what does the K in K-mart actually stand for?

Answer 1

Kan't be good.

Answer 2

The K in K-mart stands for Sebastian S. Kresge; the founder of K-mart. They just took the first letter of his last name and there you have it.

Sergio, try not using the copy and paste method. That's called plagiarism.

Answer 3

The K stands for Kresge, as in Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of the S.S. Kresge dime store chain. Sebastian--a man so cheap he gave up golf because he couldn't stand to lose the balls--retired as president of the company in 1929, long before there was any such thing as a K mart. But his name continued to grace the firm's stores. Then, in 1959, one Harry B. Cunningham took over. Harry was a former newspaper reporter and, like many of that breed, a man of subtle (if unappreciated) genius. Sensing that the dime store concept was a bit dated and apparently having cornered the market on blue light bulbs, he decided the time had come for a bold new concept. K mart, with the Kresge name sensibly boiled down to the bare essentials, was it. The first K mart opened in a Detroit suburb in 1962, and shortly thereafter they were sprouting like dandelions nationwide.


good luck!

Answer 4

Kresge, I think that I misspelled it but it started as SS Kresge many years ago. Like a 5&10cent store. They blew it in the 70's when some accountant figured that they could save a bunch of money if they ran off the Mgt that was getting close to retirement. And not have to pay it.. So thay ran off their best mgrs and the co went to crap. old addage "you are no better than the people that you surround yourself with" Hope that helped.

Answer 5

The original name for the store was Kresge's (sorry not sure of spelling). It was much later shortened to K mart. I used to work there in the 1970's.

Answer 6

Kresge, Following his graduation, he clerked in a hardware store for two years, then worked as a traveling salesman from 1892 to 1897.

On March 20, 1897, Kresge started with James G. McCrorey (founder of J.G. McCrory's ) at a five and ten cent store in Memphis, Tennessee. He continued in this for two years, then in 1899 founded his company with Charles J. Wilson with an $8,000 investment in two five-and-ten-cent stores, one in downtown Detroit, Michigan (for which he traded ownership in McCrory's).

In 1912, he incorporated the S.S. Kresge Corporation with 85 stores. The company was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange on May 23, 1918. During World War I, Kresge experimented with raising the limit on prices in his stores to $1.

By 1924, Kresge was worth approximately $375,000,000 (in 1924 dollars) and owned real estate of the approximate value of $100,000,000 (see Farid-Es-Sultaneh v. Commissioner, 160 F.2d 812 (2d Cir. 1947)).

The first Kmart opened in 1962. Kresge died in 1966. In 1977, the S. S. Kresge Corporation changed its name to Kmart Corporation.

In 1924, Kresge established The Kresge Foundation, a non-profit organization whose income he specified simply "to promote the well-being of mankind." By the time of his death, Kresge had given the foundation over $60 million. A strongly committed prohibitionist, he organized the National Vigilance Committee for Prohibition enforcement and also heavily supported the Anti-Saloon League financially.[1]

A street in Amherst, Ohio (Kresge Drive) is named after Sebastian Kresge.

AND THE LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY ;)

Answer 7

Krokonkakawaka Smith, the founder of K mart

Answer 8

Kresge

don't you remember the old Kresge stores? they changed the name to K-Mart back when I was a kid.

$10 says you can find a website with the store history if you spend a few seconds with google. all the wrong answers make it clear that common knowledge isn't so common.

Answer 9

The K stands for Kresge, as in Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of the S.S. Kresge dime store chain.

Answer 10

The K stands for Kresge, as in Sebastian S. Kresge, founder of the S.S. Kresge dime store chain.

Answer 11

It was started off S.S Kresge
I guess that k word is where k-mart comes from