Despite lower than expected sales for November and December, Kmart continues to march forward with some impressive looks and items from house brands such as Route 66 and Wonder Kids.

Both brands are offering trend right merchandise that isn’t over thought or over priced. Joe Boxer is back leading the pack in adult loungwear with the short-lived PinK initiative in the back seat from what we could tell. Licensing is still a major draw here with Raven, individual princesses such as Cinderella and Dora the big names in girls, Cars, Winners circle, Superman and Spongebob still leading the male names. We couldn’t find any Thalia merchandise; perhaps the sun has set on the demographic based branding here at Kmart.

Juniors: Kmart has done an impressive job keeping up with the major key items. Hodded puffer vests, sweater sleeved jackets, updated licensed pajamas and convertible woven bottoms were all on trend. We saw less ‘demographic’ targeted looks and therefore less Thalia and more screened fleece. We also found that Rebel Yell (not the real deal but someone who found some opportunity to use that name) on the floor in cropped fleece pants!