TROY, Michigan (By Karen Dybis, Detroit News) August 6, 2004 - Thalia Sodi embodies everything Kmart Corp. wants in a woman -- she's young, popular, stylish and Latina.

Now, she's all Kmart. Starting today, the Troy-based retailer will unleash its exclusive Thalia brand at 335 stores nationwide, including the Kmart on Telegraph Road in Detroit.

Aimed at female fashionistas, the decidedly sexy Thalia is focusing on apparel and accessories that appeal to an ethnic audience.

"It's a taste of the new Kmart," said company spokeswoman Abigail Jacobs.

Thalia's launch comes at a critical time for the century-old retail chain. Kmart's future depends in part on whether it can turn Thalia, Martha Stewart, Joe Boxer and its other brands into a cohesive, powerful draw for consumers.

"It's an ongoing problem for Kmart," said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys Inc., a consulting firm in New York. "There is no brand strategy and that's what they have to address."

Kmart has long fought a reputation for poor quality and style. Consider the exchange recently heard on Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," one of this summer's hottest television shows.

On the July 30 episode, a make-over subject told fashion expert Carson Kressley that he had purchased a shirt at Kmart. Frowning, Kressley responded: "Hey, don't you use that kind of language around me."

Much like the "Kmart sucks" mantra from the 1988 movie "Rain Man," Kressley's distaste is yet another blow to the company's fragile image.

Kmart is looking to solve that problem.

The retailer is in the midst of a massive advertising and marketing review, sparked in part by the end of its partnership with New York ad agency TBWA\Chiat\Day following a billing dispute.

Kmart had worked with TBWA since 2000 on campaigns such as the much-criticized "Stuff of Life," which included commercials featuring everyday families filmed by director Spike Lee.

According to trade magazine Advertising Age, Kmart is asking agencies to revamp its marketing and advertising. The agency also would help Kmart establish a strategic vision -- finding a niche where Kmart can thrive in this tough retail environment.

Experts like Passikoff say Kmart has been without such a vision for a decade or more. In the meantime, rivals such as Target Corp. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. have grown both in size and customer loyalty.

Target pulls shoppers in with its "Expect More, Pay Less" promise, and Wal-Mart has dominated the mass-merchandising category by giving customers "Everyday Low Prices" on everything from apple juice to Levi Strauss jeans.

Meanwhile, Passikoff said Kmart introduced programs like "BlueLight Always," which emphasized its reputation for cheap merchandise, and "Stuff of Life," which gave customers no indication of what they would find at Kmart stores or how it fit their lifestyles.

"They are a company that has been in total disconnect with their customers," Passikoff said.

Kmart's core brands also face new competition. Last month, JCPenney Corp. announced a partnership with home-furnishings guru Chris Madden to build the retailer's home collection. Madden might not be as well known as Martha Stewart, but at least she doesn't have an insider trading trial on her horizon.

Surveys by Brand Keys and America's Research Group have found customers are turned off by Stewart's legal troubles. ARG's poll showed that a growing number of consumers said they are less likely to buy Stewart's brands because of her recent indictment.

"Once 40 percent of Americans say they won't buy your product, it's over. You're done," said Britt Beemer, founder of the consumer research company in Charleston, S.C.

Thalia is a breath of fresh air for Kmart. The 31-year-old singer and former Mexican soap opera star has name recognition among Hispanics, some of Kmart's best customers and the largest minority group in America.

Thalia recently released her first English CD and was nominated for a Latin Grammy award. She also garners plenty of publicity with her marriage to music mogul Tommy Mottola.

The Thalia product line will be emblazed with a hot-pink "T" tag and sold in boutique-style displays at about a fifth of Kmart's 1,500 stores. Most of these locations are in areas with large Hispanic populations, including Chicago, New York, Miami and San Diego.

"Thalia is a big star in Latin America and is probably the equivalent of Madonna in the Hispanic world," said Maria Elena Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is president of Detroit's Mexicantown Development Corp., a nonprofit group that promotes economic growth in the city's southwest side. "My sense is she'll do very well with her new line. It also shows that Kmart is paying attention to the Hispanic market and they're spending money to tap into it."

"I think Hispanics will go and see what they're selling, but the question is the quality," said Rodriguez, who met Thalia and her family several years ago in Los Angeles. "If it's decent, they'll buy it."

The collection includes apparel, accessories, hosiery, jewelry and lingerie as well as products for bedrooms and bathrooms, Jacobs said. The apparel line includes clothes for girls and women in what Jacobs described as "juniors' styling," or a youthful appearance.

For example, there is embellished denim, satin cargo pants, hooded sweat shirts, tank tops and bright prints. An elaborate eagle design covers jeans, tanks and jewelry. There also is some leather mixed in at certain stores.

In bedding, the Thalia brand has six complete sets, which include comforters, 200-threat count sheets, shams and bed skirts. The patterns include a colorful Sangria and a black-and-white zebra print. The bath collection features shower curtains, rugs, towels and accessories.