K-mount at K-mart.

normhead · 10-17-2018, 12:19 PM

I once saw a whole skid of K-30s at a Barrie Ontario Costco. When I went back a month later they wee gone. It has happened. The question is, does Pentax actually make money from those deals, or are they clearing inventory?

stevebrot · 10-17-2018, 12:26 PM

Originally posted by Larrymc

Who shops at K-Mart these day? Who even knows where their stores are located??

Good question. I don't know if they even have a store in my region (Portland, Oregon metro) anymore.

Steve

stevebrot · 10-17-2018, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by RebelCharlie

So K-Mart is not Filing for Bankruptcy, Sears is.

Sears Holdings ~~is filing~~ has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Both K-mart and Sears are party to the filing, being wholly-owned subsidiaries.

Steve

normhead · 10-17-2018, 12:56 PM

I think I bought some pants and a shirt in K-mart, in 1963, the leader of my high school band was there. I said "hi sir". My dad asked why did you call him sir? I didn't bother explaining that if you didn't call your teachers "sir" up here in Canada you were probably going to get a beating.

KiloHotelphoto · 10-17-2018, 02:40 PM

I bought my first dslr from Costco in 2014, it was the K50 and 18-55 and 50-200 kit and it was a online only order. It came with a nice little Pentax bag also, I still have the bag.

**boriscleto** · 10-17-2018, 02:50 PM

Originally posted by Larrymc

Who shops at K-Mart these day? Who even knows where their stores are located??

There is one in Syracuse (there used to be like five). There are no Sears stores left anywhere in Central New York and most of the rest in the state are closing.

Who's next? Macy's, JCPenney, or Kohls...

**clackers** · 10-17-2018, 04:11 PM

Originally posted by RebelCharlie

One complaint of Pentax users is the lack of advertising and availability of Pentax-Ricoh products as compared to the major three, Nikon, Canon and Sony. I am pretty sure that Pentax Ricoh monitors this site. So, here's my suggestion: An agreement with K-mart stores to sell K-mount cameras and Ricoh products through K-Mart Stores should help increase exposure of said products, at least in the USA, and that would make them more readily available. I imagine that it could have a snowball effect on sales in the US and then in the world, especially with all those K1000 sold and their users commenting on it. K-mount at K-mart, sounds nice...

I think this would be disastrous, Charlie … you'd end up paying more for every Pentax product you buy, without a hike in sales to justify it.

As I understand it, those big chain stores run on such tight margins they try to make money not just off customers, but the suppliers too - you pay for the floorspace, and they hit you up for a percentage of the advertising.

IIRC, the K-500 was an attempt by Pentax North America to play that sort of Canon/Nikon game - high volume, low profit, and it failed miserably. I don't think Japan ever listened to its North America office again about products or marketing after that disaster. It's stuck to its domestic market, and as a niche manufacturer elsewhere.

kneemeister · 10-17-2018, 04:40 PM - **2 Likes**

Back in the day, when a rural family would actually drive 50 miles to visit a K-Mart, Monky Wards, and the big Sears, that wasnt the hometown Hardware and appliance store. The Photo department was full of K1000's and a vast selection of Focal branded K-mount lens.....I would spend lots of time in the photo department as Mom took forever in the clothing departments. Wow how the mighty have fallen

toukan · 10-17-2018, 09:52 PM

I don't think K-Mart, or Sears, has the right image that Pentax wants. Selling in discount stores creates a discount-label connection. I do think the bigger point is good though that Pentax needs to get back into more stores. Considering all of their cameras are designed to a pretty rugged standard, aside from the obvious Best Buy, etc, a tie-in with a a store like REI, or other outdoors retailers could be positive...if they could get stores to devote the floor space and training necessary to make it work.

**mroeder75** · 10-17-2018, 10:38 PM

Interesting idea. My first Pentax camera was a gift from my dad to a poor graduating law school graduate. I had nothing. But I had a great camera from K-Mart. A Pentax ME Super with a Sigma zoom 75-150mm, and a K-Mart Focal Lens, 28mm f/2.8. The f/2.8 is still a great lens for me.

We have one K-Mart about 45 miles away from my rural Iowa home, which is scheduled to close. And I don't know of any other K-Marts or Sears within 60-miles. It would be nice if these stores would enter into unique arrangements that differentiate their product offerings, but I am in a town of 5,000 removed 45 miles from an urban area, and will probably buy tech stuff online hereafter anyway. Sears of all stores with its former catalog business could have been the leading online marketer, and it was early with a website, but they closed the catalog business, and never figured out how to operate above their competition in this next millennium. Sears, and K-Mart's forward thinking capitalism was great, until more forward thinking competition overwhelmed them.

