Kmart Corp. CEO Julian Day said that the discount retailer is a culturally changed organization, “grounded in financial reality,” according to a report from the Associated Press. Day said the company remains on track to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of April and that he is “modestly pleased” with sales trends, though he would not be specific.
Day also responded to some $1.5 billion in financial claims filed by Fleming Cos. yesterday in the bankruptcy court overseeing Kmart’s affairs. The claims are based on money Fleming says the retailer owes it from the days when it was the company’s food supplier. The Kmart CEO said that Fleming’s claims might be satisfied by awarding it an equity stake in the reorganized company.
At the same time, Day said that Kmart will set aside 10 percent of the new shares it will issue after getting out of bankruptcy to compensate the “top talent” it believes it needs to regain market share.
Day also responded to some $1.5 billion in financial claims filed by Fleming Cos. yesterday in the bankruptcy court overseeing Kmart’s affairs. The claims are based on money Fleming says the retailer owes it from the days when it was the company’s food supplier. The Kmart CEO said that Fleming’s claims might be satisfied by awarding it an equity stake in the reorganized company.
At the same time, Day said that Kmart will set aside 10 percent of the new shares it will issue after getting out of bankruptcy to compensate the “top talent” it believes it needs to regain market share.
- KC's View:
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These guys just don’t learn.
Kmart’s real problem has always been that it does not offer a differentiated shopping experience and that, with exceptions, its workforce is generally perceived as being unmotivated and lethargic.
Just once we’d like to see a press release from this company stating how it is reserving shares in the company for all the store employees on whom the company’s survival really rests. If these people feel they have a real financial and emotional stake in the company, they might actually surprise some people.
But no, Kmart keeps thinking in its consistently misguided way that the company’s top executives are more important to the customer than the people on the sales floor and running the checkouts.
This is why it seems likely that Kmart will be back in bankruptcy protection before you know it, and will only survive as a mere shadow of its former self, if at all.
Not that we feel strongly about this…
