Kmart, Sears pool products to create ‘Essentials’ store New concept will open this spring at 3 Chicago area sites

Chicago Sun-Times February 9, 2005 | Sandra Guy Shoppers in Chicago’s northwest and southwest suburbs will get a first look this spring at new stores that pair Kmart with Sears Roebuck and Co.

On Tuesday, Sears unveiled the stores’ name — Sears Essentials — to show that the mid-size, off-mall stores will sell everything from hairspray to soda pop under the same roof as Craftsman tools, Apostrophe women’s clothing and, likely, Martha Stewart home furnishings. web site sears coupon code

Sears bought 50 Kmart and six Wal-Mart stores on Sept. 29 for $575.9 million, including three Kmarts in Chicago’s suburbs, as part of its efforts to expand into more convenient locations that don’t anchor shopping malls.

Sears announced Tuesday the locations of the first 25 Kmart stores to be converted into Sears Essentials.

Locally, the stores are in northwest suburban Palatine and in southwest suburban Crestwood and Willowbrook. The stores will remain open while Sears spruces up the merchandise, layout, lighting and sign displays.

Sears initially said last fall that the conversion of the Kmarts and Wal-Marts into Sears stores would cost $200 million, or about $3.57 million per store. The costs will vary by store, and Sears executives hope that Kmart’s planned purchase of Sears will lower the remodeling and remerchandising costs.

The Sears spokesman said it is too soon to say which Kmart brands will be sold in the new stores. But Sears and Kmart clearly hope to play off each other’s strengths after they merge, and for Kmart, that means Martha Stewart’s Everyday home fashions.

The Sears Essentials stores will become smaller versions of Sears’ huge, one-stop Sears Grand stores.

But the Sears Essentials stores are roughly half the size of Sears Grand, so neighborhood preferences will determine whether they feature an auto center, a pharmacy, an optical center or a portrait studio, the Sears spokesman said. Sears Essentials stores range from 80,500 to 100,000 square feet, compared with Sears Grand stores that measure anywhere from 106,000 to 200,000 square feet.

The Sears Essentials will face fierce competition from nearby Targets, Wal-Marts and other discount stores, retail experts said.

“We’ve yet to see Sears provide consumers with a compelling reason to shop at the off-mall locations,” said Kim Picciola, retail analyst at Chicago-based Morningstar. “Buying a washer and dryer at the same time you’re picking up shampoo doesn’t quite make sense,” she said. site sears coupon code

Furthermore, the suburban Kmarts are located close to Targets, Wal- Marts, Kohl’s, Home Depots and Best Buys, as well as home-decor and grocery stores. The Palatine store, for example, is near two planned developments in Arlington Heights — a proposed Lowe’s Home Improvement store at the Surrey Ridge shopping center, and a Super Target on the northeast corner of Golf Road and Arlington Heights Road.

But the new stores will pose no competition to Sears department stores because they are too far away from the big shopping malls.

Sears chose Chicago area Kmart stores that are on major traffic corridors and in fast-growing communities where blue- and white- collar families live.

“These will be good test markets because Sears can evaluate the success of the [Sears Essentials] concept in areas comparable to any community across America,” said John Melaniphy III, executive vice president of Melaniphy and Associates, a Chicago-based international real estate consulting firm.

“This is middle America,” he said.

Sandra Guy

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STUDENT WINS $5,000 SCHOLARSHIP FOR 3D TORNADO FILM

US Fed News Service, Including US State News June 30, 2011 TUSCALOOSA, Ala., June 29 — The University of Alabama issued the following news release:

Xavier Burgin, a University of Alabama senior from Columbus, Miss., was awarded a $5,000 scholarship as winner of the inaugural 3D Movie Award at the Campus MovieFest International Grand Finale, held June 23-26 in Hollywood, Calif.

The New College/telecommunication and film media production student’s film, “Portrait of the Storm,” provided an up-close look at the tornado that swept through Tuscaloosa April 27 and included personal accounts from survivors as scenes of the devastation filled the screen.

“I wanted to make this because this is something the media will talk about for a few months and then move on,” Burgin said. “People start forgetting what happened, but this is still going on.

