Kmart to give face-lifts to three stores in area

Web posted November 13, 1998

By Frank Witsil
Staff Writer

Kmart is spending millions to convince customers that bigger is better.

The Troy, Mich.-based company plans to renovate all three of its Augusta-area stores as part of a strategy to upgrade its discount department stores throughout the nation.

The changes include wider aisles, an offering of edible essentials -- milk, bread, and canned and frozen foods -- and a new name: Big K, short for Big Kmart. The renovations will not enlarge the stores.

The three Augusta-area Kmarts -- on Gordon Highway, Washington Road in Martinez and Martintown Road in North Augusta -- are slated to undergo renovations in June, with the work to be completed by August.

Renovations at the 72,000-square-foot Kmart on Washington Road at West Town Market Square shopping center will cost about $1 million, store manager Tony Sandal said.

``The store will have a brand-new look,'' he added.

The company opened its first Big K store in Chicago in 1997. So far, the company has upgraded more than half the 1,370 Kmart stores. Most will be converted to the Big K format by 2001, company officials said.

In addition to Big K stores, Kmart has a Super K format -- even bigger stores that are 140,000 to 190,000 square feet. Super K stores have offered the retailer's traditional wares plus groceries, including meat and produce, since 1991. There are almost 100 Super K's.

Meanwhile, West Town managers are planning renovations to the 20-year-old shopping center. Changes are scheduled to begin in January and should be completed by April. They are likely to cost more than $500,000, Davis Commercial Properties President Ann Davis said.

In addition to Kmart, there are 27 other stores at West Town, including Food Lion, Cory Everson's Health and Fitness Club and Martina's Flowers and Gifts.

Shopping center renovations will include a new entrance, new storefronts, new signs, additional lighting, parking lot resurfacing and restriping, and demolition of about 8,000 square feet of shops at the west end of the center, Ms. Davis said.

Plans also call for construction of First Bank of Columbia County, a branch of Georgia-Carolina Bancshares, near the West Town shopping center entrance.

Frank Witsil covers business issues for The Augusta Chronicle. He can be reached at (706) 823-3352.