
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: If you could rewind time, would you choose a different career?
It might not be too late for you, but some people look back and wish they had taken a different career path.
If you could go back in time, would you choose something different? Let us know what you would have chosen in the comments below.

-
60.4% Yes
-
39.6% No
-
0% Other - I'll share below

Show us your projects
Whether it's craft, haberdashery, woodwork or upcycling, we'd love to see what you've been working on lately.
You may even spark someone else's creativity...
Tell us about your current project or show us a picture in the comments below...


🏆 Only the Quickest Minds Will Get These Right… Are You One of Them? 😏
Give this puzzle a whirl, can you figure it out?
Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!
Want to stop seeing these in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
