Kmart: Striving For A Comeback

Kmart went through an exhaustive downfall and recovery process only to find that they must do it again within two to five years. Even after recovery, they often have unclear sense of something not being quite right. They're still losing market share and not making customer connections. When they find that profits and sales are dropping, they have no choice but to go back to planning and formulation of strategy.

One of the reasons that the group discovers why Kmart is having a hard time in striving for a comeback, as a leading discount retail store is that the people in the company has lost confidence on themselves. The employees don't believe and the management doesn't know what to believe and in effect turns the company down. Identifying the problem is one thing, but how to fix it?

The changing of CEO's for how many times makes the group realize that the company was not able to adjust to the changing market conditions of the industry. In relation to, Kmart lost its brand preference in the industry, it is because the company's perception of the brand differs significantly from the customer's perception due to the frequent change of leadership. The gap between Kmart and its customers should be fixed to uncover that unique and compelling identity. Then express it in a consistent manner across all employee and customers.

The group's analysis in this case is that Kmart should have a reason to believe that they can overcome their downfall and the goals for a successful recovery are as follows:

* Execution of business strategies into a convincing brand identity.

* Integration of communication across all channels.

* Combination of internal/external of branding programs to increase employee commitment and customer loyalty.

* Deliver