TROY, Mich. — Kmart is reviving its blue-light special.
Kmart Corp. reportedly is resurrecting the in-store advertising concept for sales merchandise, effective today.
Analysts say it may be the retailer's ticket to improvement. Kmart has fallen behind rivals Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc., retail and marketing experts have said.
"It is something that is still deeply ingrained in America's culture and can serve as a point of differentiation for Kmart versus its primary competition," Michael Exstein, retail analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, told the Detroit News.
Kmart was installing special billboards to announce the blue-light comeback. One sign featured a lighthouse casting a blue beam and a promise: "The blue light is back."
Mary Lorencz, a Kmart spokeswoman, declined to comment. Chairman and CEO Chuck C. Conaway and chief marketing officer Brent Willis are set to outline plans in New York on Monday to create a new image for the Troy-based company.
The marketing concept created in 1965 was retired in the 1990s. But where previous executives have seen the blue-light as a symbol of the past, the current team sees potential in playing off the company's heritage.
Although Kmart has lost ground in the competitive discount store channel, the blue-light special could bring in more shoppers, raise profits and make Kmart stock more attractive to Wall Street, experts said.
However, retail analyst Dan Poole told The Detroit News that today's shoppers are less impressed with limited-time sales.
The way the blue-light special worked was when customers heard the announcement "Attention Kmart shoppers," they were told of a special sale product in the store. Those who reached it in time, got the product.
"Back when it was extremely popular, the blue-light special was a neat promotion," Poole said. "Retailers could lure customers in with a special price. Today, everyone has a low-price format. U.S. shoppers have been conditioned to that. And they don't have the time to hang around."