K-Mart and Spike Lee
 

Kmart hopes Spike Lee ads do the right thing

By Bruce Horovitz, USA TODAY


By Gretchen Ertl, AP
Filmmaker Spike Lee.

Attention Spike Lee: Kmart is hoping you can help save it from retail ruin.

The struggling retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just one month ago, will launch a most unlikely, $40 million ad campaign directed by the outspoken, urban filmmaker during Sunday's Olympic closing ceremonies on NBC.

The initial ads are not about low price. They're not about having stuff in stock. They don't even mention Martha Stewart. Instead, the ads focus on cozy family imagery that is comical — if not endearing. Think of thirtysomething meets Cosby. Goodbye, "Blue Light Special." Hello, "The stuff of life."

Make that, the stuff of Kmart's survival. The company is hanging by a thread. Wal-Mart and Target are stealing away customers. A bankruptcy court must approve its every move. Early next month, Kmart will announce how many stores it plans to close, expected to be about 500 of its 2,114 stores. Kmart has 240,000 employees nationwide. Many will lose their jobs.

"This is a big responsibility," says Lee, whose feature film credits include Do The Right Thing and Malcolm X. "But I would be crazy to put so much pressure on myself that I'd think if I mess up, they're out."

Then, again, that could be true. The day Lee's production company, 40 Acres and a Mule, began to film the ads was the day that newspapers had banner headlines on Kmart's bankruptcy filing.

"That was a strange day on the set," Lee recalls. "I knew they were in trouble, but I didn't know it was that bad."


Spike Lee's new Kmart ads aim for warm and fuzzy feelings.

They filmed anyway. The result is a series of ads by TBWA/Chiat/Day New York that tries to reposition Kmart as a family icon that's always been there and, despite possible perceptions, isn't about to disappear. One ad shows a sleepy-eyed dad and his young, pajama-clad kids asking, "Sleep past 7? What is that?" Another ad features a frustrated, African-American mother asking, "Is there such a thing as laundry elbow?"

Kmart began talking to shoppers 18 months ago. It discovered that while Wal-Mart stood for value and Target represented hip fashions, Kmart wasn't clearly connecting on either front.

"We realized there was a great opportunity to make an emotional bond" with the 30 million people who shop at Kmart weekly, says Steve Feuling, Kmart's marketing chief.

Analysts are unimpressed. "To get the Kmart customer back, you've got to jolt them," says retail analyst Howard Davidowitz. "Kmart has been screwing up for 20 years. Who is going to believe this stuff?"

What's more, the soft, upbeat ads may only serve to anger — or confuse — folks who have heard so much negative news about Kmart in the media recently, says Katharine Paine, a brand image consultant. "People may wonder: Wait a minute, Kmart is in bankruptcy. Why are they trying to pretend that everything's fine?"

Lee, who has previously directed popular ads for Nike and Levi's, says he isn't worried. "This will be one for the textbooks," Lee says. "They'll be studying it at the Wharton School of business."

And Lee says he's a big Kmart fan. When he attends New York Knicks games, he'll often stop at the nearby Kmart to buy supplies for his kids so they can get autographs from the ballplayers. Manhattan has two Kmart stores.

"There's nothing wrong with Kmart," he says. "I feel no shame going in there."

http://www.usatoday.com/money/advert...mart-spike.htm

conspiracy theory
 

Only when they are in trouble that they run to us. I am pretty sure that the company knew the situation when they signed the contract with 40 Acres and almost as sure that if they hadn't been in that situation, Spike's company would not have received a second look.

Re: conspiracy theory
 

I second that!

LMAO!

Shucks, Spike hasn't been doing too many projects, so I'm sure he wasn't going to turn them down, either.

They needed each other...

I still won't go there. In the last 5 years, I've been inside Kmart less than 6 times.

Quick question.

Do you guys think Kmart, will pop up with a new name? Or just eventually close all of it's stores?

K-MART to CLOSE 284 Stores and CUT 22, 000 JOBS
 

Fri Mar 8, 4:38 PM ET
By Anna Driver

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kmart Corp. said on Friday it will close 284 stores and cut 22,000 jobs in its bid to emerge from bankruptcy, but analysts said the retailer still needs a marketing strategy if it wants to survive the cutthroat U.S. discount market.

Photos

Reuters Photo


The closings, the first the company has announced since it filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 22, will shutter 13 percent of its 2,114 stores and reduce its 250,000-person work force by nearly 9 percent. Analysts had speculated that Kmart would close as many as 500 stores. The store closings require bankruptcy court approval.

Kmart, based in Troy, Michigan, said it will take a charge of $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion to cover costs from the restructuring. The company said the closings should increase its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by $31 million a year.

Shares of Kmart closed up 5 cents at $1.29, a rise of more than 4 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange (news - web sites) on Friday. Volume was nearly 19 million shares, making Kmart one of the most actively traded stocks on the exchange.

