Retailer Unveils Prototype For ‘Big Kmart’

Kmart Corp. will spend $750 million over the next three years renovating and renaming nearly all of its stores in an attempt to start making money again.

The retailer unveiled its “Big mart” effort last week in Chicago. The remodeled stores will be the same size as current Kmarts, but will have a new layout, including a food section named “the Pantry” near the front of the stores.

“This truly signals a new beginning for Kmart,” Chairman Floyd Hall said at a news conference. “It holds great promise for our financial future.”

About 600 Kmart stores will have the Big Kmart make-over by the end of this year. The chain plans to have remodeled 1,600 of its more than 2,000 Kmart stores by 1999, spokeswoman Mary Lorencz said.

The company already has revamped 297 stores that will get the Big Kmart sign in the next 90 days. Hall said sales have increased 10 to 15 percent at stores that have been converted to the new format.