Sebastian S. Kresge opened his first store, considered a five-and-dime store, in 1899. The low-priced department store attracted consumers and changed the retail landscape for the future shop department. By 1912, Kresge had expanded its store network to 85 and contributed annual sales of $10 million. (Company History, 2013. www.searsholdings.com). The 1920s were very difficult times for America, with the Great Depression and the First World War. During this time Kresge stores remained open, providing Americans with needed items and jobs to support families across America. In 1959, Harry B. Cunningham became president of America. Kresge Company. After studying other department stores, Cunningham realized that change was necessary to continue and grow this business and developed a new strategy for the future. Its strategy would be to open a more developed department store, which in most cases would be located right next to the Kresge stores. In 1962, the first Kmart discount department store opened in Garden City, Michigan. That same year, 17 more stores opened and company sales exceeded $480 million. That same year, the competitive landscape changed when a new store and future contender opened a new store called Walmart, founded by Sam Walton in Roger, Arkansas. The strategy for this store was no-frills brick-and-mortar stores with items at discounted prices, every day. Kmart and Walmart stores continued to grow throughout the 1970s and 1980s. By the 1980s it became apparent that Kmart stores were becoming obsolete and competition was changing their fortunes. In 1970, Walmart became a publicly traded company, and in 1972 it went public on the New York Stock Exchange with... middle of paper... that the loan was actually a bonus in disguise. of five men and five women held Charles Conway responsible for misleading investors and outlining Kmart's cash flow problems. Some of the problems lead to delays in supplier payments. Kmart sellers were able to track payments through an interface known as the Partners Information Network (PIN). Conaway and other executives removed access to the accounts payable system from PIN, saying there was a temporary problem with the data. There was no system or data issue as the data was still being made available to a handful of accounts payable managers. Those AP executives said payments occurred on a weekly basis, yet checks had to be cut by hand. One employee, Boyer, testified that after telling Conaway about the liquidity problem he was fired, shortly before the November 2001 conference call with analysts. (Bloomberg, June 2, 2002).