Dunedin Kmart to return after years of hours-long road trips

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from Dunedin News

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.