In the hopes of a last-minute turnaround of a disappointing holiday season, Kmart Corp. (Troy, Mich.) announced that for the first time ever, it would keep its stores open around the clock. The more than 2100 Kmart stores will be open for 86 hours straight, from 6 a.m. today until 8 p.m. Sunday.
“Our insights have told us that with the harried pace leading up to Christmas, coupled with the weather difficulties around the country, consumers just have not had the time to get done what they need to get done before the big day,” said Brent Willis, Kmart's new chief marketing officer.
Snowstorms and other drastic weather around the country dampened what might have been the season's big weekend, the first one after the election muddle had been settled. According to the International Council of Shopping Centers, through last Sunday overall sales were running 8.2 percent below a year ago. However, retailers and retail analysts are still hopeful of turning the season from a disaster into a mere disappointment, citing the extra shopping weekend this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the aggressive actions of retailers such as Kmart. Jeffrey Feiner of Lehman Brothers, one of the most well-respected of retail analysts, noted that the extra weekend in 1995 added 1 to 2 percent of overall sales. He said he still expects the 3-5 percent growth he had predicted before the season began.