WHITE LAKE, Mich. A big part of Kmart CEO James Adamson's plan to reinvent the chain is to spruce up the faded stores

A concept store just completed in this Detroit suburb has become a prototype for the new look Adamson wants.

Exterior
Say goodbye to the red logo and hello to lime green. An arrow is formed within the K. Brand and design consultant Peter Arnell; CEO of Arnell Group, a unit of ad giant Omnicom, says he chose what he calls extraordinary green because, the essence of green is go, growth and success.

Interior
Lighting is brighter. Lower shelves let shoppers see across the store. Aisles are six feet wide, up from four feet, for better two-way traffic and views of merchandise. 

Layout
The help desk and other services, such as film processing, move to the right of the entrance. That creates a promotional center aisle (the midway) between apparel on the left and general merchandise on the right. Large lime-green signs hang from the ceiling to identify sections.

Renovating the 70,000-square-foot store took six weeks. Two big things we’re trying to accomplish here are branding and (shopper) navigation, says Ron Hudgens, Kmart head of Visual Merchandising.

The changes incorporate 75 of 125 suggestions from customers and employees. One goal is to boost the 17-minute average time customers spend per visit. The Wal-Mart average is 36 minutes.

Adamson says the store is a way to show investors and workers Kmart’s future. We needed to show that we’re addressing customers’ needs. Four more new stores are coming in Peoria, Ill. Bonnie Montante, an associate at this location since it opened in 1988, says she suggested wider aisles. She says the new look has created a more upbeat attitude: It’s like a brand new store. It’s hard to remember the old Kmart, says recent shopper Carol Eliel of Highland, Mich.