John Foster has joined Kmart Corp. (Troy, Mich.) as senior vp, real estate management, effective immediately. He will be responsible for real estate, construction and design, and real estate market strategy, reporting directly to Kmart president and coo Mark Schwartz.
Foster, a 15-year retail real estate veteran, had previously been vp and gm for Cole National Co., the Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based operator of nearly 2000 optometric outlets in North America and Europe, where he was responsible for the start-up of Target Optical, including property development, operations, merchandising and marketing. He also held senior level real estate positions with Biker's Depot, Super Shops, Inc., Reliable Drug Stores and Rite Aid Corp.
Foster will have a lot of real estate to manage in his new position. Kmart Corp. has more than 2100 Kmart and Kmart supercenter retail outlets in all 50 states, the Caribbean Islands and Asia Pacific.