KMART CORPORATION

formerly (until 1990) K Mart Corporation, or (until 1977) S.S. Kresge Co. major American retail chain, marketing general merchandise primarily through discount and variety stores. Headquarters are in Troy, Mich. The company originated with a pair of five-and-ten-cent stores in Memphis and Detroit, established in 1897 by Sebastian S. Kresge (q.v.), a traveling hardware salesman, and John G. McCrory, owner of eight similar stores in the East and one of Kresge's customers. Kresge ultimately became sole owner and by 1907 operated S.S. Kresge stores in eight cities between Chicago and Pittsburgh. With Kresge as president (190725) and chairman of the board (191366), the company expanded steadily. Kresge's at first restricted the price of its merchandise to not more than 10 cents, but inflation triggered by World War I drove the limit to 15 cents, and eventually it was raised to one dollar. In 1962, under a program designed by company president Harry B. Cunningham, Kresge's entered the large-scale discount retail market with construction of the first K mart outside Detroit. With its success, the company expanded aggressively, erecting an average of 85 discount stores a year over the next two decades throughout the United States and parts of Canada. The corporate name was changed to K mart in 1977, and in that year K mart passed J.C. Penney to become the second largest retailer in the United States. The company continued to operate Kresge variety stores and Jupiter discount stores until 1987. In addition to Kmart stores, it now owns discount chains selling home-improvement supplies, office supplies, and sporting goods.