LOCAL KMART STORE UNDERGOES MANAGEMENT CHANGE

Jerry Zikmund is excited about his move to Cape Girardeau.

John McClain is excited about his entry into the retirement mode.

"I am just absolutely elated," said Zikmund, who has assumed the manager's position at Kmart in Cape Girardeau. "I've been in Southeast Missouri since 1986 and am familiar with the Cape Girardeau operation."

Meanwhile, McClain, who retired in July after more than 35 years with Kmart, 17 in Cape Girardeau, is looking forward to "taking it easy for a while."

Zikmund, a native of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, joined Kmart in Kansas City.

"It was actually a Kmart Kresge operation then," said Zikmund. "I've been in five or six different locations since Fairview Heights, Granite City and Springfield, Ill., Wichita, Kan., and St. Louis."

McClain started with Kresge in 1955.

"That was before a Kmart existed," said McClain, who started at a Kresge store in Chicago as a stockroom clerk. McClain later managed stores in Duluth, Minn., served as a merchandise manager at Chicago, and managed stores in East St. Louis and Pekin, Ill., before coming to Cape Girardeau in February 1977.

McClain watched the Kmart operation emerge.

"Kresge stores had been around a long time since 1899," said McClain. During the 1950s, a new era in retailing dawned: discount houses emerged.

Kresge President Harry B. Cunningham initiated a strategy for his Kresge stores.

"A new concept in marketing and merchandise came into being," said McClain. "As a result the first Kmart discount department store opened in 1962."

For a while both Kmart and Kresge were in operation, but in 1977, the name of the company was changed to Kmart Corp., due to the fact that more than 95 percent of company sales were generated by Kmart stores.

"Everything was expanding," said McClain. "More and more Kmart stores emerged and current stores were expanded."

Kmart differs from its forerunner of the 1960s. It now emphasizes national brand goods, but also has a program of private-label products. Many Kmarts have pharmacies and some have automotive service departments.

Kmart, however, is still carrying on one of Kresge's advertising policies ... print ads still dominate Kmart's advertising program, with more than 69 million circulars inserted weekly into more than 1,500 newspapers.

Today there are more than 2,300 Kmart stores in the U.S. and Canada.

The company employs more than 330,000, and thousands of the employees have been with the company 25 years or longer.

In 1989, McClain's store at 11 S. Kingshighway underwent an expansion, to 86,000 square feet.

McClain, who was honored at a retirement picnic by store employees recently, said he would eventually get into some type of part-time work. He added, however, "I'll miss being around the store."