Kmart (Australia)
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Kmart Australia Limited ( , doing business as Kmart, Kmart Australia, Kmart New Zealand and Kmart Australia and New Zealand and stylised as ''Kmart'') is an Australian chain of retail
department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...
s owned by the Kmart Group division of
Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
. The company operates 325 stores across
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Melbourne. Kmart is a member of the Kmart Group, which also comprises
Target Australia Target Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Lindsay's and Lindsay's Target, formerly stylised as Target. and doing business as Target and Target Australia) is a department store chain owned by Australian retail conglomerate Wesfarmers. Target stocks ...
. Kmart Group is a division of
Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
, an Australian conglomerate.


History

Kmart Australia Limited was created out of a joint venture between G.J Coles & Coy Limited (Coles) and the S.S. Kresge Company, owner of Kmart USA. Kresge owned 51% of the common stock in the company and Coles owned the remaining 49%; together they began to develop Kmart stores in Australia in 1968. The first store was opened on 30 April 1969 in Burwood East, in
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. On opening day it was estimated that 40,000 people passed through the checkouts, and the store took in over $97,000 (equivalent to A$ in ) of profit. Because of the number of people that were coming through the store the doors had to be closed 45 minutes after the opening as a safety measure. The store was opened by Mrs HB Cunningham, wife of the president and chairman of the S.S. Kresge Company. The site was renovated in 2010 to be a shopping centre known as ''Burwood One''; Kmart still operates a store at the new centre.


1978–2006: Coles era

In 1978, Kresge (since 1977 known as the "Kmart Corporation") exchanged its 51% stake in Kmart Australia for a 20% stake in G.J. Coles & Coy (later
Coles Myer Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of li ...
). In November 1994, Kresge/Kmart Corporation divested its 21.5% stake in Coles Myer. In 1988, Kmart expanded to New Zealand with their store in Henderson, a suburb in
Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...
. In 2006,
Coles Group Coles Group Limited is an Australian public company operating several retail chains. Its chief operations are primarily concerned with the sale of food and groceries through its flagship supermarket chain Coles Supermarkets, and the sale of li ...
announced plans to integrate Kmart, Bi-Lo, and Coles Group liquor brands into larger format stores. The first re-branded store was planned to open in 2007, and 40 stores were planned to be made into Coles Superstores, these mostly being former "Super K" stores which had been divided into separate Coles and Kmart stores a decade earlier. By March 2007, the plans for these superstores were deferred pending the sale of Coles Group to Wesfarmers. In August 2007, Wesfarmers confirmed that the superstore format would not proceed. In July 2007,
Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...
acquired the Coles Group for A$22 billion.


2007–present: Wesfarmers ownership

In August 2007, Wesfarmers said it would consider selling all or part of Kmart, or converting some stores to
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
stores. Wesfarmers took control of Coles Group in November 2007 and by March 2008 had decided to retain Kmart and invest A$300m in the chain over the next five years. After poor performance in 2009, the 2010 financial year saw a large increase in profitability, with the chain reporting revenue of A$4.02 billion (equivalent to A$ in ) and an EBIT of A$190 million (equivalent to A$ in ), an increase in EBIT of over 74%. This increase was achieved under the leadership of Guy Russo, a former McDonald's executive. Russo scrapped 'percentage discount' sales and well-known name brands, in favour of drastically reduced prices, a streamlined product offering, store-branded products, and on-trend pieces. Kmart also rearranged its stores to eliminate traditional department divisions such as “electronics” in favour of thematic groupings such as “kitchen”, and relocated checkouts from the front of the store to the centre, a move which drew much criticism from shoppers. On 15 November 2012, Australia's first multi-level Kmart opened in Adelaide's
Rundle Mall Rundle Mall is a pedestrian street mall located in Adelaide, South Australia. It was opened as a pedestrian mall in September 1976 after the closing of the western section of Rundle Street between King William Street and Pulteney Street, to ...
. By August 2015, Kmart had 214 stores trading across Australia – 52 in
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and the
Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...
, 47 in Victoria, 41 in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
, 23 in
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, 15 in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
, five in
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
and two in the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...
. There were 20 stores in New Zealand. In 2015, Kmart also introduced self-checkouts, which have now been rolled out to all Kmart stores. In August 2017, Wesfarmers purchased the use of the Kmart brand name in Australia and New Zealand for $100 million, ending a long-term licensing agreement between Coles and
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
for use of the Kmart name. In 2018, all Kmart stores ceased trading of DVDs, CDs, video games, televisions, video game consoles, DVD players and CD players, using the floor space in stores for more children's products and homewares. The home entertainment department had been popular with shoppers, and the decision to scrap it was blamed for Kmart's profit slump from $415 million in 2017 to as low as $385 million in 2018. During 2020 and 2021, following falling sales and profit within the Target brand, Kmart Group converted 92 Target locations to the Kmart brand, while closing other Target stores. This included Target Country stores, which were converted to K-Hubs. In July 2023, Wesfarmers announced an internal reorganisation of Kmart and Target, with the merger of many 'back of house' processes, to create 'two brands, one business'.


