Goya Dmytryshchak
Highpoint Shopping Centre last week announced a Kmart will open later this year, with Target to close and David Jones to reduce in size.
From April, the centre’s David Jones store will reduce from two levels to one, as works start in preparation for Kmart moving into the bottom level (the centre’s level two).
Ahead of Kmart opening, the Target store will close and Target workers will be offered new jobs at Kmart.
Last year, Wesfarmers, which owns Kmart and Target, announced a number of the department stores would be converting to the booming Kmart brand and some would close.
Kmart Australia retail director John Gualtieri said he was “proud to be bringing Kmart’s irresistibly low prices to one of the country’s biggest retail destinations”.
“At Kmart, we aim to make everyday living brighter for all of our customers and believe giving them greater accessibility to our on-trend and affordable product range helps do so,” he said.
“We are excited to open our doors at Highpoint later this year.”
Centre manager Cristina Persico said Highpoint was thrilled to welcome Australia’s biggest retailer.
She said an announcement would soon be made about new retailers to move into the space currently occupied by Target.
The majority of Target store closures are planned for this year.
Wesfarmers has established a cross-divisional working group to identify redeployment opportunities for affected workers, giving them priority consideration for new roles at Kmart and online retailer Catch.
Workers may also be redeployed to Wesfarmers’ Bunnings and Officeworks businesses.
