Dunedin Kmart to return after years of hours-long road trips
From reporter Sinead Gill:
It’s been years of rumour and six-hour return trips for locals looking for affordable home goods from Australian retail giant Kmart.
On Thursday, the company finally confirmed they would be returning to Dunedin.
The city was possibly the retailer’s biggest gap in the New Zealand market, according to Ben Smith, Kmart’s property group general manager.
“We’ve got a fantastic support base in Dunedin, it’s amazing, I’ve heard of customers driving to Invercargill just to shop at Kmart,” he said.
The city’s Kmart closed in 2020 after 23 years of operating in Meridian Mall in the CBD, citing earthquake risk concerns.
The mall closed during the March 2020 level 4 Covid-19 lockdown, then produced a seismic safety report showing it was too far below the new building standard.
Despite the mall not legally needing to strengthen the building for several years, Kmart chose not to renew its lease. Smiths City later moved into its old George St location.
Smiths City’s former site at 375 Andersons Bay Rd was now officially the site of the new Kmart.
The land was owned and would be developed by the Otago Land Group, and leased exclusively to Kmart.
Smith said the new Kmart would essentially be a completely new build. Developers would use the existing structure to speed up the construction process.
There was no estimated opening time, as the building consent was still being considered by the Dunedin City Council.
Smith said there would not be basement level car parking, nor would any additional land be leased to provide more parks.
He said the business had completed a traffic management plan and after many years in the business was “comfortable there is enough car parks”.
The new Kmart, located right beside a fleet of popular fast food chains, also had the benefit of “ample parking” around South Dunedin, he said.
Kmart Dunedin would employ over 100 staff from the community.
It was unclear how many staff lost their jobs in 2020. A Kmart spokesperson said they hoped former staff would apply for the new roles, though applications would be open to all.
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.7% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.6% Other - I'll share below
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Worst Xmas ever?
There's a a lot of planning that goes into Christmas day and sometimes things just don't go to plan. But it can be a good thing - a family mishap or hilarious memory that you can laugh about in Christmases to come.
Whether you burnt the dinner or were stranded at an airport...
Share your Christmas mishaps below!
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