K-Mart Job Applications

About K-Mart

K-Mart is part of Sears Holdings Corporation, which is the fourth largest mass merchandising company in the United States. Sears Holdings Corporations is the parent company of K-Mart, Sears Roebuck and Co., Lands' End, The Great Indoors and Orchard Supply Hardware.

History

K-Mart originated in 1899 as the S.S. Kresge Co. in Detroit, Michigan. Founded by Sebastian Spering Kresge, everything in the original store sold for five or ten cents. By 1912 Kresge had expanded to 85 stores and had annual sales of over $10 million. During the war and depression years, Kresge stores continued to offer low prices and jobs for local residents. By the mid-1920s additional stores were opened offering products which sold at $1 or less. These "dollar" stores were built next to the original "five-and-dime" stores.

The company's sales strategy changed with the opening of the first K-Mart store in 1962 in the Detroit suburb of Garden City, Michigan. This new suburban store was not a "dollar" or "five-and-dime" retailer, but it still offered a wide variety of merchandise at discount prices. By the late 1970s, almost all of the S.S. Kresge sales were from K-Mart stores, and the company changed it's name to Kmart Corporation.

Present Day

K-Mart now employees more than 133,000 associates and operates over 1,300 discount stores across the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Each one-level store averages 93,000 square feet. K-Mart also operates 55 Super Centers which average 165,000 square feet each.

K-Mart stores carry a wide range of merchandise including housewares, fashion, toys, tools, electrical and automotive products. The stores carry a variety of different brand names including homewares, patio and garden products from Martha Stewart Everyday and fashions by Jaclyn Smith, Joe Boxer and Sesame Street.

Starting in 2005, K-Mart began selling a variety of Sears brand products including DieHard batteries, Craftsman tools and Kenmore home appliances. Approximately 1,100 K-Mart stores have in-store pharmacies.

The 55 K-Mart Super Centers are open 24-hours a day and offer a full line of groceries in addition to the general merchandise selection of the other K-Mart stores.

Career Opportunities

K-Mart employs associates in various full and part-time hourly job functions at the store level as well as hourly and salary-based functions in their corporate facilities at several locations throughout the United States.

Store Employment

It takes many associates in a wide variety of job functions to provide K-Mart's merchandise and customer service to customers. Some of these jobs include:

• Store Managers and Assistant Managers who manage the everyday activities of the stores.
• Sales associates who make sure the shelves are stocked and the customer's questions are answered.
• Customer service associates who solve merchandise-related problems for customers.
• Food service associates who prepare and sell quick snacks to customers and K-Mart store associates.
• Pharmacists who fill prescriptions and answer questions from customers.
• Cashiers who handle sales and collect money for the customer's purchases.
• Stock associates who move the inventory from delivery trucks to the store shelves.
• Clerical associates who work behind the scenes to monitory inventory levels, account for sales and schedule and pay associates.
• Human resource associates who hire and train associates and administer the corporate benefit programs.
• Security associates who ensure the safety of associates, customers and inventory.

Corporate Employment

To support the stores, a wide variety of job functions are also available at the K-Mart headquarters in Troy, Michigan, at various corporate offices throughout the United States and in distribution centers across the United States. Staff members are employed in a variety of positions, inlcuding:

• Operations functions that support store needs such as inventory management, regional sales and training.
• Merchandise functions such as buyers who select the merchandise to be sold at the K-Mart stores and Super Centers.
• Marketing and advertising functions such as product promotions, sales promotions, market research and customer support.
• Product design and testing functions to create new products and test new and existing products for usefulness, durability and safety.
• Human resource functions such as hiring, salary administration, benefits administration and training.
• Legal functions that provide direction in contract administration, marketing, planning, human resources and operations.
• Accounting and finance functions that monitor the store's progress against corporate plans and the economy.
• E-commerce functions that support the K-Mart website.
• Computer operation functions that provide inventory, planning, operations and distribution support.
• Facilities management functions that determine new store locations and monitor the existing stores.
• Material handling functions that move the merchandise from the vendors to the distribution centers and then on to the stores.

Applying for K-Mart Jobs

K-Mart job applications are readily available for both hourly-paid and corporate careers:

• For hourly job opportunities – Complete an application at any of the local K-Mart stores, Super Center Stores or K-Mart Distribution Centers or online. Applications are available in English and Spanish.
• For corporate positions – You can search for jobs, review featured job openings and submit your resume at the Sears Holdings Corporation website.
• For pharmacy positions – You can review job listings and submit your resume to Sars Holdings on their website at: Pharmacy Career Opportunities.