Kmart Corporation store numbering

The Kmart Corporation assigned categorically separated and (in most cases) unique numbers to identify each of its stores across different chains and branded banners. This numbering system originated when the corporation was known as the S.S. Kresge Company, and was modified numerous times to accommodate the company's evolving set of retail businesses. In particular, all Kmart stores were uniquely assigned four-digit numbers starting with 3, 4, 7, or 9. The choice of this first digit followed a consistent pattern based on the stores' size beginning in the 1970s, but the company's extensive program of expansions, remodelings, and replacements during the 1990s largely ignored this system.

1–999
Numbers starting with #1 were assigned to S.S. Kresge 5 and 10 cent variety stores. The first of these, store #1, opened in Detroit in 1899. Unlike with Kmart and other chains operated by the company, S.S. Kresge store numbers were frequently recycled and reused after stores closed. The highest number used in this range was store #791 in Clearwater, Florida, which opened in 1963.

1000–1999
Numbers starting with #1000 were initially assigned to S.S. Kresge 25 cent to $1 stores. These "Green Front" stores offered a larger selection of higher-priced merchandise than the standard "Red Front" 5 and 10 cent stores, and were typically located very close to their smaller counterparts. As the company's standard variety stores grew larger and more modernized, most Green Front stores were consolidated into combined stores or eliminated entirely. A number of Green Front stores too far from their accompanying Red Front stores to be directly combined were instead converted into Jupiter Discount Stores starting in the early 1960s. By 1965, only two Green Front stores remained: Kresge #1035 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania and Kresge #1039 in Newport, Kentucky. #1035 closed at the end of 1966, while #1039 was redesignated as store #139 in 1969 to fully clear out the range for other uses.

With the #1000 range vacated, several other types of Kresge and Kmart retail locations were given store numbers in that range. The short-lived K mart Chef restaurants were assigned numbers matching the #4000 numbers of their associated Kmart stores. In one isolated case, the former Kresge store #227 in Birmingham, Michigan was converted into an upscale gift shop called Accents, which was given the store number 1227.

Schiller Millinery stores, acquired by Kresge because the company also operated leased departments in Kmart stores, were assigned numbers starting with #1800. When the #3000 range was cleared for use in new Kmart stores in the early 1970s, the Kresge stores in Puerto Rico which previously occupied this range were reassigned numbers starting with #1900.

2000–2999
Numbers starting with #2000 were initially assigned to combined Kresge Red Front and Green Front stores, which became known as "S.S. Kresge 5 and 10 cents to $1 stores". This usage was in place in the mid-1940s, but was completely phased out by the early 1960s in favor of giving the combination stores numbers in the standard #1-999 range.

In early 1968, 17 Kresge stores primarily located in Illinois and Indiana were rebranded as "Kresge Variety Discount Stores", and given numbers starting with #2000 and matching their previous Kresge numbers. The Variety Discount brand was dropped in February 1969, and all 17 of the stores were returned to their original store numbers.

Designer Depot stores were assigned numbers beginning with #2000. The first of these, Designer Depot #2000, opened in St. Clair Shores, Michigan in 1982. The similar Garment Rack store chain was assigned numbers beginning with #2500.

3000–3999 ("Group 3" Kmarts)
Numbers starting with #3000 were initially assigned to S.S. Kresge variety stores in Puerto Rico. The first of these, store #3000, opened in Rio Piedras in 1959.

Since the original #4000 numbering range for Kmart stores in the United States was almost completely used up by 1972, new full-size Kmart stores were assigned numbers starting with #3000. To accommodate this, the six Kresge stores in Puerto Rico were reassigned to have numbers starting with #1900. Because the other new ranges were associated with smaller-sized Kmarts, the Group 3 range came to refer to standard and larger-sized Kmarts, 84000 sqft to 95000 sqft or more.

The 3000–3999 range was used extensively for new Kmart stores for the next three decades. 997 of the 1,000 possible store numbers in this range are known to have been used by stores, the last being Kmart #3990 in Passaic, New Jersey, which opened in 2000. These "Group 3" stores were typically distinctly larger than Group 7 and Group 9 "mini-Kmarts" in the 1970s and 1980s, but Kmart's programs of store expansion and remodeling in the 1990s made this pattern largely unrecognizable.

4000–4499
Numbers starting with #4000 were assigned to the earliest Kmart stores beginning in 1962. Store #4000 in Garden City, Michigan was the chain's first full-size discount department store, although a smaller "bantam" location, store #4003, opened a month earlier. The original numbering scheme for Kmart and Jupiter stores indicates that the company never expected to open more than 500 Kmarts, but within a decade, this system became inadequate. New full-size Kmart stores were thus given numbers starting with #3000, while smaller "mini-Kmarts" fell under the "Group 7" and "Group 9" ranges.

Numbers starting with #4490 were specifically reserved for Kmart stores in Puerto Rico. Only three of the ten available numbers in this range were used, while other Kmart stores in Puerto Rico were given Group 3, 7, or 9 numbers like others in the United States.

4500–4699
Numbers starting with #4500 were assigned to Jupiter Discount Stores. Initially, their numbers matched the Kresge stores they had been converted from, as with Kresge #515, which became the first Jupiter Discount Store, #4515, in 1961. However, most Jupiter stores were ultimately assigned in a roughly sequential order, disregarding this original pattern. The highest store number used in this range was Jupiter #4656 in Racine, Wisconsin.

In an unusual exception, #4685 was assigned to a small Kmart-branded boutique shop and pharmacy inside the Sears Holdings Corporation headquarters complex in the 2010s.

4700–4999
Numbers starting with #4700 began to be assigned to new Kmart stores in 1991. Although all Jupiter stores had been sold or liquidated by 1988, the company continued to avoid reusing numbers in this range. Numbers starting with #4900 were specifically assigned to Category:Super Kmart Centers, but Super Kmart stores also received numbers in several other ranges.

5000–5999
Numbers starting with #5000 were assigned to S.S. Kresge stores in Canada. Unlike in the United States, Jupiter Discount Stores in Canada were not given different numbers when they were converted from Kresge stores, but instead kept the numbers they had previously used. The highest known number in this range was store #5110, which opened in 1964.

Numbers starting with #5400 were assigned to Kmart stores in Canada. The highest number used in this range was store #5545 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

7000–7999 ("Group 7" Kmarts)
Numbers starting with #7000 were assigned to "Group 7" Kmart stores, initially known as "mini Kmarts", with a typical size of 68000 sqft. The first mini Kmart, store #7004, opened in Victoria, Texas in 1972.

8000–8999
Numbers starting with #8270 were assigned to Kresge and Kmart distribution centers, while numbers starting with #8300 were assigned to the company's regional offices.

9000–9899 ("Group 9" Kmarts)
Numbers starting with #9000 were assigned to "Group 9" Kmart stores, the company's smallest Kmart model, with a typical size of 40000 sqft. The first Group 9 store, Kmart #9000, opened in Bryan, Ohio in 1974. The group also included many former W.T. Grant stores of this size or slightly larger. Furthermore, numbers starting with #9500 were assigned to stores built in a slightly larger model, typically 55000 sqft.