See more ideas about vintage advertisements, childhood memories and the good old days. Browse the best of ebay, connect with other collectors, and explore the history behind your. Somers point kmart is keeping the customers happy mainland. Kmarts decline one of the saddest retail stories detroit news. Kresge, background music, muzak, store music, light music, kmart, kmrt. The veteran kmart shopper knew it was a blue light special and not. Kmart blue light member special tv spot, dance party submissions should come only from the actors themselves, their parentlegal guardian or casting agency. By steven sessions special to houston business journal. Before joining the tribune, he was a business editor and reporter at the morning call in allentown, pa.
The original blue light special, first introduced in 1965, was retired in 1991. Visit kmart today to find a great selection of books. Kmart deals on furniture, toys, clothes, tools, tablets. Nov 01, 2015 struggling retailer kmart turns the blue light back on. The retailer plans to bring back its signature marketing icon, the blue light special, without actually using the flashing blue light or the instore loud speaker. The bluelight special debuted in 1965 as flashing blue sirens in the center of kmarts stores that would go off to direct shoppers to a discount item. Kmarts bluelight specials strobe light, circa 1972 the henry ford. Kmart corporate timeline kmart about us transformco. Jun 19, 2002 nyc island used for coronavirus burials has history of untold stories. The blue light special campaign, which was relaunched nov. Tulare county to lease former kmart the sungazette. Feb 10, 2003 kmart branding blunders snuff blue light specials.
For the next few minutes, were having a blue light special on memories involving. Nyc island used for coronavirus burials has history of untold stories. Kmart announced it would develop, produce and sell exclusive line of disney childrens clothing under directtoretail licensing deal. Kmart brings back the blue light special retail dive. Somers point while big box brick and mortar stores are struggling to stay afloat, the kmart in somers point is finding ways to keep the customers coming back for. Struggling retailer kmart turns the blue light back on reuters. Workers at one kmart store created this bluelight memento as a retirement gift for a longtime employee.
Special was first created by a store manager in 1965 to clear slowmoving merchandise and helped fuel kmarts growth through the 1980. This was a special day at the store where employees spent all night setting up for special promotions and extra excitement. Developed by kmart in the 1960s, the blue light special campaign was instituted to increase sales. Why kmart lost the attention of discount shoppers ad age. The blue light special was a sale promotion within the store for a short. Attention kmart shoppers, customers pause and scan for a flashing blue lightsomewhere in the store. The bluelight special debuted in 1965 as flashing blue sirens in the center of kmarts stores that would.
Buyers were not as enthusiastic about it as they were in the past. Mar 19, 2012 today the creator of the blue light special is on red alert, shuttering dozens of stores and fighting for its life in the chaindiscount category it helped create 50 years ago, when the first. Oct 08, 2019 from use in kmart, where a flashing blue light is turned on to indicate a shortterm. The phrase attention kmart shoppers has been used in pop culture. It became one of the largest dimestore chains in the united states. Shop selected appliances, bedding and kitchen products to make sure youve got what you need. It so happens that charlottesville has it all in abundance. In the late 20th century, kmarts iconic bluelight specials provided instant bargains for lucky instore shoppers. Please include at least one socialwebsite link containing a recent photo of the actor. Years ago i recall tooling around kmart with my mom, shopping for back to school clothes, when all of a. Mar 04, 2012 march 1, 1962 the first kmart opens today marks a key milestone in retailing history the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first kmart store, in garden city, michigan, pictured above shortly after its opening in a photo from the s. Nov 03, 2015 kmart brings back the blue light special.
Find all of kmart hot deals in one convenient place. My mom bought me a tshirt there in 1976 with a comic booklike monster on it called slime. Apr 25, 2016 full version of the blue light special 122015. The retailer plans to bring back its signature marketing icon, the bluelight special, without actually using the flashing blue light or the instore loud speaker. Calvin, kmart and the blue light special for some of us of a certain age and with a good memory, that calvin and hobbes strip in which calvins dad tells him he came not only from a store, but from kmart, where he was a blue light special is particularly funny. I remember helping fill up books with my mom and grandmas. Oh i feel sorry for you young modern internet shoppers. Sign up to kmail to discover our latest products and be inspired by the hottest trends all at our irresistibly low prices. Kmart corporation company profile, information, business. Struggling retailer kmart turns the blue light back on. According to the kmart fact book 1997, kmarts primary target customer.
That effort only widened a publicawareness gap between the two retailers. Kmart branding blunders snuff blue light specials houston. The original blue light spe cial further explanation needed, first introduced in 1965, was retired in 1991. A blue light special from kmart manager goes viral pittsburgh post. It opened in 1969, the first kmart in summit county. No, its not 1965, but the discount retailer kmart is bringing back its legendary blue light special. The bluelight special debuted in 1965 as flashing blue sirens in the center of kmart s stores that would go off to direct shoppers to a discount item. Survival of sears and kmart is in doubt, owner warns the. Did you see this news kmart has brung back the kmart blue light special. Nov, 2015 kmart has brung back the kmart blue light special. Now i want to repeat that kmart has brung back the kmart blue light special. Kmart revives blue light specials without the light. The original blue light special, first introduced in 1965, 12 was retired in 1991. Attention kmart shoppers, we have a blue light special in the lawn and.