**Rondec** · 10-18-2018, 03:07 AM - **2 Likes**

I think probably K mart was just chosen by the OP because of the K in the name? K mount in K mart?

**17dew** · 10-19-2018, 06:50 PM

For anyone who shopped at K-Mart in the late 70's,early 80's probably remember K-Mart did carry Pentax.Our local one always had a K1000 in the display case.

**monochrome** · 10-19-2018, 07:32 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by boriscleto

Sears Holdings owns both Sears and Kmart. It was founded after Kmart bought Sears. They are run as separate divisions within the one holding company.

Sears was 'toast' ever since Kmart merger: former Sears Canada CEO

Sears Holdings - Wikipedia

I think he’s making a (bad) play on ‘K’.

Eddie Lampert is arguing against himself in Bankruptcy Court.

Here’s a good take from Forbes on what cause Sears and K-Mart to fail..

**RJDavis-OK** · 10-19-2018, 08:26 PM

Originally posted by kneemeister

Back in the day, when a rural family would actually drive 50 miles to visit a K-Mart, Monky Wards, and the big Sears, that wasnt the hometown Hardware and appliance store. The Photo department was full of K1000's and a vast selection of Focal branded K-mount lens.....I would spend lots of time in the photo department as Mom took forever in the clothing departments. Wow how the mighty have fallen

This^^^

Walmart seemed to sell better quality items and drove out K-Mart. I do miss Sears, however, especially for the tool department. This just shows that being the cheap, discount product is not necessarily the best position.

Not a Number · 10-19-2018, 08:49 PM

Chapter 11 doesn't automatically mean death. Apple, Macy's, Best Buy, Starbucks, Chrysler, GM and Marvel all filed for Chapter 11 at some point. Mostly it's getting the right people at the helm.

Sears sold Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker last year.

10-17-2018, 12:29 PM	#18
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by RebelCharlie So K-Mart is not Filing for Bankruptcy, Sears is. Sears Holdings ~~is filing~~ has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Both K-mart and Sears are party to the filing, being wholly-owned subsidiaries. Steve Last edited by stevebrot; 10-17-2018 at 01:15 PM.

10-17-2018, 09:52 PM	#24
toukan Senior Member Join Date: May 2012 Photos: Gallery Posts: 140	K-Mart I don't think K-Mart, or Sears, has the right image that Pentax wants. Selling in discount stores creates a discount-label connection. I do think the bigger point is good though that Pentax needs to get back into more stores. Considering all of their cameras are designed to a pretty rugged standard, aside from the obvious Best Buy, etc, a tie-in with a a store like REI, or other outdoors retailers could be positive...if they could get stores to devote the floor space and training necessary to make it work.

10-19-2018, 06:50 PM	#27
17dew Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Ohio Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,822	For anyone who shopped at K-Mart in the late 70's,early 80's probably remember K-Mart did carry Pentax.Our local one always had a K1000 in the display case. Attached Images

10-19-2018, 07:32 PM - 1 Like	#28
monochrome Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Working From Home Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 26,276	Originally posted by boriscleto Sears Holdings owns both Sears and Kmart. It was founded after Kmart bought Sears. They are run as separate divisions within the one holding company. Sears was 'toast' ever since Kmart merger: former Sears Canada CEO Sears Holdings - Wikipedia I think he’s making a (bad) play on ‘K’. Eddie Lampert is arguing against himself in Bankruptcy Court. Here’s a good take from Forbes on what cause Sears and K-Mart to fail.. Last edited by monochrome; 10-19-2018 at 07:43 PM.

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10-17-2018, 12:19 PM	#16
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	I once saw a whole skid of K-30s at a Barrie Ontario Costco. When I went back a month later they wee gone. It has happened. The question is, does Pentax actually make money from those deals, or are they clearing inventory?

10-17-2018, 12:26 PM	#17
stevebrot Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Vancouver (USA) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 42,007	Originally posted by Larrymc Who shops at K-Mart these day? Who even knows where their stores are located?? Good question. I don't know if they even have a store in my region (Portland, Oregon metro) anymore. Steve

10-17-2018, 12:56 PM	#19
normhead Pentaxian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Near Algonquin Park Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 40,451	I think I bought some pants and a shirt in K-mart, in 1963, the leader of my high school band was there. I said "hi sir". My dad asked why did you call him sir? I didn't bother explaining that if you didn't call your teachers "sir" up here in Canada you were probably going to get a beating.

