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Kmart Corporation store numbering: Difference between revisions
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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
== 1–999 ==
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== 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 Store]]s starting in the early 1960s. By 1965, only two Green Front stores remained: [[S.S. Kresge 1035|Kresge #1035]] in [[Hazleton, Pennsylvania]] and [[S.S. Kresge 1039|Kresge #1039]] in [[Newport, Kentucky]].<ref name=directory-65>[https://archive.org/details/kresge-directory-june-1965 "S.S. Kresge Company Directory, June 30, 1965"], via archive.org.</ref> #1035 closed at the end of 1966, while #1039 was redesignated as [[S.S. Kresge 139|store #139]] in 1969 to fully clear out the range for other uses.<ref name=open-close-record>[https://archive.org/details/kresge-store-opening-and-closing-record-1956-1972 Kresge store opening and closing record 1956-1972], S.S. Kresge Company, via archive.org.</ref><ref name=kresge-spreadsheet/>
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.<ref name=directory-73>[https://archive.org/stream/s.-s.-kresge-kmart-jupiter-list-of-stores-1973 "S.S. Kresge–K mart–Jupiter 1973 List of Stores"], via archive.org.</ref> In one isolated case, the former [[S.S. Kresge 227|Kresge store #227]] in [[Birmingham, Michigan]] was converted into an upscale gift shop called Accents,<ref>Woolf, Barbara. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80403342/ "Headlines: No blue light specials"], [[Detroit Free Press]], November 14, 1983, page 2E.</ref> which was given the store number 1227.<ref name=directory-84>[https://archive.org/details/kmart-1984-list-of-stores "S.S. Kresge–K mart–Jupiter 1984 List of Stores"], via archive.org.</ref>
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== 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,<ref>[https://archive.org/download/kresge-microfilm-202106-scans/Kresge%20microfilm/148.pdf "S.S. Kresge Company Home Office Directory, April 28, 1943"], via archive.org.</ref> but was completely phased out by the early 1960s<ref>[https://archive.org/details/kresge-directory-june-1963 "S.S. Kresge Company Directory, June 15, 1963"], via archive.org.</ref> 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.<ref name=open-close-record/>
[[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.<ref name=directory-84/><ref>[https://mycpa.cpa.state.tx.us/staxpayersearch/processTaxpyer.do?tpNtrlId=2000160044410 "K MART CORPORATION"], Sales Taxpayer Search, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, cpa.state.tx.us.</ref>
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Numbers starting with #3000 were initially assigned to S.S. Kresge variety stores in [[Puerto Rico]]. The first of these, [[S.S. Kresge 1900|store #3000]], opened in [[Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico|Rio Piedras]] in 1959.<ref name=opening-record>[https://archive.org/details/kresge-store-opening-record-1959-1973 S.S. Kresge–K mart–Jupiter store opening records, 1959-1973], via archive.org.</ref>
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.<ref name=directory-65/><ref name=directory-73/> Because the other new ranges were associated with smaller-sized Kmarts, the Group 3 range came to refer to standard and larger-sized Kmarts, {{convert|84000|sqft|m2}} to {{convert|95000|sqft|m2}} 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|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
== 4000–4999 ==
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=== 4700–4999 ===
Numbers starting with #4700 began to be assigned to new Kmart stores in 1991.<ref name=kmart-spreadsheet/> 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 Center]]s, but Super Kmart stores also received numbers in several other ranges.<ref name=kmart-spreadsheet/>
== 5000–5999 ==
Numbers starting with #5000 were assigned to [[:Category:S.S. Kresge stores in Canada|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 [[S.S. Kresge 5110|store #5110]], which opened in 1964.<ref name=kresge-spreadsheet/>
Numbers starting with #5400 were assigned to [[:Category:Kmart stores in Canada|Kmart stores in Canada]]. The highest number used in this range was [[Kmart
== 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 {{convert|68000|sqft|m2}}. The first mini Kmart, [[Kmart 7004|store #7004]], opened in [[Victoria, Texas]] in 1972.<ref name=victoria-72>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/71641319/ "'Mini' K Mart Names Manager"], [[Victoria Advocate]], September 17, 1972, page 8B.</ref><ref name=kmart-spreadsheet/> There were a few stores built as mini Kmarts in the early 90s. an example is [[Kmart 7139|store #7139]] in [[Jackson, Wyoming]]
== 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.<ref name=directory-73/>
== 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 {{convert|40000|sqft|m2}}. The first Group 9 store, [[Kmart 9000|Kmart #9000]], opened in [[Bryan, Ohio]] in 1974. The group also included many former [[W.T. Grant]] stores from 9100-9150. of this size or slightly larger. The 9330-9378 range would be several Venture stores converted to Big Kmart that opened on October 29, 1998. Furthermore, numbers starting with #9500 were assigned to stores built in a slightly larger model, typically {{convert|55000|sqft|m2}}.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/kresge-news-june-1977 "New size successful"], ''Kresge News'', June 1977, page 2.</ref><ref name=kmart-spreadsheet/>
==References==
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