Kmart President Resigns

Kmart Corp. (Troy, Mich.) has announced the unexpected resignation of president and coo Andy Giancamilli. Mark Schwartz, executive vp of store operations who joined the retailer in September, has been named as replacement in the dual post. No replacement for Schwartz has yet been named.

Kmart has given no reason for the departure of the executive who had spent six years with the company. Schwartz had been president and ceo of Big V Supermarkets (Florida, N.Y.) a 40-store chain the New York metropolitan area, at the time he joined Kmart. (Big V filed for bankruptcy last November.) Since joining Kmart, he has been largely responsible for establishing the new “operating non-negotiables” — no more than three in a checkout line, clean stores and clear aisles – that have become somewhat of a company mantra aimed at improving customer service and the in-store shopping experience. Schwartz had also been credited with leading the store initiative that eliminated more than 15,000 storage trailers and reduced excess inventory by 700 million — a first in Kmart history, according to the company statement.

He had previously spent 16 years with Wal-Mart Stores (Bentonville, Ark.) as first president and director of Wal-Mart Supercenter Stores in Mexico and later senior vp for Wal-Mart Supercenters. He was largely credited with growing Wal-Mart's supercenter business from 10 stores in 1989 to 400 in 1996. Schwartz started his retailing career at age 16, and became a store manager for Woolco Department Stores at age 22.

Giancamilli had been head of general merchandise when he was named, last July, to the newly created post of president and coo. He had joined Kmart in 1995 after a 20-year career in the drugstore industry. He was credited with revamping Kmart's pharmacy operations, as well as supervising such initiatives as the Martha Stewart Everyday line and Big Kmart pantry sections.

“During Andy Giancamilli's six years with Kmart, we improved our pharmacy operations and implemented our strategy to increase frequency with the right consumables and commodities product offerings,” said chairman and ceo Chuck Conaway.