Kmart goes ‘as big as possible’: Manukau welcomes NZ’s largest 24/7 retailer

The first day of trading at the new Kmart store in the Manukau Supa Centre, a 5000sq m space that will be open 24 hours, seven days a week. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Bargain-hunters came out in full force today to experience Aotearoa’s largest 24/7 shopping floor.

Hundreds of shoppers queued up to get a look at Kmart’s full range, not previously available at the Manukau site.

Country manager Matthew Halal said the store was its largest trading floor space - just under 5000 square metres.

He said the reason behind the 24-hour opening was to give customers access to the store for longer hours.

“We’ve got the airport very close by. We’ve got a lot of shift workers. We’ve got a lot of contractors that need to shop in the evening.”

Halal said sales data pointed to a spike in customers between 10pm and 12am.

“At midnight, there was still an appetite to keep shopping with us [at] the old site,” he said.

“We’ve gone as big as we possibly could, which is why it’s taken us a little bit longer to secure the site,” Halal said.

When asked if the success of Kmart’s 24-hour Sylvia Park store influenced the new shop, he said, “I think it’s a different customer, it’s a different community.”

Halal said the store’s range was what set it apart.

“We had to edit our range for the customer. So in here now, you’ve got the full Kmart range, which wasn’t available to the community before.

“This particular site is a really important one in our strategic growth plans for New Zealand,” Halal said.

He said the big box retailer didn’t plan to open any more 24/7 stores unless that was what customers wanted.

Goberdhan said the store hired 60 extra workers for the opening, but was still hiring.

“We have 160 team members in total, but we are going to need a lot more.”

Store manager Sharlene Goberdhan, who has been with the company for 15 years, said its range included products that had grown in popularity through social media.

“There’s this new shoe that’s going mad on TikTok. It’s a designer shoe and it’s a quarter of the price here,” Goberdhan said.

The Kmart duplicate comes in at $27, while Gucci loafer dead-ringers are available at just $22.

By midday, the self-checkout queue snaked through several central store aisles.

“We came for the specials,” said one whānau.

Shoppers line up at Kmart Manukau's reopening. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

New requests were already coming through, however: “They need to open a shop in Papakura soon.”

The new store was a pleasant change for some customers.

When asked about the benefits of the new location, Hannah Vahaakolo said: “It’s actually stocked.”

“It’s got everything – kids’ clothes, toys. We love Kmart,” Vahaakolo said.

Locals from across South Auckland said the new hours would “come in handy” for retail emergencies.

Vraja Sundari and her son Nrsinga Charan with their purchases at Kmart. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Flat Bush resident Vraja Sundari and her son Nrsinga Charan filled their trolley with treats for both of them.

“I love Kmart. Many people don’t like to come here, but the quality is really good and the variety is great,” Sundari said.

She added that prices were much more affordable than competitors.

“It’s important with inflation on the rise and where income is at the moment. Now I can come whenever I want,” Sundari said.