Kmart Corporation will offer loyal customers who have shown their continued support for the company a week-long Customer Appreciation event June 1 through June 8. Since the company sought Chapter 11 protection, Kmart's more than 220,000 associates have been conducting a massive chain-wide "spring cleaning" effort. That effort culminates with Kmart's Customer Appreciation Days event, which will feature special savings on some of the company's most popular merchandise, both in-store and online at http://www.bluelight.com/, and a variety of promotional events and appearances by celebrities such as Jaclyn Smith, wrestling superstar Kurt Angle, Latin sensation Giselle Blondett and members of the Grammy(R)-award winning Winans family.

"Four months ago, our associates set to work cleaning and brightening our store," said Tony Hannah, manager of the El Monte, CA Kmart store. "Now it looks the way it should -- the way our customers expect it to be."

While Kmart's associates scrubbed the stores and removed excess inventory and signage to make access easier and stores less cluttered, management was busy planning an event to formally thank customers who have supported Kmart during the past several months and welcome them back to a more focused Kmart.

"We have more than 220,000 associates who are proud of the progress we have made since January," said Julian Day, president and chief operating officer, Kmart Corporation. "Customer Appreciation Days provides them with a way to share that pride with our loyal customers, and thank them for standing by us through any inconvenience they may have suffered as we worked to re-establish high store standards for them."

During Customer Appreciation Days, shoppers will find savings across the store and online at http://www.bluelight.com/ on "The Stuff of Life," including deeper discounts than ever before on top-name and exclusive Kmart brands, such as Martha Stewart Everyday, Sesame Street, Jaclyn Smith, Kathy Ireland and Route 66. Kmart stores will also be offering great two-for-one buys on the products and brands families need every day, such as Pepsi, Nabisco and Frito-Lay. The BlueLight Unlimited Internet Service, which is the lowest-priced major ISP in the country at just $8.95 per month,* will offer one month of free service to new subscribers who sign up at http://www.bluelight.com/ from May 31 through June 8.

As part of its Customer Appreciation Days, Kmart stores across the country also will be featuring a wealth of family-friendly promotional events and celebrity appearances. Jaclyn Smith (Los Angeles), JOE BOXER's Nick Graham (San Francisco), wrestling stars Kurt Angle (Pittsburgh) and Chris Benoit (New York City), Univision's Giselle Blondett (Miami), Nickelodeon's Sponge Bob Square Pants (New York City) and members of the Grammy award-winning Winans family (Atlanta and Charlotte) will all be on hand to help Kmart thank its loyal customers. Other Kmart stores will feature appearances by costumed characters Shrek, Barbie, the Rescue Heroes, JOE BOXER's Mr. Licky, the ICEE Bear and Kmart's own BlueLights.

To kick off the event, on the weekend of June 1 and 2, families can enter to win a life-size Britney Spears stand-up in stores or online (one winner every day for seven days in all stores), make their own fun creations with Play-Doh sculpting on Sunday in the toy department and receive an American flag temporary tattoo (first 400 children per store). Select stores also will feature a variety of exciting events and free product sampling from a multitude of major brand names. Consumers can visit their local Kmart store for a detailed list of activities and times.

"This event marks the first step in our plans to rebuild Kmart as the store our customers want it to be," said Day. "There is still a lot of work to do, and there are still some areas where our in-stock condition needs improvement, but we feel we have made enough progress to ask our loyal customers to celebrate with us during this week."