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Giving a new spin to the store-within-a-store retailing idea, Kmart Corp. has launched a 10-store test in Michigan of an electronic catalog called “Kmart Solutions.”
The program offers customers products and services previously not available at Kmart, such as floral arrangements and lawn care, through interactive kiosks in the stores. The product lineup includes big-ticket items such as Huffy bicycles or Little Tikes workbenches.
So far, the Troy, Mich.-based discount retailer is handling advertising for the program in-house, said Stephen Pagnani, a Kmart media relations specialist. Efforts have included a direct mail flier with the headline, “Unique products. Kmart low prices. Now that’s a solution!”
The program will be evaluated later this year and, if results are good, could expand to other stores, Pagnani said.
Campbell Mithun Esty in Minneapolis is Kmart’s agency of record. Don Coleman & Associates in Southfield, Mich., handles minority-targeted efforts.
-Tanya Gazdik