The stores to be closed include 271 Kmart discount stores and 12 Kmart Supercenters in 40 states, and one Kmart store in Puerto Rico. Kmart's Supercenters carry a full line of groceries and general merchandise.

Texas is set to lose the most Kmart stores, with 33 slated for closure. The company plans to close 21 stores in Illinois, 18 in Michigan and 16 each in Florida and California.

WHAT NOW?

"The closings are important, but what is more important is the strategic direction they are going to take going forward," Wayne Hood, retail analyst at Prudential Securities, said. "How are they going to improve profitability at existing stores?"

Kmart became the largest retailer ever to file for bankruptcy protection after intense competition from rivals Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. and weak holiday sales left the retailer strapped for cash.

Wal-Mart is known for its low prices, and Target has distinguished itself in the discount market by attracting more upscale shoppers with its trendy clothes and housewares by designers like Michael Graves. Analysts have said Kmart lacks a niche and must find one to survive.

"Now comes the real question, and that is what is Kmart going to do to draw lots of customers into all the other stores that will remain open?" Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group, said.

Kmart tried last year to compete with Wal-Mart on pricing of everyday items like soap and toothpaste with its "Bluelight Always" marketing campaign, but the drive fell short.

Since the bankruptcy filing, Kmart has said little about its plans. But Chuck Conaway, Kmart's chief executive, has said its private brands like Martha Stewart Everyday linens, paints and housewares will be a large part of the company's focus.

"If the stores that remain open can't compete with Wal-Mart, they may have to close more," Frank Badillo, senior economist with consulting firm Retail Forward, said.

Based on sales in 2000, Kmart was the second-largest U.S. discount chain behind Wal-Mart.

Kmart said it expects to liquidate more than $1 billion in inventory as it closes the stores. The actions are forecast to improve the retailer's cash flow by $550 million in 2002 and will result in annual savings of $45 million, Kmart said.

The expected flood of merchandise into U.S. markets may take market share from Wal-Mart and other low-price retailers in the near term, an analyst said.

"What will happen is it will probably temporarily draw bargain hunters to the Kmart stores to see what great buys are there," Retail Forward's Badillo said. "That might shift some demand from Wal-Mart to Kmart."

Badillo said the $1 billion in Kmart merchandise represents 2 percent of the $42 billion in inventory on the books of department stores and discount stores at the end of 2001.

After the flurry of liquidation sales, analysts see Wal-Mart getting the bulk of the business.

Sanford Bernstein retail analyst Emme Kozloff estimates "an immediate market opportunity between $2.5 billion and $3 billion. She said the Kmart store closings could add 1 cent to 3 cents a share to Wal-Mart's annual earnings.

Kmart said at the time of its bankruptcy filing that it would close underperforming stores. The company aims to emerge from bankruptcy in July 2003.

LIST of 284 STORES
http://www.kmartcorp.com/corp/story...s/pr020308b.stm

They are closing stores in about every state,CLEARANCE LIQUIDATION SALES here I come.


:cool:

Kmart aims for teen appeal with Joe Boxer line, edgy ads
Wed Jul 31, 9:20 AM ET
Theresa Howard USA TODAY

NEW YORK -- Kmart wants teens, a market where it has not been strong, and thinks it now has a product line to appeal to them. So as the retailer moves to stem a continued decline in same-store sales, it's doubling its back-to-school ad budget and making teens the primary target.

The 1,800-store chain becomes the exclusive retailer of the youth-oriented Joe Boxer apparel label Thursday. Ads that began airing this week are the start of about $12 million in advertising Kmart will use to promote Joe Boxer to notoriously fickle teen consumers, who wield $170 billion in spending power.

''We need to get young people to think our stores are young and hip,'' says James Adamson, Kmart's chairman and CEO. ''And Joe Boxer goes after the youth market more than anything else we do.''

The line fills a void in the stable of exclusive brands at Kmart, whose core shoppers have been women ages 35-45 and their kids. The retailer has said its future depends on promotion of its exclusive brands, rather than trying to undercut the competition purely on price. Those brands include Martha Stewart Everyday for the home, Kathy Ireland and Jaclyn Smith fashions for women and Disney Kids apparel for children. Adamson says he's in ''hot pursuit'' of an exclusive line for the African-American and Hispanic markets.

To target teens, Kmart unveiled a series of 15-second ads Sunday that move Joe Boxer and its sassy, smiley-face ''Licky Logo '' beyond its well-known underwear and sleepwear. Kmart needs Joe Boxer's trendy pants, tops and home goods to work. Since filing for bankruptcy protection in January, monthly same-store sales have been off as much as 16% vs. the year before. The decline was 8.7% for the five weeks ended July 3.