Store formats


Current store formats


Anko

In the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, Kmart operated a discount department and an online store from October 2018 to mid-2020 which sold Anko-branded products. In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the company opened its first store at
Robinsons Galleria Robinsons Galleria (also known as Robinsons Galleria Ortigas) is a Mixed-use development, mixed-use complex and shopping mall located at EDSA (Circumferential Road 4, C-4) corner Ortigas Avenue in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. It is t ...
in 2023, followed by a second location at
Alabang Town Center Alabang Town Center (also known colloquially as ''Town'' and abbreviated as ''ATC'') is a Shopping mall, shopping Lifestyle center (retail), lifestyle center located south of Metro Manila, located next to gated residential communities, and bustli ...
in May 2025, coinciding with the launch of its mobile app and Anko Club loyalty program. Unlike traditional points-based systems, the Anko Club offers access to exclusive events, VIP experiences, and community challenges. The opening event, attended by brand ambassador Anne Curtis, marked part of a broader strategy to grow Anko’s presence in Southeast Asia. A third store is scheduled to open at Trinoma in Quezon City in July 2025.


Kmart

Kmart stores include merchandise in three distinct categories, being 'home' (kitchenwares, bedding, furniture, pet supplies, photographic developing, camping and fishing goods, sporting goods, small appliances, storage and home organisation, stationery, books, garden supplies, automotive equipment, lighting, hardware, and luggage), 'clothing' (apparel and footwear, and cosmetics), and 'kids' (children's entertainment and toys, confectionery, cards and party goods). In 2013, Kmart began a rollout of new store layouts. Garden plant sections were removed, and back of store areas were cut back. Floorspace was expanded and the height of displays was increased. The stores were given more of a "department store" feel as front-of-store checkouts were replaced with an area to pay at the centre of the store.


Kmart 24 Hour

Kmart 24 Hour stores are similar to regular Kmart stores, except that they are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, never closing other than on some public holidays, or during events. These stores are not visually different apart from a "24 Hours" logo in red appearing next to the Kmart logo.


K Hub

K Hub is the brand being used for smaller rural locations that have replaced Target Country stores. They offer a smaller range of Kmart products, while allowing customers to 'click & collect' and return both Kmart and Target products.


Former store formats


ColMart

ColMart was a joint Coles New World supermarket and variety store located in Whyalla, South Australia in the 1980s.


Girl Xpress

Girl Xpress was planned as a clothing store chain for young urban women. A concept store was trialled at Burwood East, Victoria from 2005, however was later discontinued. Girl Xpress has been retained however, as a Kmart
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
brand.


Holly's Restaurant

During the 1980s and 1990s, every Kmart store had a Holly's in-store restaurant. Starting from around the mid-late 1990's, they were progressively shut down across the country, with the last Holly's at Kmart
Horsham Horsham () is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...
closing down on 25 June 2010.


Kmart Clearance Centre

Kmart Clearance Centre was a briefly trialled clearance centre concept at Ringwood from November 2006 until June 2007.


Kmart Food

Kmart Food was a chain of supermarkets initially opened adjacent to Kmart discount department stores. By June 1975 there were 21 Kmart Food supermarkets The supermarkets were rebranded as Coles New World supermarkets during the 1976 financial year.


Kmart Garden Supercentre

Kmart Garden Supercentre was specialised in garden, plants and
garden furniture Garden furniture, also called patio furniture or outdoor furniture, is a type of furniture specifically designed for outdoor use. It is typically made of weather-resistant materials such as aluminium which is rust-proof. History The oldes ...
. Most of these stores were standalone, "big box" stores in a warehouse format that sold Kmart manufactured or branded outdoor living items. From 1999 to 2007 there were six nurseries, four in Victoria (Chadstone, Campbellfield, Narre Warren, and Taylors Lakes), plus Windsor (Queensland) and Casula (New South Wales). In 2007 Kmart closed its Windsor store and its Chadstone, Casula, Narre Warren and Taylors Lakes stores were renamed into Flower Power Garden Centre. In 2013, Flower Power closed all its nurseries which were formerly Kmart nurseries with the sole exception of the Campbellfield store, (the only store integrated with an existing Kmart store) which was downsized instead, claiming the concept did not fit its future business strategy. In 2016, this store was also shut down and transformed and it was replaced by Aldi (which opened in August 2017).


Kmart Photos

Kmart Photos originally processed analog film and printed photographs. The centres also allowed
Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
's Snapfish customers to collect online orders. The photo centres operated in conjunction with Hewlett-Packard from 2009, after Kmart ended a 30-year partnership with
Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
Australia, to early 2014, when Kmart began a company-wide switch from the Hewlett-Packard powered Minilab system back to a Kodak-powered Minilab system. Kmart photos no longer exists as a standalone brand.


