By Anne Gibson of 
The vast new Kmart store is due to open in 2026. It will be in Maki Place off Maki Street, across from Costco Wholesale. Photo: Supplied / Kmart
Low-price Australasian retail chain Kmart has announced it will open its largest New Zealand store.
An outlet spanning more than half a hectare is to be built in Auckland's northwest at Westgate.
That will be almost directly opposite the American-owned Costco Wholesale, in a street yet to be created: Maki Place, off the Maki Street thoroughfare.
Kmart Australia and New Zealand chief executive John Gualtieri said the new store would be the 28th in this country where the business employs about 2400 staff.
"This is testament to the strong traction the Kmart brand has amongst New Zealand consumers, particularly at a time when customers are seeking out value," Gualtieri said.
Kmart will offer its biggest range of affordable homeware, furniture, electronics, toys and clothing from the new store.
It already has more than 300 Australasian outlets, serving millions of customers annually.
At 6700sqm, the new big-box Westgate store will be larger than the almost half-hectare shop of just under 5000sqm, Kmart Manukau, which opened last year.
Photo: Supplied / Kmart
Kmart Westgate is to be developed in Maki Street on a greenfields site never built on before. It will rise opposite the Westgate Lifestyle Centre anchored by Harvey Norman, Briscoes and Rebel Sport.
About 240 staff will be employed at the new store.
Wider aisles, bold graphics and extended product ranges are planned for the shop, whose owner's mantra is "dropping prices again to make life a little easier".
Mark Gunton, chairman of New Zealand Retail Property Group (NZRPG), which is developing Westgate, said: "The signing of Kmart at Westgate is a milestone achievement that has been years in the making. We have consistently received community feedback asking for a Kmart in Westgate, and we are thrilled to finally deliver on that promise.
"Westgate Town Centre has evolved into one of New Zealand's premier retail destinations hosting major retailers like Costco, Bunnings, Mitre 10, and Pak'n Save. The addition of Kmart helps solidify Westgate's status as a leading retail hub."
NZRPG general manager Campbell Barbour said the new Kmart would be a "compelling offer".
It would complement New Zealand's largest Asian supermarket, Foodie, which is 3200sqm.
It would also complement the $100 million-plus Costco Wholesale, New Zealand's only store of that brand, at Westgate, Barbour said.
The new Kmart Westgate will have 600 car parks. New fast-food drive-through outlets off Kakano Road are visible top right. Photo: Supplied / Kmart
Some have raised concerns about Westgate traffic, concerned about the arrival of further popular offerings and pressure on transport networks.
Kmart has 27 stores: at Albany, Ashburton, Auckland, Bayfair, Bethlehem, Blenheim, Botany, Dunedin, Hamilton, Hastings, Henderson, Invercargill, Manukau, Napier, Palmerston North, Papanui, Papatoetoe, Petone, Porirua, Queenstown, Riccarton, Richmond, Rotorua, St Lukes, Sylvia Park, Te Rapa, Whakatane and Whangārei.
Westgate's traffic problems concern Gunton too. Two years ago, he went to court against Auckland Transport and Auckland Council, arguing the authorities had not delivered on agreed roading networks in the ever-expanding hub.
But Westgate Town Centre, Westgate Properties and NZRPG management failed to have claims upheld in Justice Gerard van Bohemen's High Court at Auckland decision in 2022.
Kmart's expansion announcement today arrives in tough economic times.
Map shows Westgate and all the businesses out there. Kmart's new location is shaded in blue in Zone 06. Photo: Supplied / NZRPG
Retail spending has been "bleak" lately: electronic card spending for June fell 0.6 percent ($40 million) and 0.1 percent ($5.7m) for retail and core retail (excluding motor vehicles and fuel) industries when compared with May, Stats NZ said in July. It said on 30 August that retail sales had continued to decline in the past three months.
Kmart is owned by ASX-listed Wesfarmers, which also owns Bunnings in New Zealand.
The company appears to be bucking the retail downturn because on August 29, Wesfarmers announced its full-year result to 30 June 2024.
It pushed revenue up 1.5 percent to A$44.2b and net profit after tax up 3.7 percent to A$2.6b.
Kmart enjoyed "significant earnings growth", appealing to customers with its lowest-price positioning, it said. Sales growth was across all product categories: Kmart Group recorded 4.1 percent total sales growth in 2023-24.
But New Zealand got special mention due to our economic doldrums.
"FY25 will be influenced by cost-of-living pressures affecting customers' capacity to spend, particularly in New Zealand, as well as increased competitive intensity," the investor presentation last month said.
- This story was originally published by the New Zealand Herald.
