Kmart begins showing Craftsman and Kenmore

DSN Retailing Today, April 25, 2005 by Debbie Howell

TROY, MICH. -- The first evidence of brand sharing between Kmart and Sears as a result of their merger can now be seen at some Kmart stores, with Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances among the goods offered in stores that reopened this month.

Nine remodeled Kmart stores patterned after prototypes that debuted last fall in White Plains, N.Y., and Boca Raton, Fla., reopened this month, sporting a large selection of Craftsman tools and accessories. One of the stores, in Norridge, Ill., also sells Kenmore merchandise. The other stores are in Doylestown, Pa.; Stevensville and Silver Spring, Md.; Burbank, Calif.; Troy, Mich.; Ooleta, Calif.; Bohemia, N.Y.; and Rio Grande, N.J.

Kmart spokesman Steve Pagnani said while no decision has been made yet as to a national rollout of Sears brands into Kmart stores, the group of nine stores presented the first opportunity to test customer response to Sears goods. Beyond Craftsman and Kenmore, no other Sears brands were added to the Kmart stores.

"Since the merger is complete, it gives us the opportunity to integrate some Sears brands for the first time as appropriate," Pagnani said. "Previously, we were pretty basic [in tools], so we wanted to go more in-depth and this gave us the opportunity with a recognized brand."

In all, about six aisles are devoted to Craftsman product in the stores, encompassing mainly the home improvement section but also lawn and garden. The assortment includes a wide range of Craftsman items such as hand and power tools, tool chests, garage door openers and outdoor power equipment. Prices range from $1.99 for drill bits to $620 tool chests, with a tool offering that Pagnani described as broad and complete. Only at the Norridge store are Kenmore appliances found that include washers, dryers, dishwashers and microwaves.

To make room for the extensive lineup of Craftsman tools, Pagnani said Kmart discontinued its private label tools at the remodeled stores and reduced the sizes of some departments.

"We basically redistributed the departments. Sporting goods might be a bit smaller than it used to be. We didn't eliminate any departments, we just realigned them," Pagnani said.

Other changes first tested in the initial two prototypes were followed with the batch of nine remodeled stores, such as use of brighter lighting, wider aisles, new graphics, lower shelving and enhanced merchandising techniques such as dressed mannequins in apparel. No major changes were made from the first prototypes, Pagnani said.

Although Pagnani said Kmart is "looking at" possibly remodeling more stores, nothing is definite. Much depends on how the new Sears Holdings Corp. integrates the two retail banners, with plans already announced by the company to convert several hundred Kmart stores to a new off-mall format called Sears Essentials. The first Essentials stores-developed from Kmart stores purchased pre-merger--are to open this month or next.