Kmart Tyre and Auto Service

Kmart Tyre and Auto Service (now MyCar Tyre and Auto) (Head Office: Castle Hill, Sydney, New South Wales), was a chain of auto centres that specialises in automotive accessories, car servicing, tyres, check-ups and motor vehicle insurance. Historically, these stores are usually (but not always) attached to a Kmart store. In early 2006 a number of vehicle servicing facilities at
Coles Express Reddy Express, formerly Coles Express, is an Australian chain of convenience stores at Shell Australia petrol stations. Until it became controlled by Viva Energy in May 2023, Coles Express was a trading name of Coles Group. Then in Septemb ...
service stations became Kmart Tyre & Auto Service outlets which was formerly Shell Autoserv and AutoCare network. As of August 2015 there were 246 Kmart Tyre & Auto Service outlets throughout Australia. As of November 2023, there were 260 MyCar Tyre & Auto outlets throughout Australia. In August 2018, Wesfarmers announced that it had entered an agreement to sell Kmart Tyre & Auto Service for $350 million to
Continental AG Continental AG, commonly known as Continental and colloquially as Conti, is a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company. Headquartered in Hanover, Lower Saxony, it is the world's third- largest automotive supplier and the fo ...
. These stores have since been rebranded under the banner MyCar in September 2019 and are no longer affiliated with the Kmart brand.


Super Kmart

Super Kmart was a
hypermarket A hypermarket or superstore is a big-box store combining a supermarket and a department store. The result is an expansive retail facility carrying a wide range of products under one roof, including full grocery lines and general merchandise. In ...
concept launched in the 1983 financial year with four stores (two in New South Wales and one each in Western Australia and Victoria). The concept consisted of approximately 9,000 square metres comprising a Kmart discount department store and supermarket within one retail space. Super Kmart was expanded to 34 locations by 1990 when the concept was discontinued and the stores split into separate Kmart discount department stores and Coles New World supermarkets. However at some former Super Kmart locations it took several years for the split wall to be installed between Kmart & Coles. The stores had been operated under an independent division and the cost of duplicating administration functions as well as lower sales results compared to separate Kmart and Coles New World supermarket lead to the discontinuation of the concept.


Revenue

For fiscal year 2023–24, Kmart Australia reported A$11.107 billion in revenue, up from A$10.635 billion the year prior.


Anko

Anko is Kmart Australia's
house brand A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
: an evolution of the “&Co” branding it had previously used for individual departments such as “Kids&Co”, “Home&Co” and “Clothing&Co”. Introduced in 2019 to celebrate Kmart's 50th anniversary, Anko also means “A New Kind Of”, representing the company's changed philosophy since 2008. A 2024 article by ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'' reported that 85 per cent of products in Kmart stores are Anko brand. Anko has the largest market share in the home and toys, menswear, womenswear and childrenswear categories in Australia. Target Australia began stocking Anko products in 2024. Anko is also an international brand: Kmart has made arrangements to sell its products in other department stores in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and Canada. In March 2023,
Zellers Zellers was a Canadian discount store chain founded by Walter P. Zeller in 1931. It was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in 1978, and after a series of acquisitions and expansions, peaked with 350 locations in 1999. However, fierce ...
began stocking Anko products after obtaining exclusive distribution rights to the brand in Canada. In November 2024, Kmart opened an Anko store in the Philippines, its first in Asia. Anko products are also sold online in India through
Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...
and
Flipkart Flipkart Inc. is an Indian e-commerce company, headquartered in Bangalore, and incorporated in Singapore as a private limited company. The company initially focused on online book sales before expanding into other product categories such as con ...
. The low prices, new stylishness and fast turnover of Kmart's own-brand designs sparked an online subculture of amateur home renovators and decorators, many of whom were suburban women, who used social media to show how they were styling their Kmart purchases and incorporating them into DIY projects that became known as “Kmart hacks”, along the lines of the “
IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...
hacks” online community which had existed since 2006. Traditional media coverage praising particular “Kmart hacks” and other clever consumer tips by “Kmart mums” further popularised Kmart as a place to source luxury-styled products at low prices.


Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal

The Kmart Wishing Tree Appeal is an annual Christmas gift appeal run by Kmart and
The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...
since 1988. The concept first came about when Eve Mitchell, a team member from the Kmart store in Noarlunga suggested Kmart use its network of stores as gift collection points, assisting charity groups at Christmas. As of the 35th appeal in 2022, the event has raised over $5.6 million and delivered 10 million gifts to those in need. Target joined the appeal in 2024.


See also

*
Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...
, operated by
Transformco Transform SR Brands LLC (doing business as TransformCo, referred to as "New Sears") is an American privately held company formed on February 11, 2019, to acquire some of the assets of Sears Holdings Corporation. The new company is owned by ESL ...
. *
Big W Big W (stylised as BIG W) is an Australian chain of discount department stores, which was founded in regional New South Wales in 1964. The company is a division of the Woolworths Group and as of 2024 operated 179 stores, with around 18,000 emp ...
, one of Kmart's main competitors. *
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
, the other member of the Kmart Group.


References


External links


Kmart Australia

Kmart New Zealand
{{Retailers in New Zealand Discount stores of Australia Department stores of Australia Department stores of New Zealand Retail companies established in 1969 1969 establishments in Australia Clothing retailers of Australia Toy retailers of Australia Companies based in Melbourne