New Kmarts opening in Australia
With more than 325 stores operating across Australia and New Zealand, Kmart continues to dominate in affordable ‘big-box’ or general merchandise retail.
One of Australia’s biggest retail brands, Kmart, opened its first store in Burwood, Victoria, in 1969.
The retail giant is owned by Wesfarmers, which also owns Bunnings, Target, Officeworks and the recently-acquired Beaumont Tiles.
With strong investor interest in the discount department store sector remaining strong during the pandemic it’s no surprise that Kmart is continuing to grow.
However, it pivoted operations in the face of changing consumer behaviour, mainly the rise in online shopping, and competition from overseas giants like Amazon, which recently opened up a brand new sort centre in Craigieburn.
In May 2020 CEO John Gualtieri announced in a statement released on the Wesfarmers corporate website that 75 Target Country stores across regional Australia would close due to viability issues:
“A number of actions will be taken over the next year to address the unsustainable financial performance of Target and accelerate the growth of Kmart, including the conversion of a number of Targets to Kmart stores and the closure of Target stores not suited for conversion.
“In regional Australia, about half of Target Country stores, 52, are suited to be converted to smaller format Kmart Hub stores.”
In the face of this announcement, Kmart Australia also celebrated a number of new store openings in 2020. We’ve taken a look at the most recent across Australia:
Kmart Bairnsdale (K hub) Vic
Address: 90-120 Nicholson &, Service St, Bairnsdale VIC
Opening date: November 2020
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Kmart Caroline Springs Vic – formerly Target Country
Address: Caroline Springs Square Shopping Centre, 29-35 Lake St, Caroline Springs
Opening date: November 5, 2021
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Kmart Camberwell Vic – formerly Target
Address:15/25 Station St, Camberwell VIC
Opening date: November 2020
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Target Camberwell became a Kmart in November 2020. Picture: Kmart
Kmart Casey Vic
Address: Casey Central Shopping Centre, 400 Narre Warren – Cranbourne Rd, Narre Warren South VIC
Opening date: November 2020
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Kmart Cobram (K hub) Vic – formerly Target Country
Address: 21 High St, Cobram 3644
Opening date: August 2020
Property size:1,380sqm
Property price: unavailable
Details
Target Country Cobram was closed in July 2020 while the store was converted into a brand new K hub.
Kmart Cockburn WA
Address: Cockburn Gateway Shopping Centre, 816 Beeliar Dr, Success WA
Opening date: November 2020
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Kmart Echuca (K hub) Vic – formerly Target Country
Address: Cnr Nish and Pakenham St Echuca
Opening date: August 2020
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Details
Target Country Echuca was closed in July 2020 while the store was converted into a brand new K hub.
Kmart Highpoint Vic
Address: Level 2/120/200 Rosamond Rd, Maribyrnong VIC
Opening date: December 1, 2021
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Kmart opened its Highpoint Victoria store in December 2021. Picture: Kmart
Kmart Katherine (K hub) NT – formerly Target Country
Address: Cnr Lindsay Street & First Street, Katherine, NT
Opening date:
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Details
Target Country Katherine was closed in early 2020 while the store was converted into a brand new K hub.
Kmart Katoomba (K hub) NSW – formerly Target Country
Address: Park St Katoomba
Opening date: August 2020
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
Details
Target Country Katoomba was closed in early 2020 while the store was converted into a brand new K hub.
Kmart Port Douglas (K hub) QLD, Port Douglas Shopping Centre – formerly Target Country
Address: Port Village Shopping Centre, 11-17 Macrossan St, Port Douglas QLD
Opening date: February 2021
Property size: unavailable
Property price: $36m (as part of package including other retailers within Port Douglas Shopping Centre)
Details
Target Country Port Douglas was closed in early 2020 while the store was converted into a brand new K hub.
K Hub Port Douglas opened its doors in February 2021. Picture: Kmart
Kmart Seymour Victoria (K hub) – formerly Target Country
Address: 21 High Street, Cobram, VIC, 3644
Opening date: August
Property size: 1,472 sqm
Property price: unavailable
Kmart Westfield Tuggerah NSW
Address: Westfield Tuggerah, 50 Wyong Rd, Tuggerah NSW
Opening date: November 18
Property size: unavailable
Property price: unavailable
What is a K hub and how is it different from Kmart?
In a post on LinkedIn, Kmart Australia said that the new K hubs look different from a normal Kmart due to their hybrid mixture of both online and in-store shopping.
While the range seemingly might not seem as large at first glance, the concept is that customers are able to order from Kmart, Catch and Target’s online range before picking up in-store, they explained.
“They have our most popular Kmart products across kids, home and clothing, but they’ve been brought to life in a new way – a collection inspired for a smaller neighbourhood store, with bigger convenience in mind.”
