Who doesn’t remember Kmart? At its height, Kmart was the second largest retailer in the United States, operating 2,400 stores with 350,000 employees. The company was generating around $37 billion a year in sales, ranking 2nd to Sears. But by 1990 it would see a tectonic shift, with its fortunes beginning to change. Find out how a series of missteps and poor management would bring down an American staple that had ruled retail for over 100 years. Listen now to Episode 47 on The Great Fail.
Episode Sources
Kmart’s once-iconic empire has been decimated to only four U.S. stores
Walmart v Kmart: What Led to Kmart’s Failure?
Why Can’t Kmart Be Successful While Target and Walmart Thrive?
The Demise of an Icon: Lessons to be Learned
A BUSINESS MODEL ANALYSIS OF KMART’S DOWNFALL
When Kmart Moved Out, Churches and Flea Markets Moved In
How to Avoid Being the Next Kmart – A Real Life Marketing Lesson
Kmart workers believe all the stores are going to be imminently shut down
Learning From Kmart’s Mistakes
The demise of Kmart: The once-great retail giant on the edge of extinction in the U.S.
End of an era: The decline and fall of the Kmart retail empire
Ex-Kmart CEO, CFO face SEC accusations
The lesson of Kmart: There is no infallibility
Eddie Lampert: The best investor of his generation
Cut-Price Chic: Six Strategies that Made Kmart Cool
What Was The Secret Behind Walmart’s Rapid Ascension to Retail Glory?
Martha Stewart clarifies Kmart comments after jab
Who is Edward Lampert: the billionaire survived kidnapping and Kmart, then came Sears
Special Guest
Mark Cohen
Director of Retail Studies at Columbia Business School
Mark A. Cohen has been in the retail business since his graduation from Columbia University in 1971. (MBA ’71, BS Electrical Engineering ’69) He has over 20 years experience in president/chairman, chief executive officer level positions. Most recently he was Chairman/CEO of Sears Canada Inc, Chief Marketing Officer and President of Softlines of Sears Roebuck & Co., Chairman/CEO of Bradlees Inc., and Chairman/CEO of Lazarus Department Stores.
He has also held positions with Abraham & Strauss, The Gap, Lord Taylor, Mervyn’s and Goldsmith’s Department Stores. He has been a Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business since 2006 teaching courses in Retailing Leadership, Retail Fundamentals, and a Master Class in Creating a Retail Enterprise. He is currently Director of Retail Studies. He also serves as an independent consultant to both the retail and consumer products industry.
The company was generating around $37 billion a year in sales, ranking 2nd to Sears. But by 1990, it would see a tectonic shift, with its fortunes beginning to change.