Essentially Sears

Sears, Roebuck and Co. (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) has announced the launch of the company’s newest off-mall format, called Sears Essentials.

This new mid-sized store format is a result of the acquisition of 50 Kmart and six Wal-Mart stores finalized in the third quarter of 2004. The first 25 Sears Essentials stores, all evidently former Kmart locations, are scheduled to open this spring.

“Sears Essentials will lead the way as we embark on the most aggressive growth initiative in company history,” said Sears chairman and ceo Alan Lacy. “This new store format enables Sears to grow its brand off-mall and better meet the everyday needs of our customers.”

The new concept is said to combine select Sears products — such as appliances, tools, home electronics and clothing — with convenience items such as health and beauty items, snacks and pet supplies. A smaller version of Sears’ other new concept, Sears Grand, the company says “these stores will offer Sears’ product categories that are integral to home and family life, such as appliances, lawn and garden, tools, electronics, apparel, and home fashions along with routinely purchased convenience items, such as health and beauty, pantry, household and paper products, pet supplies, and toys. The name Sears Essentials, which resonated with customers in research conducted during the name selection process, conveys the important role that Sears plays in homes and families across the country, as well as the everyday solutions the store will provide.”

Sears said the new off-mall stores would also leverage the strengths of Kmart, its new partner, “including the retailer’s experience, knowledge, infrastructure and scale, particularly in such categories as pantry, health and beauty, household goods, and pharmacy.”

Each will be on one floor and 90,000 to 100,000 square feet in size (compared with a typical Sears full-line store that averages about 150,000 square feet over two floors). Those with pharmacies will retain them.

“Assuming the merger goes through, we will be evaluating all the stores to see what makes sense,” said Sears spokeswoman Corinne Gudovic. The announcement comes with Sears and Kmart Holding Corp. (Troy, Mich.) still awaiting regulatory approval of their merger, which would create the nation’s third-largest retailer, Sears Holdings Corp. The deal is expected to close early next month.

“This is a first look at how we hope to combine these companies,” Gudovic said. Sears bought 50 Kmart and six Wal-Mart stores several months before the Nov. 17 merger was announced, saying the acquisitions would aid its strategy of moving away from malls into more appropriate locations.

The company has not disclosed plans for all the other new stores. Gudovic said Sears doesn’t intend to close any. It had previously said that three of the Kmart stores would be turned into Sears Grand stores — 150,000-to-200,000-square-foot freestanding sites that mimic the Wal-Mart format of selling a wide variety of products.

The stores expected to undergo the transition over the coming weeks and months will remain open during the process to best serve customers and will convert to the Sears Essentials nameplate this spring. They are in Peoria, Ariz.; El Monte, Tustin, San Diego (3) and Spring Valley, Calif.; Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Hialeah, Palm Beach and St. Petersburg, Fla.; Crestwood, Palatine and Willowbrook, Ill.; Louisville, Ky.; Clinton and Hyattsville, Md.; Rochester, Mich.; Nashua, N.H.; South Plainfield and West Orange, N.J.; Bethlehem, Pa.; East Ridge, Tenn.; and Warrenton, Va.