“It’s sort of what we’ve seen happen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. And, I felt like Alabama, and Tuscaloosa especially, will, at some point, have that same problem, so I wanted to bring attention to this plight. Stuff is still happening. We are still rebuilding, and it will be some time before we get back to what we were before.” Burgin originally won Best Drama for his movie “Bottom of a Glass” at The University of Alabama’s local Campus MovieFest competition in February. His movie competed for awards at the international level, and Burgin, a member of Campus MovieFest’s Distinguished Filmmakers Network, was offered the opportunity to use a Panasonic 3D camera to enter the first student 3D film festival, hosted by Campus MovieFest, Panasonic and the International 3D Society. go to website evo 3d review

Burgin pitched his original 3D film idea of doing a narrative to the Campus Movie Fest 3D Review Team in early April, but after the April 27 tornado hit in Tuscaloosa, he spoke with the staff and changed his film topic. UA studio art student Sumerlin Brandon composed an original score for the film, which will be part of a tornado documentary being prepared by a group of students under the direction of Dr. Rachel Raimist, UA assistant professor of telecommunication and film.

“The fact that this project was the first-place winner, out of 50 CMF teams selected to compete, is not surprising,” Raimist said. “Xavier told a compelling story with beautifully shot imagery. He merged the strength of 3D (showing dimensionality and depth) with camera movement (achieved using the department’s equipment). evo3dreviewnow.net evo 3d review

“He borrowed a TCF Glidetrack, a tripod with a tripod head seated atop a sliding rod that you push slowly, to achieve short tracking shots and maximized his ability to take the audience inside the story. Who has ever seen some intimate images of destruction? Who has been so closely and visually inside the aftermath of such a powerful storm? By layering personal narratives through voice-over, with powerful imagery and a beautifully haunting soundtrack, Xavier produced a film that deserved to win.” “Bottom of a Glass” also competed in the Best Drama category. Other team members were Rene Gromotka, a sophomore from Stuttgart, Germany, majoring in mechanical engineering; and Joe Will Field, a sophomore from Tuscaloosa.

Several other students were awarded top honors at the 2011 Campus MovieFest finale including the teams who created the comedy “Sugarbaby” and the clay animation movie “Blue Barry.” “Sugarybaby” was honored as a Top 5 Comedy and as one of the Top 28 films out of hundreds at the finale. Students who worked on the film “Sugarbaby” include Andrew Carey, a May 2011 graduate from Mobile who majored in telecommunication and film; Micah Russell, a senior from Huntsville majoring in telecommunications and film; Hamilton Henson, a senior from Toney majoring in telecommunications and film; Kayla Terry, a May 2011 graduate from Tuscaloosa who majored in public relations; and Christopher Dumas, a senior from Mobile majoring in theatre.

“Blue Barry,” was also honored as one of the Top 28 films at the finale. Students who worked on the film “Blue Barry” include Thomas Coiner, a senior from Nixo, Mo., majoring in telecommunication and film; and Sarah Selleck, a senior from Hoover, majoring in nursing.

“I am very proud of all of the TCF media production students who compete in Campus Movie Fest,” Raimist said. “I get excited when TCF students compete in CMF. I see them put the theory and methods that we teach through classroom exercises to the test. I see the students work hard and collaboratively, and I see them make deadlines.” Campus MovieFest, the world’s largest student-film festival, brought together hundreds of students from 75 universities worldwide to compete for Best Picture, Comedy, Drama, Wild Card Audience Choice, Golden Tripod Awards and the first CMF 3D Award.

The Ferguson Center and Campus MovieFest have partnered together for four years to bring the world-renowned Campus MovieFest student film festival to The University of Alabama campus. The Ferguson Center staff promotes CMF on campus and serves as the location for equipment drop-off and pick up as well as the site for the red carpet finale where the top films on campus are announced.

Money for travel to the International Grand Finale was provided to students by the Ferguson Center, Creative Campus Initiative and the Blount Undergraduate Initiative.

Misty Mathews, 205/348-6416, mmathews@ua.edu.