Kmart is the second largest general merchandise retailer in the United States, operating approximately 4800 retail outlets in all 50 states, Canada and Puerto Rico as of January 27, 1993. These included more than 2400 general merchandise stores and more than 2300 specialty retail stores. The company also owns Waldenbooks and Borders book stores; approximately 1300 book outlets were operated by the company at the end of 1992. Kmart Corporation also owned 552 Pay Less Drug Stores, 165 Builders Square home improvement centers, 114 PACE membership warehouses, 56 Sports Authority units and 179 OfficeMax stores.
In addition to its operations in the United States, the company operates 127 Kmart stores in Canada, and 13 stores (under the Maj and Prior names) in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The company also has a 22 percent interest in Coles Myer Ltd., the major food and general merchandise retailer in Australia. Kmart recently entered into a joint venture agreement with El Puerto de Liverpool S. A. de C. V. in Mexico to build and operate grocery and general merchandise stores in Mexico.
The company has recently undertaken strategies designed to regain its former premier position within the retail sector. These steps are not yet complete, but have begun to yield positive results that have outperformed the company's expectations. Continued international expansion and renovation should yield positive results for the company.
The recession has hurt the performance of retail companies, and Kmart is no exception to that. However, discount retailers, such as Kmart and Wal-Mart, have been hurt less than upscale retailers. Retailers as a group have taken a conservative stance in building up their Christmas 1993 inventories, and hope to be able to sell their merchandise without resorting to heavy promotional activity, which cuts into their profits. Because shoppers have grown used to such promotional activity in the past few yea...