10870 Katella Ave West
Anaheim, CA 92804
(Katella Ave at Euclid St, aka Disneyland Kmart?)
This California Big Kmart is less than a mile from the Anaheim Convention Center and Disneyland, a short couple minutes drive or 10 minute walk down Katella Ave or quick OCTA bus ride down Katella Ave away from the magic of the mouse! A nice Californian roof adds to the style of this store, which features a Garden Center, Sears Appliance center, Layaway, and other departments typically found in Big Kmarts, except a pharmacy. (There's still the drugstore section with health products like aspirin and toothpaste, of course. More on a future post about online/hybrid shopping experiences like Kmart's MyGofer and rivals ranging from Rite Aid to Amazon to Soap.com!) This is the first Kmart featured on our SuperKmart blog to have a Sears appliance center inside the store- though there's basically no mention or signage of Sears, so officially (and pricing wise?) it's probably a Kmart appliance center, not sure. Overall, fairly typical of a Kmart - well stocked (except for the food section), improved in being decently clean and tidy, but still obviously not newly remodeled or as trendy as some of the nicer Target stores.
View of the shopping center:
Euclid St sign:
Katella Ave sign:
Main storefront:
Pretty standar main entrance:
The "Thank you for shopping Kmart" does not seem to have been changed to "Big K", and the orange-y color is, IMO, nicer than plain white that most stores have.
Security camera TV welcomes your arrival. The main foyer is rather large and empty, with some appliances celebrating the Kmart (aka Sears) majap (major appliance center).
Cash registers were numbered 1 and 3-7, with 1 (and 2) being the customer service desk. Only one was open on a weekday morning.
This store had relatively nice carts, including the kiddie carts here - are those TV screens in them?
A look from the left side of the store at the main entrance. Again, note the old-style huge round air conditioning vents and harsh parallel fluorescent lighting - the newer Target and Wal-Mart stores have improved lighting patterns that make a more appealing experience.
The (somewhat crowded to navigate) checkout area
Spanish subtitles, a great idea! The pantry/food section was still disappointing, as it is in almost all Kmarts... some of the few perishables were expired.
There is no pharmacy, but drugstore & health & beauty section still available.
A spinning sign with outdoor furniture selections. I'm not sure how one actually buys the product, but presumably it sells since it takes a pretty decent amount of floor space inside the store near the entrance to the Garden Center.
The segregated Garden Center had both the "indoor" and the semi-covered "outdoor" areas with plants:
Electronics! The digital camera setup was very good for a Kmart.
Something new: The Kmart appliance center! Again, not sure how one would actually buy one, since there weren't any salespeople at this time in the morning, so they should install a "push button for assistance" or some other way of getting help.
stoves, ovens, washers, dryers, oh my!
The softlines - clothing, jewelry - are on the right side of the store.
The exterior of the store and the shopping plaza and parking lot were well maintained! The banner describes the "SmartAssist" program offering discounts on generic branded items for the unemployed, although the actual details on the program are sparse and hard to find updated information online. Again, pseudo-creative idea, mediocre execution, so typical of Kmart.
And that's all folks! Well, we'll leave you with one last sign shot. Next time, we'll head back to the South or East coast... or maybe explore more of the retail landscape...
The indoor section of the Garden Center:
Layaway is hidden behind home improvement/tools in the far left corner by the Garden Center. Not sure if signage was decent enough for people to find it easily. Note the Craftsman tools, in an earlier blog post we reported that Craftsman is going to be sold at ACE Hardware stores... not sure how that will impact Sears store sales. The biggest losers are probably the Sears Hometown (small rural store) franchisee owners.
Something new: The Kmart appliance center! Again, not sure how one would actually buy one, since there weren't any salespeople at this time in the morning, so they should install a "push button for assistance" or some other way of getting help.
stoves, ovens, washers, dryers, oh my!
The softlines - clothing, jewelry - are on the right side of the store.
And that's all folks! Well, we'll leave you with one last sign shot. Next time, we'll head back to the South or East coast... or maybe explore more of the retail landscape...
WOW. The K-Mart I work at in PA is a third-world country compared to this one. The store is 30+ years old. Everything seems to have a thin layer of dust on it. The floor is covered in marks and the carts are falling apart. The registers seem to run on windows 3.1 (lol). Half the pantry area isn't stocked.
ReplyDeleteIf Sears and Kmart want customers they should work on their curb appeal. One of the last remaining Super Kmarts Has fully grown trees in front of the store making it nearly invisable from the street. Luckily there is a driveway sign. Also, several years ago the storefront was painted in the worst color scheme I have ever saw, personaly I would rather see faded paint. The main store sign is in very bad condition. What happened to the store signs of ones that went out of business? The store has made no very recent updates to the exterior, but has remodeled the inside. People who pass by the store will not notice any differences.
ReplyDeleteYeah I agree, Kmart needs to update their stores or else they will loose more business.
ReplyDeleteThis store is in the process of closing. Sad I've worked PT at 5 stores over the past 20 years for extra $$$ and the ineptness of Corporate has led to the downfall of this company. Many good people who cared will now be out of work and that is what concerns me. Ill truly miss my co-workers and the regulars who came in every weekend.
ReplyDelete