Retail briefs

After gunning to emerge from Chapter 11 on April 30, Kmart will instead more likely come out the first week in May, after creditors' objections to the reorganization plan stretched out the proceedings earlier last week. And because of the holidays at the end of last week, Judge Susan Pierson Sonderby ruled that the proceedings would continue this afternoon and the court would work day-to-day thereafter to resolve 175 objections to the plan. Kmart's attorney said that if the judge rules in favor of the plan, it would take 10 days for the company to emerge so it could pay bankruptcy exiting costs and other bankruptcy-related activities. In addition, Kmart has appealed to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on a ruling that $250 million paid earlier to key vendors be returned to the Kmart estate. Kmart's stance is that it's "not material to the plan of reorganization," said Jack Ferry, spokesman.