Back in 2020, Westfamers announced that some Target stores were being closed, while some to remain as Target while others to be converted to Kmart.
Recently we have visited a couple of Target stores, those identified by Westfamers to remain as Targets, to only to find many of their shelves are empty, with some old stock sold as ‘stock clearance’. Being in the market for a new laundry basket, I decided to look online and found that Target is now selling Kmart Anko branded products:
For the same price as Kmart:
It appears for some products, Target will be no different to Kmart in selling its cheap quality store branded products. This is a shame, as we often found Target (including it own store branded) products of better quality than Kmart. Target lowering itself as another Kmart by different name reduces the variety and choice of products to the consumer.
The Target store in Bourke street (Melbourne CBD) is now called KMart.
It was closed when I went by Xmas day on my way to Chinatown, will have to go back to compare.
Westfield shopping centre still has a separate Target and KMart, the merchandise being a little bit of better quality at Target.
It will be interesting to watch the fate of the Target brand as it is being watered down to the KMart level and its previous step up from KMart becomes muddled in consumer minds.
At some point consumers might cease differentiating them regardless there may remain some product differences because the price of Anko branded products will be the same in each, and ‘sameness’ becomes a disincentive to go beyond whichever is closer.
That’s in itself an interesting observation. I don’t necessarily agree that the KMart brand level is lower. Choice testing, and personal experience, shows that KMart has an extraordinary price-performance level on many of its electrical products - generally underperforming whatever is the top rated brand but not by much and at an appreciable fraction of the price. Hard to go past. And if the purchase breaks? KMart is very easy to deal with, so another plus.
Target has traditionally been ‘placed’ in the market as more upscale than KMart. There is no implied denigration of KMart products. In contrast, KMart has been doing well in the market and Target struggling, hence the ‘takeover’.
The comment was about brand value not consumer value.
I have always regarded Target as a ‘better’ quality store in respect of it’s merchandise. However, our Target store was closed for several months last year due to a refurb of the shopping centre car parking areas, and stores were closed from a safety point of view. The refurb is still ongoing at that shopping centre, and is being done a bit at a time, in respect of shop closures. Anyway we missed Target when it was closed, but it was able to be reopened a few weeks before Christmas 2023. We were so pleased when it reopened, and my niece (also a senior like me!!) and I went in to browse. I have to say that we were mightily disappointed in the way merchandise was set out and even the goods seemed of a ‘different quality’. In fact it looked for all the world like a rather inferior version of Best & Less. I am not denigrating Best & Less per se (as I still buy a firm favourite item from that store) but I had always felt that Target was a ‘cut above’. Not any more. Perhaps I’m being unfair, but now I class the stores as Kmart, then Best & Less, and a poor third is Target. I may never shop at Target again!! I was not impressed. (of course I am referring to the ‘cheaper stores’. Myer is still a ‘go to’ store for me. (There is no David Jones where I live, unless I go into the city.) All this may be a case of Kmart & Target being one and the same in some areas. I hadn’t known about that I have to say. My comments are of course a personal observation in respect of Target. I certainly no longer feel the same about that store as I used to.
Visited one of our local Target’s on Thursday, and was disappointed in what was now found in store.
New shelving has been installed and the homewares (kitchen, bedroom and bathroom) is now predominately ANKO (Kmart store) branded products, no different (price the same) to those available at Kmart. Some towels and manchester (sheets) still display Target brands but wonder if that in store is stock they still have in their warehouse rather than being available in the longer term.
The toys and books section also appear to replicate the items in Kmart.
Clothing (men’s. women’s, children’s) haven’t been taken over with ANKO branding yet. Wonder if this is also a matter of time.
Unfortunately our Target, which is to remain as a Target by Westfarmers, has been Kmart-ified. It is disappointing as we often purchased bathroom, kitchen and bedroom products from Target as the quality of some of their products were significantly better than Kmart. Looks like we will need to start looking for an alternative retailer for such products (would look at Big W but unfortunately we don’t have one nearby).
I wonder if others have noticed the Kmart-ification of their local Target store?
At Target in Chadstone in the Home section it’s all Anko merchandise. Same products and prices.
The shop assistant has assured me that only the Home section has changed to the Anko brand, the rest is staying with the Target brands.
Looks to me like a sort of 50/50 store Target/KMart. Where is the competition and the bigger choice of brands, quality, and prices of those less expensive stores?
The best of both worlds!
