The story
1968–1977: Establishment and early expansion
Kmart Australia was formed as a joint venture between G.J. Coles & Coy Limited (Coles) and the S.S. Kresge Company (later Kmart Corporation). Kresge held 51% of the common stock and Coles held 49%.
Before proceeding with Kmart, G.J. Coles & Coy Limited trialled a ColMart concept store in 1968, a large variety store located in Whyalla, South Australia. This store kept trading well into the 1990s, eventually being co-branded as Fosseys Colmart. This store was eventually closed and converted to a Target store when Coles Myer discontinued Fosseys.
The first Australian store opened on 30 April 1969 at Burwood East in Melbourne, originally designated "Coles Burwood Store No. 1". The site was later redeveloped as the Burwood One shopping centre, where Kmart remains a tenant.
Early Kmart stores operated as large-format discount department stores, and some openings were combined discount department store and supermarket locations. This reflected Coles' strategy of co-locating general merchandise and grocery retailing, with early stores stocking over 40,000 items.
During this period, the company introduced Kmart Food, a supermarket format developed adjacent to, or integrated with, the discount department stores. By June 1975 there were 21 Kmart Food supermarkets in operation. The standalone grocery branding was short-lived, and the supermarkets were integrated into the broader corporate grocery strategy, rebranding as Coles New World supermarkets during the 1976 financial year.
1982–1989: The Super Kmart hypermarket era
During the 1980s, Coles developed the Super Kmart hypermarket format, designed to combine a Kmart discount department store with a supermarket under one roof. The first location opened in Forster, New South Wales in November 1982. Following this, the company quickly opened an initial wave of four Super Kmart complexes across 1982 and 1983 to anchor suburban shopping hubs.
The format was designed to pool the operational logistics and buying power of the established Kmart network with Coles' grocery infrastructure, allowing shoppers to purchase general merchandise and foodstuffs through a single, centralised checkout bank. Many of these hypermarket footprints also integrated dedicated "K Auto" service bays directly adjacent to the main building, offering automotive accessories alongside mechanical servicing.
Despite reaching a peak of 34 locations, the Super Kmart concept was officially discontinued on 12 May 1989 due to the high administrative costs associated with maintaining a separate management structure, with the company opting to integrate the stores into its mainstream retail networks. Following the decision, dividing walls were installed to split the large spaces into separate Kmart and Coles New World supermarket tenancies. The final two stores originally destined to open as Super Kmart outlets—at the Stud Park Shopping Centre in Rowville, Victoria and the Logan Hyperdome in Shailer Park, Queensland—opened in July and August 1989 respectively as separate Kmart and Coles New World stores.
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1995–2006: Coles Myer era and further diversification
By the mid-1990s, Kmart continued to expand and refurbish stores within the Coles Myer group, including a high-profile opening at Chadstone in 1995. In November 1996, following the deregulation of shopping hours in Victoria, Kmart pioneered 24-hour, 7-day-a-week trading, starting with its original Burwood store.
In 1999, the company launched the Kmart Garden Supercentre, a standalone warehouse format specialising in outdoor living and plants. Six nurseries operated across the eastern states until 2007, when they were gradually divested, with several rebranded as Flower Power Garden Centre. Kmart also trialled a standalone fast-fashion store concept called Girl Xpress in the mid-2000s. The dedicated storefronts were discontinued, but the brand was retained as an exclusive in-house Kmart label. Another retail trial included the Kmart Clearance Centre at Ringwood in 2006.
Kmart Tyre and Auto Service expanded significantly during this period. Operating automotive service centres often co-located with Kmart stores, the network absorbed 91 new auto stores (including former Shell Autoserv sites) in 2006, expanding the footprint to 275 locations.
In September 2006, the newly renamed Coles Group announced plans to integrate Kmart, Bi-Lo, and liquor brands into larger-format superstores. However, by March 2007, the superstore plan was deferred pending the imminent sale of the company.
2007–present: Wesfarmers ownership and modernisation
In July 2007, Wesfarmers announced it would acquire Coles Group for A$22 billion. During the 2007 sale process, Woolworths Limited proposed acquiring Kmart and Officeworks, but the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission opposed the proposal. Following the takeover, Wesfarmers considered selling Kmart or converting stores to Target, but ultimately decided to retain and invest in the chain, committing A$300 million over five years.
Under the leadership of Guy Russo, who was appointed managing director in 2008, Kmart altered its retail strategy. The retailer shifted away from percentage sales and third-party brands, focusing instead on everyday low pricing and private-label merchandise. Kmart Photos transitioned from Kodak to an HP platform in 2009, before returning to Kodak minilabs in 2014. Store layouts were redesigned to consolidate merchandise into lifestyle groupings, with checkouts relocated to the centre of many stores.
In August 2017, Wesfarmers purchased the perpetual rights to use the Kmart brand in Australia and New Zealand for A$100 million, permanently severing licensing ties with the American Kmart corporation. In 2018, Kmart phased out DVDs, CDs, and related home entertainment hardware to reallocate floor space to homewares and children's products. Also in 2018, Wesfarmers sold Kmart Tyre and Auto Service to Continental AG for A$350 million; the centres were rebranded as MyCar in 2019.
During 2020 and 2021, Wesfarmers converted 92 Target locations to Kmart. This strategy introduced the smaller-format K Hub stores, primarily replacing Target Country locations in regional communities to offer a curated Kmart range and click-and-collect services. The integration deepened in July 2023 when Wesfarmers announced the merger of Kmart and Target's back-of-house functions under a "two brands, one business" model.
In June 2026, Kmart opened a retail warehouse that is meant to rival Harvey Norman and IKEA. In the same month, Kmart also moved store checkouts closer to the exit of the store rather than the previous layout of having checkouts in the centre of the store. Kmart's previous layout had attracted some criticism.
From Wikipedia’s article on Kmart Australia, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4