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Craftsman tools debut at Kmart Sears Holdings hopes to expand market share by offering key brand at 365 additional stores. By Tenisha Mercer / The Detroit News Image Morris Richardson II / The Detroit News Craftsman tools are on display at the John R and 12 Mile SuperKmart in Madison Heights. MADISON HEIGHTS -- Craftsman tools are coming to hundreds of Kmart stores as part of a test program that marks the first wide-scale launch of Sears merchandise in Kmart outlets since the merger of the two retailers. Kmart began selling nearly half a dozen Craftsman products -- floor jacks, cordless screwdrivers, laser rulers and drills --as part of a Father's Day promotion in 365 Kmart stores last month. In Michigan, 21 stores sell the products, including locations in Detroit, Madison Heights, Roseville, Taylor, St. Clair Shores and Shelby Township. The promotion gives Craftsman aficionado Don Slezinski, 25, of Madison Heights another reason to shop at the SuperKmart in Madison Heights, where the tools went on sale last week ranging in price from $19.99 for screw and bolt removers to $69.99 for drills. "It's a lot closer than Sears and if I can come here to buy them," Slezinski said, "that's a good thing." Kmart is pinning its hopes on Craftsman and other marquee Sears brands to help boost slumping same-store sales -- sales at stores open at least one year -- which is a key measure of retail success, and market share declines. Kmart same-store sales fell 3.7 percent from February through April on lower demand for seasonal items stemming from bad weather this spring. "This was inevitable," said Ulysses Yannas, a retail analyst for Buckman, Buckman & Reid in Red Bank, N.J., about the Kmart-Craftsman match-up. "It's a good strategy. This was what the merger was supposed to be about -- combining both retail brands." Last month's rollout marks the debut of Sears merchandise in Kmart on a broad basis after Kmart acquired Sears, Roebuck & Co. in March to create Sears Holdings Corp. In April, Kmart began selling a small selection of Craftsman tools at a renovated store on Maple and Livernois in Troy -- one of nine Kmart stores nationwide to carry some Sears products. "Craftsman is a (top) brand in the U.S. in terms of quality," said Sears Holdings spokesman Larry Costello. "This is the first time that we have really brought the Craftsman brand, even though it's a limited number, into Kmart stores in such a large number." Craftsman tools hit the selling floor at Kmart as Sears Holdings mulls how far to go in combining the retailers' exclusive brands. A Sears Essentials store opening in July in Rochester won't sell Kmart's best-known brands, which include Joe Boxer and Martha Stewart product lines, although the Sears Essentials concept is to combine the best of Sears -- such as appliances and hardware -- and the best of Kmart -- such as health and beauty products and household goods. The company has not said when it will begin selling Craftsman tools at all of Kmart's 1,000 stores, but the more upscale hardware could help give Kmart the muscle it needs to compete with industry stalwarts such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. Kmart has long struggled with its identity, stuck between low-price driven Wal-Mart and trendy Target. Kmart filed for bankruptcy protection in Jan. 2002, and closed nearly 600 stores under Chapter 11 reorganization before emerging as a new corporate entity in May 2003. Combining the best of both struggling retailers -- Kmart's popular Martha Stewart Everyday line and Sears' Craftsman, Kenmore and other department store brands --could help both stores recover from the sales slumps and market share declines that have hounded them. But Sears and Kmart officials emphasize the Craftsman tool rollout is just a test. Costello would not say if Craftsman products will be sold at Kmart after Father's Day. Kmart spokesman Stephen Pagnani said the company will evaluate how the products sell. "We're looking to see how we can integrate brands and Father's Day gives us a good opportunity," Pagnani said. "This is a good way to integrate brands as a starter and see where it goes from there." Still, selling the products in hundreds of stores suggests the strategy is more than just a test, said George Whalin of Retail Management Consultants in San Marcos, Calif. "A test is a dozen stores, not 365," he said. "This is what they are going to do." Test or not, the addition of more upscale products will only help Kmart, Whalin said. "This is a smart thing to do," Whalin said. "It's just a matter of getting it started and figuring out what's going to sell. Kmart stores are getting the traffic, so this makes perfect sense to put Craftsman tools in the stores." The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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