage/visibility from the highways. It survives probably because the nearest Walmart is in the next town over. The only Kmart under 40,000 square feet.

2. 9233 Oelwein, IA - 40007 - 8,328
2105 S Frederick Ave, Oelwein IA 50662

3. 9030 Peru IN - 40165 - 20,022
11 Sherwood Square, Peru IN 46970

4. 9222 Cherokee IA - 40312 - 5,487
1111 N 2nd St, Cherokee IA 51012

5. 9261 - Glenwood Springs, CO - 40318 - 8,571
51027 US 6, Glenwood Springs CO 81601

(photo taken 2004 from Flickr user phuzz_ott)

(SHC)
Wow, the signage hasn't been updated in what, 30 years?

6. 9238 - Raton NM - 40327 - 5,193
1235 S 2nd St, Raton NM 87740

(SHC)

7. 9264 - Tucumcari NM - 40334 - 5,598
2100 E Tucumcari Blvd, Tucumcari NM 88401

(from Marik_8705 Photobucket)

(older photo from Flickr user ukslim)

7. 9237 - Smithfield NC - 40334 - 25,440
950 W Market St, Smithfield NC 27577

(SHC)

9. 9274 - Greenwich NY - 40537 - 8,423
1251 State Rte 29, Glens Falls NY 12834

10. 9306 - Glendive MT - 40800 - 6,806
1515 W Bell St, Glendive MT 59330

This store was built in 1980 and reports sales of around $200/sq ft in 2006. (That's around double the national Kmart average, but then again, this store is half the size. An estimated $10 million annually in sales)

10. 9309 - Webster City IA - 40800 - 8,192
2307 Superior St, Webster City IA 50595

10. 9319 - Alliance NE - 40800 - 7,464
1515 W 3rd St, Alliance NE 69301

(SHC)

13. 7109 - Watertown CT - 45466 - 119,611
595 Straits Tpke, Torrington CT 06795

(from Flickr user XISMZERO)
At last check, this Kmart still has the 1970's retro design - well not retro, but just original, non-updated!

14. 9521 - Madawaska ME - 49650 - 4,123
417 Main St, Madawaska ME 04756

(from user ArmandC on Panoramio)

15. 9255 - Palmer MA - 50479 - 28,112
Wilbraham St, Palmer MA 01069

(photos from Flickr user KaizenVerdant)

16. 9147 - Newburyport MA - 50677 - 54,973
45 Storey Ave, Newburyport MA 01950

From the aerial photo, this Kmart has new signage and a lot of cars - both generally signs of a prosperous store!

(SHC)

17. 9146 - Great Barrington MA - 50730 - 8,447
546 Stockbridge Rd, Pittsfield MA

(from Flickr user KaizenVerdant)

18. 9121 - Madisonville KY - 52278 - 21,923
50 Madison Square Dr, Madisonville KY 42431

(SHC)

19. 9557 - Grayling MI - 52504 - 5,519
2425 S I-75 Business Loop, Grayling MI 49738

20. 9124 - Elwood IN - 52579 - 15,236
1519 State Rd 37 S Anderson IN 46036

21. 9186 - Grand Blanc, MI - 52996 - 65,757
12730 S Saginaw St, Flint MI 48439

(SHC)

22. 7916 - Eureka CA - 55238 - 42,557
4325 Broadway, Eureka CA 95503

(from Flickr user Romleys)

22. 9797 - Scotts Valley CA - 55238 - 60,716
270 Mount Hermon Rd, Scotts Valley CA 95066

A new facade and a relatively busy store in a relatively populous area - wonder why it's so small...

24. 9532 - Effingham IL - 55552 - 17,908
1006 N Keller Dr, Effingham IL 62401

(by Spiderweb24 on Panoramio)

(SHC)

24. 9680 - West Frankfort IL - 55552 - 13,895
3 West Frankfort Plaza, West Frankfort IL 62896

(SHC)

Unofficial Rank - Store Number - City - Square Feet - Population (5 mile radius) - Address

And to wrap it up, some links to good photos by FourStarCashierNathan of Iowa!

Ames, IA
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fourstarcashiernathan/sets/72157622472682985/