Kmart Canada

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Kmart Canada was the Canadian division of Kmart Corporation. At their peak in the 1990s, they operated over 120 stores in Canada. The final CEO for Kmart Canada was George Heller, he held the title of CEO from 1997 until 1998 which is when Kmart Canada ended operations.

History[]

Kmart first expanded into Canada a year after their American debut in 1963. Although, the company already had a presence in Canada as the predecessor to Kmart, S.S. Kresge already had locations in Canada.

Kmart Canada - 1970s — A 1960s - 70s era Kmart Canada

The first location was located in London, Ontario at 1275 Highbury Ave N. It opened in March of 1963 and its location number was #5400. It lasted up until 1998 when Kmart left Canada. The location turned into a Zellers, and is currently a Walmart.

Until 1990, Kmart Canada used the same branding and advertising as its American counterpart. In advertising, Kmart Canada used "The Saving Place" as their slogan. The Saving Place jingle was translated into French for predominately French speaking parts of Canada. When the 1990 Kmart remodel happened, Kmart Canada followed suit, but Kmart Canada decided to use "The lowest price is a Kmart price" as their slogan and they used different advertising. Although the stores themselves looked the same as American ones.

In 1983, Kmart Canada closed several of its Quebec locations due to restructuring.

In 1994, S.S. Kresge closed its remaining Canadian locations, because of this, new Kmart Canada locations were opened to replace them.

Demise[]

Throughout the 1990s, Kmart and Kmart Canada began to decline, in 1997, Kmart Canada announced that they were closing 10 locations throughout Canada. But they were still losing money, so unfortunately, in May 1998, Kmart Canada decided to sell off the remaining 112 stores to Hudson's Bay. Some of the stores were turned into Zellers locations, which was a discount department store very similar to Kmart. The rest were turned into other stores, left abandoned, or demolished.

Store concepts[]

Kmart Canada never operated any Super Kmart Center locations. However, some stores built in the mid‑1990's included an adjacent vacant space, which may have been intended for future expansion into Super Kmart Centre formats. This plan was never realized.

Some Kmart Canada stores featured automotive centres and in‑store pharmacies. Restaurants were also common, but unlike in the United States, where K Cafés were typical, most Canadian locations included Eatery Express as their eatery. A few Canadian Kmart's did have K Café's however. A few exceptions existed, including a store at the Jane and Finch Mall in Downsview, Ontario, which housed a Little Caesars Pizza Station. In some locations, Tim Hortons locations were also present.

Kmart Canada

Zellers

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Kmart Canada

History[]

Demise[]

Store concepts[]

See also[]