Kmart is to replace Myer on Level 1 at Castle Towers. A DA was submitted to The Hills Council last week.
1 Like
One of the things that annoys me of late is the recent demise of the standalone supermarkets and department stores which are directly accessible from car parks. Many standalone supermarkets were transformed into shopping centre developments in the past few years, like that Chullora centre you mentioned. I think a good chunk of why Big W is failing is because theyāre located inside inconvenient locations in shopping centres, whereas Kmarts are much more likely to be easily accessible from the street.
A good example of what Iām talking about is the Coles at Maroubra Junction. It is buried deep within the shopping centre and you have to walk for a good five minutes to get there. As a result, I never, ever go there.
Compare that to the Woolworths in Hillsdale. You can usually get a spot right in front. Itās a very short walk to the front entrance of the Woolworths (just a Woolworths Liquor to walk past) and you can just pop in and out without having to explore the rest of the centre. I never go to the Woolworths at Westfield Eastgardens down the road because itās such a shitfight with parking. Plus the walk is a bit longer. Itās not that great a deal walking to the store, but it is a psychological barrier.
Jaycar has got the right formula where they generally only set up standalone stores (CBDs are exceptions) with ample parking, because people HATE shopping centres. I just want to get in, get my shit, and get out. I donāt want to walk through a corridor of shops to access the damn supermarket or department store. Especially when itās outside shopping centre opening hours, itās extremely unappealing to walk through a corridor of closed stores.
I donāt get why these retailers donāt actually build new big box style stores without any of those crappy shopping centre embellishments. Kmart Blacktown is great (apart from the problem of flying trolleys in the car park due to the slope), and so is the Woolies in Marrickville and Ermington. Why donāt they build more of those?
4 Likes
Woolworths in Wolli Creek in Sydney - great store but the parking is a nightmareā¦
Youāll find that this varies significantly from state to state. Almost every Kmart / Target / Big W in WA has always been contained within a shopping centre and/or was otherwise swallowed up by a shopping centre back in the 80s/90s with only a couple of exceptions.
A bit more variation with Coles and Woolies, though its generally older stores in the inner suburbs that are standalone.
Coles (not Woolies anymore, albeit they did this as well until they spun off that part of their business) often own the land that these standalone stores are on, so turning existing standalone stores into small shopping centres essentially gives them the ability to earn rent revenue from tenants as a result of a (relatively) small investment. Although in saying that Coles seems to have somewhat of a mixed strategy as theyāve opened quite a few new standalone locations in Perth recently.
The funny thing is, is that having Supermarkets, Fresh Food, Restaurants/Cafes and discount department stores in shopping centres will most likely be the thing that keeps them alive in a post-amazon world, in contrast to what North America is going through - where their malls and shopping centres never have these sorts of businesses inside.
Me personally? I definitely prefer standalone Supermarkets - discount department storesā¦ as long as itās not buried deep in a shopping centre and has a shopping centre entrance with parking adjacent to the store location, it doesnāt bother me at all if itās in a shopping centre or not.
*Their target demographic HATE shopping centres. Nonetheless they are very smart to never have followed Dick Smith in entering shopping centres. The day Jaycar does that you know that theyāve lost the plot.
3 Likes
So that would be why they havenāt changed to the (awful) new Kmart layout yet. It should fit in better near Aldi. I wonder what will replace the current Kmart store? Towers is putting in a Strike bowling/karaoke bar, plus mini golf, but I thought that was more in the Piazza area.
2 Likes
Target Point Cook is undergoing a refurb at the moment.
While I havenāt been there in a while (so perhaps things have changed since then), that section of Bankstown Central where Targetās located isnāt really the most lively part of the centre from my experience!
2 Likes
I remember it being very drab, with oddly placed escalators in the centre of the store.
2 Likes
Wow, exceptionally so!
Funny how thereās a āheritageā sign above the Christmas tree. Is the store now heritage listed as a time capsule of the late 80s-early 90s?
2 Likes
Our local Kmart has just finished the refurb and remodel and as expected, all Iāve heard are negatives about the new layout. With no Big W (closest ones are in Hobart 300+ km away) and small Target stores and nearest Myer in Launceston, people canāt really go elsewhere.
That whole Auburn Central mall and the apartments above needs to be demolished and something else put there. Itās an eyesore, and should never have been approved. The nearby Lidcombe Centre on Parramatta Rd is nicer and has a better and welcoming feel about it.
2 Likes
The fresh food hall at The Glen in Melbourneās south east opens this morning, the first stage in the shopping centreās latest redevelopment. The below ground space to the north where David Jones used to occupy has been rebuilt and subdivided into two spaces with Aldi and Woolworths side by side. There are also several new eateries.
At the same time however, the open air car park and the two entrances to the southern part of The Glen were closed from this morning for up to two years while new shops (including a new location for David Jones) are built. I feel centre management should have handled the diversion better given there are still shops operating at the southern part even after Woolworths relocated overnight. What has been normally a 3-5 minute walking trip from Glen Waverley railway station to The Glen now takes 10-15 minutes, as the shoppers have to walk along Snedden Drive outside Glen Waverley Secondary College all the way up to the yellow car park entrance (north western part of The Glen), take the narrow path next to the car park exit, up the travelator to below ground level, walk back south towards Coles, up the escalator, and go further south to reach the remaining shops including the newsagent and Westpac bank.
Seems like a lot of effort to go to the newsagent. You can get news and gamble online, after all.
I wonder what the new big W signs look like
1 Like
Interesting that Coles are still using the ātickā logo on some of their homebrand products.
6 Likes
I imagine that those were produced a very long time ago.
6 Likes
Heād better be careful. Those pegs must be past their use by date then!
8 Likes
Iām fairly sure that Wooliesā Home Brand home brew still looks like this:
6 Likes