HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. —
Kmart will no longer
staff its appliance departments with dedicated sales
associates.
The Sears Holdings division pink-slipped about
700 appliance employees at some 225 Kmart stores
in June, and instead will cross-train remaining store
staff on appliances. Customers can also call a 1-800
number, which will be affixed to each appliance model,
for additional assistance if needed.
The move came as the departments’ point-of-sale
systems (POS) were updated to perform sales and
delivery functions within the Kmart platform, which
will allow customers to purchase appliances at any
check-out counter in the store, a Sears Holdings
spokesman told TWICE.
Prior to the change, the departments were plugged
into Sears’ POS system, requiring specially-trained
associates, the spokesman said.
Kmart added white goods to its floors in 2005 and
expanded the offering to about 270 stores over the
intervening years, placing it at No. 21 on TWICE’s
2011 Top 100 Appliance Retailers rankings, with an
estimated $80 million in sales. The chain extended
elements of its majap assortment to all 1,300 stores
in February.
