Big Kmart #4390
1801 S Semoran Blvd
Orlando, FL 32822
This 122,473 sq ft standalone Big Kmart store is fairly typical for a store probably built in the 1970's or late 1980's, my guess. The real estate is pretty good, on the very busy SR436 (currently managed by Auburndale Properties), and as Kmart no longer needs a large parking lot, numerous outparcels for banks and fast food restaurants have been developed. This Big Kmart seems to have been last remodeled in the late 1990's or early 2000's, but at our last visit was fairly clean and organized - nothing fancy like Wal-Mart or Target, but decent by SHLD standards. It still has an Olan Mills portraits, Little Caesar, and garden center and pharmacy, but has lost the Kmart Restaurant (not sure what brand it was) and Penske Auto Center. A Wal-Mart Supercenter opened down the street on Semoran, and another one more recently opened a couple miles away on Goldenrod, and the dollar stores are continuing their sucking off of customers, but this Kmart still seems to survive with a decent (for Kmart levels) shopping crowd. I think Kmart could target the Hispanic population better with more Spanish-language signage, as that is a quite important demographic around this area.
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| Standard Big Kmart store - a couple more fast food or bank outparcels may be built in this parking lot area |
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| Little Caesar's Pizza! |
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| Olan Mills portrait studio! |
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| Hm, I can't figure out why this photo refuses to be in order... |
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| standard Kmart soft-lines (clothing) section |
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| Nice wide aisles... this is a fairly large store for a Kmart at over 120 thousand square feet |
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| An older-looking jewelry center |
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| I think this corner may use to have had a photo center or something else. |
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| Again, not sure why these photos refuse to be in the order I want them to be in! Sorry for jumping around sections of the store. |
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| 8 registers now + customer service desk, but possibly this store used to have more in its golden years |
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| An ancient directory, dating back at least to the 1990's. Note the restaurant still there in the right corner, and the Penske Auto Center in the left. |
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| Fairly old blood pressure monitor |
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| There's so many different Kmart pharmacy styles... this one looks like a little paint job was added |
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| Again, the pathetic grocery section. Even some dollar store chains are getting to be better than Kmart at this... |
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| Seasonal area leads to the garden center |
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| Pretty nice for being almost in the winter when these photos were shot... the benefits of Florida |
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| Can't exit the garden center at least not during the winter |
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| The indoors part of the garden center |
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| this is fine with me, but probably not a sight you'll find at Target |
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| a rather odd store corner... the corners of Kmart stores typically seem rather unproductive |
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| The former auto center area is beyond those gates, now a wasteland for storage. |
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| Layaway - something that Kmart seems to do well with, from news reports at least |
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| Again, I'm fine with boxes, but Target probably would be more trendy than this... |
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| I'm not sure if Kmart Restaurants all became Little Caesars corporate-owned or Kmart-owned locations, or just subletting to outside franchisees, but in any case, not that many of restaurants, K-Cafes, or Little |
that's all folks! The Super Kmart Center posting has been long delayed, but hopefully it's next! I've got the photos and most of the stats, just need to write the superficial analysis.