10-17-2018, 02:40 PM	#20
KiloHotelphoto Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Glen Mills, PA Photos: Albums Posts: 1,029	I bought my first dslr from Costco in 2014, it was the K50 and 18-55 and 50-200 kit and it was a online only order. It came with a nice little Pentax bag also, I still have the bag.

10-17-2018, 02:50 PM	#21
boriscleto Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: North Syracuse, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,475	Originally posted by Larrymc Who shops at K-Mart these day? Who even knows where their stores are located?? There is one in Syracuse (there used to be like five). There are no Sears stores left anywhere in Central New York and most of the rest in the state are closing. Who's next? Macy's, JCPenney, or Kohls...

10-17-2018, 04:11 PM	#22
clackers Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Melbourne Photos: Albums Posts: 16,397	Originally posted by RebelCharlie One complaint of Pentax users is the lack of advertising and availability of Pentax-Ricoh products as compared to the major three, Nikon, Canon and Sony. I am pretty sure that Pentax Ricoh monitors this site. So, here's my suggestion: An agreement with K-mart stores to sell K-mount cameras and Ricoh products through K-Mart Stores should help increase exposure of said products, at least in the USA, and that would make them more readily available. I imagine that it could have a snowball effect on sales in the US and then in the world, especially with all those K1000 sold and their users commenting on it. K-mount at K-mart, sounds nice... I think this would be disastrous, Charlie … you'd end up paying more for every Pentax product you buy, without a hike in sales to justify it. As I understand it, those big chain stores run on such tight margins they try to make money not just off customers, but the suppliers too - you pay for the floorspace, and they hit you up for a percentage of the advertising. IIRC, the K-500 was an attempt by Pentax North America to play that sort of Canon/Nikon game - high volume, low profit, and it failed miserably. I don't think Japan ever listened to its North America office again about products or marketing after that disaster. It's stuck to its domestic market, and as a niche manufacturer elsewhere.

10-17-2018, 04:40 PM - 2 Likes	#23
kneemeister Forum Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Pittsford, Michigan Photos: Albums Posts: 89	Back in the day, when a rural family would actually drive 50 miles to visit a K-Mart, Monky Wards, and the big Sears, that wasnt the hometown Hardware and appliance store. The Photo department was full of K1000's and a vast selection of Focal branded K-mount lens.....I would spend lots of time in the photo department as Mom took forever in the clothing departments. Wow how the mighty have fallen

10-17-2018, 10:38 PM	#25
mroeder75 Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Iowa Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,597	Interesting idea. My first Pentax camera was a gift from my dad to a poor graduating law school graduate. I had nothing. But I had a great camera from K-Mart. A Pentax ME Super with a Sigma zoom 75-150mm, and a K-Mart Focal Lens, 28mm f/2.8. The f/2.8 is still a great lens for me. We have one K-Mart about 45 miles away from my rural Iowa home, which is scheduled to close. And I don't know of any other K-Marts or Sears within 60-miles. It would be nice if these stores would enter into unique arrangements that differentiate their product offerings, but I am in a town of 5,000 removed 45 miles from an urban area, and will probably buy tech stuff online hereafter anyway. Sears of all stores with its former catalog business could have been the leading online marketer, and it was early with a website, but they closed the catalog business, and never figured out how to operate above their competition in this next millennium. Sears, and K-Mart's forward thinking capitalism was great, until more forward thinking competition overwhelmed them.

10-18-2018, 03:07 AM - 2 Likes	#26
Rondec Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gladys, Virginia Photos: Gallery Posts: 27,652	I think probably K mart was just chosen by the OP because of the K in the name? K mount in K mart?

10-19-2018, 08:26 PM	#29
RJDavis-OK Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 190	Originally posted by kneemeister Back in the day, when a rural family would actually drive 50 miles to visit a K-Mart, Monky Wards, and the big Sears, that wasnt the hometown Hardware and appliance store. The Photo department was full of K1000's and a vast selection of Focal branded K-mount lens.....I would spend lots of time in the photo department as Mom took forever in the clothing departments. Wow how the mighty have fallen This^^^ Walmart seemed to sell better quality items and drove out K-Mart. I do miss Sears, however, especially for the tool department. This just shows that being the cheap, discount product is not necessarily the best position.

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10-19-2018, 08:49 PM	#30
Not a Number Moderator Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Venice, CA Posts: 10,526	Chapter 11 doesn't automatically mean death. Apple, Macy's, Best Buy, Starbucks, Chrysler, GM and Marvel all filed for Chapter 11 at some point. Mostly it's getting the right people at the helm. Sears sold Craftsman to Stanley Black & Decker last year.