OK Kmart fanatics, I found my copy of a VHS tape that was recorded in late 1998 when Kmart 9348 in Norridge, IL opened for business. This location was a former Venture store, located roughly at Irving Park & Harlem, across from the HIP mall. This store replaced the Harwood Heights store up north a little on Harlem Ave. This was one of 25 Venture stores in Chicagoland where Kmart purchased the leases and opened new stores.
I was Hardlines Manager at this store and worked prior to opening to set the store up. The setup was approximately 3-4 months and required all sorts of work including fixture assembly, building permits to receive freight, stocking of shelves, hiring of new associates, and lots of Troy, Michigan home office visits. There were also lots of typical issues but the final resulting store was beautiful.
I was in my 20's at the time and didn't have a wife or kids. It was a fun time and my store manager was great. I will likely never have an experience like this again in my lifetime as it was very unique. I remember a lot about this experience -- especially running a night crew for approximately 3 weeks up until the ribbon cutting ceremony.
So, enjoy this time travel back to 1998 when Kmart was still king. THIS IS PEAK KMART. Store 9348 was a $37MM yearly sales store and in the top 25 company-wide best performers for 1999. Check out the signage, Pantry, and well-stocked shelves. This store was a flagship location (and still is today, as it is open for business and still is crazy busy). It had every bell and whistle possible including Kmart Solutions -- a Kiosk walk up ordering system (see my other KZitem for the looping DVD I rescued from the trash in 1999), computer based training, a portrait studio, full K Café, customer call boxes throughout the store, advanced RMU inventory guns, and a digital prerecorded announcement system for in-house advertisements. You will not find a Kmart like this one ever again. The sales floor and stockrooms are immaculate, and there were maybe 80-100 employees working that day.
Let me know if you have questions in the comments and I will try to respond.
And, I am the guy in the blue suit at the beginning and in a couple of shots within the first few minutes.
Негізгі бет Ойын-сауық Kmart 9348 Norridge, IL Grand Opening 1998 - PEAK KMART!! Floyd Hall Era
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