Press Release

Patterson Seeks Corporate Support for Kmart in Annual State of the County Speech

TROY, Michigan (February 13, 2002) -- Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson tonight called upon the business community in Michigan to come to the aid of the financially strapped Kmart Corporation which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

"I have spoken to my Purchasing director and for the next 18 months Oakland County will shift some of our purchasing power over to Kmart," Patterson told a capacity crowd who attended his annual State of the County Address at the Michigan State University Management Education Center in Troy. "We have 1,500 inmates in our jail to feed a day. That’s a lot of potatoes. We buy clothing for more than 100 kids who live in our Children's Village. We wax over $1.8 million square feet of office space. We buy windshield solvent and antifreeze for over 640 cars."

Patterson's plan would shift about $50,000 a month in county purchasing power for supplies over to Kmart Corporation. Over the next year that commitment would mean $600,000 worth of financial support for America's third largest retailer.

"If I can get 200 more companies to do the same thing, together we will have generated over $100 million in new revenue for Kmart," Patterson said. "More than $100 million to help a company that has helped us in so many ways."

Patterson emphasized that Kmart is worthy of corporate assistance because of the company's many community outreach programs such as WalkAmerica which has raised $3 million in Michigan and $33 million nationally for the March of Dimes over the past 14 years.

In his speech, Patterson also noted that in addition to being a good corporate citizen, Kmart invests heavily in Oakland County by paying more than $3.5 million annually in property taxes.

For further information on the Kmart initiative, please contact Dennis Toffolo, director of Community & Economic Development at (248) 858-0278.