A KMart and a Target in the same shopping centre - Sunshine Plaza Maroochydore QLD. Two for now possibly only because of tenancy agreements with Westfield?
Also one of those few sites with both Myer and DJ’s.
Having purchased work clothing from Target recently I’ve seen similar in KMart. The same on first glance but not quite the same when one looks more closely. Less work evident in the KMart choices and possibly lesser materials?
P.S. We did have a small Country Target outlet much closer to home. It closed and like the Phoenix rose from the ashes - more of a utilitarian Noisy Minor bird than a mythical feathered creature of some beauty.
Interestingly, those two stores are not far from each other. This is a very large shopping centre, over 550 stores which include those common to most other centres ( DJ & Myer, supermarkets, banks, Jewellers, Apple store, etc etc..) plus luxury shops like Cartier, Gucci, Versace, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Emporio Armani, Valentino, Prada and more..complete with serious looking, dressed in dark suits, security guards standing at the front door of those shops.
There are over 10.000 parking spaces, but it’s usually hard to find a space after 10am.
And now to have Target stock the same Home merchandise as Kmart, which is only a little distance away, doesn’t make much sense to me.
I used to prefer Target but now love my Kmart, its reminds me of Ikea, also Target now stocks anko brand which is owned by kmart so i think kmart is taking over all the remaining targets.
Our our nearest store, toys, books, craft section, pillows/doonas/laundry are also Anko brands/no different to Kmart. Sheets appear to be still Target brands, towels are both Kmart and Target brands (maybe the Target ones are there until stock is sold out). Clothing and shoes are still those sold in the past by Target, but, one of the shop assistants said that they believe that some Anko branded products are likely to flow into these areas as well.
We have in the past bought many items from Target as many of their products the quality has been far superior to that of Kmart (towels, sheets, pillows/bedroom items, kitchen items, bathroom items are examples). I have even posted about the quality of Target tea towels, which no longer are available and have been relaced with thin, poorer quality Anko branded ones. Likewise with pillows, the good Australian made one are gone and now all that is being sold are Anko ones.
Looks like they’re playing it by ear, some Target stores are closing, some will be taken over completely like the Bourke street one in Melbourne’s CBD, and maybe Chadstone will remain a hybrid?
I also thought the Target brands would last until sold out and I asked, but ‘No’ they said ‘it will remain as it is now and there will be no Anko fashion here’.
Doesn’t make sense to have two stores near to each other selling the same merchandise minus fashion.
Actually, they could shift Kmart because Target is in a much better position, the photo in my previous post is the view looking out from above Target. The entrance to the other is a bit out of the way around corridors.
Just have a memorial service for Target
The unknown is on what term the original stores leases were agreed with the shopping centre owner. Many have fixed long term agreements. IE 5-10-15 years with attractive rents for leading big name retailers. The cost of breaking a lease may be seen as greater than continuing on a thin margin. Perhaps even to deny a potential competitor the ability to take up the same space?
In the future will there if Kmart is there already with Target stores will they replace them with Big W stores?
My area in Yallambie does not have a Big W close to the area, the closest is Doncaster and Epping, they are too far, i think Northland in Preston needs desperately needs a Big W in my area, so i don’t have to go to Epping or Doncaster for distance, i think some Targets needs to shut down like i think 5 stores in Victoria become Kmart if they only have Target, if they have both a Target and Kmart then 4 or 5 stores in Victoria Target becomes Big W, also Big W only has 29 stores in Victoria, that is not enough stores in Victoria, i hope that Big W has at least 50? stores in Victoria, so they can have more stores in more locations and also since Big W has a new store in Stanhope Gardens and one is coming in Port Adelaide, i think Big W can finally get new stores in Victoria and the other states, but i still think Target will have small amount of stores, while Kmart and Big W would grow their stores, since the Kmart merger i think Target is still probably going to close their stores and shrink to even smaller amount of stores and i think Kmart could start selling Target clothing in their stores in the future.
An issue with expanding Big W to replace Targets (or K-Marts) is that they are owned by Woolworths and Wesfarmers Groups respectively.
They are competitors not collaborators and a time honoured way to protect market share is to block competitors from getting a foothold, usually by controlling real estate and leases. If one of the Wesfarmers stores starts turning a loss they might re-evaluate the location but as long as they are not loss making it is going to be status quo defending their territory.
I am of the view that ‘confusing’ KMart and Target products is a step toward oblivion for the Target brand, but I am not an expert in retail strategy although keeping Big W out by tying up the shop space is probably going to be a management priority.