Kmart blue light member special tv commercial, dance party. Kmart simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Aaa screening at kmart in the diseasemongering aisle, that attracted some interesting and thoughtful comments. Yeah i just wanna thank kmart for making it harder for me to retire. Dec 17, 2018 kmart christmas holiday in store song lp. Smith, kmarts bluelight special was famous around the country. Ten years later, in 2001, the marketing ploy was revived, but the return of the famous sporadic event was shortlived. There were stores in canada, mexico, and eastern europe. Aug 09, 2017 somers point while big box brick and mortar stores are struggling to stay afloat, the kmart in somers point is finding ways to keep the customers coming back for. The concept was briefly revived in 2 005, thou gh kmart at that time had no plans to use the concept longterm. The closing of the mcmurray kmart came along with the bankruptcy filing from sears holdings corp. Also in 1966, the famous blue light special was invented by a kmart manager in fort wayne, indiana, who was seeking a way to make it easier for his customers to find the christmas wrapping paper that he was clearing. Jewelry, camera supplies, books, records, pets and supplies, health and beauty aids. This was a special day at the store where employees spent all night setting up for.
Theres nothing better than scoring a deal on what you want. Meanwhile, as recently as the late 1980s, most americans had never seen a walmart advertisement, not to mention a store. Kmart reintroduced blue light special after 10year absence. Today the creator of the blue light special is on red alert, shuttering dozens of stores and fighting for its life in the chaindiscount category it helped create 50 years ago, when the first. The 25year veteran of buffalo radio and television has written five books and curates the. Kresge story, a 1979 book by the company founders son, stanley s. Jan 25, 2020 retail history, kmart, sears holdings, kresge, sears, closed kmart, list of closed kmarts. I worked for kmart for 18 years, more than half my life, said mcmurray kmart employee joshua englert in his emotional goodbye video. Kmarts bluelight specials strobe light, circa 1972 the.
March 1, 1962 the first kmart opens today marks a key milestone in retailing history the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first kmart store, in garden city, michigan, pictured above shortly after its opening in a photo from the s. The instant popup sale, everyone racing to find the flashing blue light. The bluelight special was first created by a store manager in 1965 to clear slowmoving merchandise and helped fuel kmarts growth. Attention kmart shoppers, customers pause and scan for a flashing blue lightsomewhere in the store there is a sale. Sep 15, 2010 posted on september 18, 2010 by larry husten editors note. Calvin, kmart and the blue light special childhood memories, my. Kmarts bluelight specials strobe light, circa 1972. The retailer grew to become the secondlargest in the united states after sears.
Calvin, kmart and the blue light special childhood memories. As of october 20, 2014, there are 1,077 kmart stores. It was successful for several decades, but was phased out in 1991. These proved so popular with bargainhunters that at one point kmarts mascot was a talking blue light bulb named mr. Tulare county is turning on the blue light special to the probation department. Sirens are sounding and the blue light is flashing once again at kmart, as the struggling retailer tries to lure shoppers through its doors and revive its sales. Kmart blue light member special tv commercial, dance. Kmart brought back the bluelight special, an instore advertising concept for sales. Announced over the store intercom with the nowiconic phrase, attention kmart shoppers.
It wasnt, it was better some time has passed since verity had to deal with the snake cult and it has been a little over six months since we last saw her. Kmart has stores in the united states, puerto rico, the u. Shop online for quick delivery with 28 days return or click to collect in store. Cichon steve cichon writes about buffalos pop culture history. Up until surprisingly recent history, they were one of the most. I worked there for 2 weeks when i was a teenagerdoing the blue light special thing was just not for me. Penney, is restructuring itself yet again to try to get its earnings and stock price back up. People are left in a state of euphoric quasireligious bliss. After loving book one of this series i was totally crossing my fingers that midnight bluelight special would hold up and be just as good. These proved so popular with bargainhunters that at one point kmart s mascot was a talking blue light bulb named mr.
Calvin, kmart and the blue light special childhood. You can now order essential products for delivery straight to your home. Blue light is an odd mixture of science fiction and inspirational fable about a sort of cosmic ray that enters into a handful of people, giving them superhuman faculties, and the struggle some of these ultraevolved folk have with the spirit of death, who has also been granted special powers. And in case you dont remember or youre an illegal alien or something and you werent here back in the day kmart would start flashing a blue light in their. Kmart, which has its own lengthy history beginning as a fiveanddime store in detroit, became a major national presence in the 1960s as a bigbox department store, with blue light special. It was created in 1965 by a store manager looking to move slow merchandise and quickly became part of the american lexicon. Though the sales were officially discontinued in the early 1990s, they have been uncancelled several times, most recently in 2015. Mar 22, 2017 kmart, which has its own lengthy history beginning as a fiveanddime store in detroit, became a major national presence in the 1960s as a bigbox department store, with blue light special.
On account of i dont want no kmart shoppers thinking theyre getting pulled over for shopping too fast. The concept was briefly revived in 2005, though kmart at that time had no plans to use the concept longterm. Borders books was a chain of bookstores acquired by kmart in 1992. The original blue light special further explanation needed, first introduced in 1965, was retired in 1991. The company brought bac k the blue light special in 2001, but again discontinued it in 2002. Kmarts blue light fades out in buffalo the buffalo news. Tired old kresge put on dancing shoes and turned into kmart, one of the great retail transformation stories.
Kmart corporation is an american big box department store chain headquartered in hoffman. In the late 20th century, kmart s iconic bluelight specials provided instant bargains for lucky instore shoppers. From use in kmart, where a flashing blue light is turned on to indicate a shortterm discount noun. Much has been written about kmart s hedge fund manager s decisions. Kmart is a case study on how not to run a retail business. The late late show with james corden recommended for you. Recently the former retail property was purchased by partners paynter realty and sunny basra and talks to lease the 85,000. Posted on september 18, 2010 by larry husten editors note. The final two chapters deal with citycounty relations. Mystery is what is the blue light, why does change people, and what will the consequences be.