The Boxer ads by TBWA/Chiat/Day, New York build on Kmart's ''Stuff of Life'' ad theme that began in February. In one ad, a buff guy in boxer briefs does a high-energy dance, happy that Kmart has Joe Boxer. Another ad shows a couple riding a bicycle in circles as the woman says, ''Before going to bed, always put on a smiley face.'' In another, a guy says, ''Put some bounce in your boxers.''

''They are a little edgy,'' says Adamson, who plans to wear his own ''Licky Logo'' watch to the merchandise launch in New York on Thursday. ''We're expecting letters. But the audience is young, and we've got to appeal to the youth.''

In the meantime, Kmart goes into a critical selling season with declining same-store sales, but Adamson says it's not make or break it -- yet.

''We have plenty of cash and liquidity,'' he says. ''Our sales are not far off from what we planned for the year because we knew it would take time. Next year, it starts to get fairly critical in that we have to get people confident that we are a strong and viable entity.''

Joe Boxer founder and ''chief underpants officer'' Nicholas Graham says he's convinced. ''It's never been an issue for us,'' Graham says. ''Fundamentally, Kmart is not broken. It's still a very strong brand, and at the end of the day, I think we can really help Kmart.''

Hmm...
 

The part about an "exclusive" AfAm line was interesting. All I can say is if it's clothes, including women's, they need to have larger sizes. ;)

They need to dust!

http://www.plaudersmilies.de/lach.gifhttp://www.plaudersmilies.de/lach.gif

Dangit 2D just when I thought you were going to offer some insightful words, you come with Grandma Hazel's wisdom. :p

Kmart's New Look
 

Kmart Corp. Tests a Revamped Logo
Tue Oct 15, 7:28 PM ET

TROY, Mich. (AP) - Kmart Corp. is testing a revamped logo, replacing its trademark red and blue sign with gray and lime green in an updated style.

The new sign is on one of the bankrupt retailer's stores north of Detroit, the interior of which also serves as a prototype — with changes that include brighter lighting, wider aisles and a different floor plan.


Outside the store in Oakland County's White Lake Township is a Kmart sign with a large gray and lime-green `K,' with the word `mart' scrawled in white inside the upper diagonal of the `K.'


Kmart officials stress that the changes are simply a test.


Work on the store began in August, and it has remained open. The prototype has been in the planning stages since March, Kmart spokesman Jack Ferry said Tuesday.


Kmart is trying to lure customers back into stores, after suffering slumping sales since it filed for Chapter 11 protection in January. At the time of the filing, one of the big criticisms was that stores were dirty and cluttered and often out of items.


The retailer has said it installed new software at its apparel distribution centers to help eliminate empty racks in stores. It also has been working on cleaning up stores.


Ferry said the changes at the prototype are based on feedback from customers and employees. While some of the changes, such as the wider aisles, can be seen at other Kmart stores, there are no plans to implement the other changes — yet.


Kmart first wants to "gauge customer interest in what they like and what makes for a better shopping experience for our customers," Ferry said. "We see it a lot like a concept car."


Kmart posted a loss of $377 million in the second quarter, as sales lagged and the company dealt with the stigma of its bankruptcy filing. Net sales for the period were $7.52 billion, a decrease of 15.7 percent from $8.92 billion in 2001.

I don't care if they change the logo, sell Joe Boxer products, design a new store layout....they can even have Martha Stewart herself in there selling linens - NOTHING WILL SEPARATE ME FROM WAL-MART:D

I used to like KMart for the Icees and the popcorn, when I was 4 or five. Now that I have my own money, I LIVE at WalMart and Tar-gaaayyy. KMart needed to do a LOT of revamping way before they declared bankruptcy. And the high tech self checkouts aren't going to help, either.. :P:rolleyes:

Kmart to Shut More Stores, Cut Jobs
1 hour, 30 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo!



CHICAGO (Reuters) - Kmart Corp. on Tuesday told employees about the latest round of store closings and job cuts, which many analysts and sources expect to be the largest store shuttering since the retailer declared bankruptcy a year ago.



"Kmart this morning began the process of notifying affected associates about its plan to close additional stores" and a distribution operation, spokesman Jack Ferry said. He declined to give details about the closings until employees had been informed.


On Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press said the retailer would close about 330 stores and slash more than 25,000 jobs. Wall Street analysts have said for weeks that Troy, Michigan-based Kmart was likely to close more than 300 stores.


The retailer now operates more than 1,800 stores after closing 283 in 2002.


Kmart filed for bankruptcy a year ago after struggling to boost sales in a discount sector dominated by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. .


In the fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 30, Kmart reported a loss of $383 million, or 76 cents a share, compared with a loss of $249 million, or 50 cents a share, in the 2001 third quarter.


Kmart also reported a loss of $40 million in November on sales of $2.47 billion.

I can't wait for Kmart to close some more stores because when they closed some around me my boyfriend and I stocked up on some of everything we went every week until they closed! I just love my Martha Stewart dishes and glasses that I got for 75% off!