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?
