Attention Kmart shoppers: The struggling discount chain is bringing back the "Bluelight Special" in the hopes the iconic marketing approach it pioneered decades ago will breathe life into its stores and online sales.
The retailer started sounding the blue sirens used to flag the surprise, 15-minute long deals to shoppers at its 942 stores on Friday, and will kick-off a marketing campaign to highlight the move with a TV ad on "Sunday Night Football" on NBC.
The campaign is Kmart's attempt to draw on the success of an earlier era.
The Bluelight Special was first created by a store manager in 1965 to clear slow-moving merchandise and helped fuel Kmart's growth through the 1980s, when it ranked as the largest U.S. discount retailer and the phrase "Attention Kmart shoppers" had entered the pop culture lexicon. It discontinued the sales tactic in 1991, around the same time it was surpassed by Wal-Mart in sales.
"It's part of our DNA," said Kmart President Alasdair James, a former executive at British retailer Tesco PLC who joined the company last year. "We think there is a real positive buzz coming out of it and we expect to see an increase in sales.