Kmart Australia and Guam

[Super S]

As Sears & Kmart continue to falter, the Kmart in Guam is still hanging on. I don't see it lasting forever the way Sears & Kmart are operating though.

Due to the proximity of Guam to Australia, as well as how scattered the few remaining Sears and Kmart locations are, it seems like it would make some sense for Kmart Australia to operate this location. From what I have seen in pictures, the Kmart Australia stores are very different in appearance than anything Kmart had in the U.S., but merchandise is similar.

I don't know about the logistics of Australia or Guam though. I also don't know if Guam carries more brands common in the U.S., or if they already have more localized sourcing in place and more regional brands.

[storewanderer]

Guam Kmart sources about 50% of its items from local vendors now. It didn't used to be that much but it was always a large percentage.

They used to basically have everything a US Kmart had (private labels and such) and much more of a localized assortment for various categories in addition.

Food/drug/whatever else they can get (batteries, school supplies, seasonal) is and for quite some time has been from C&S and they still get what little the US Sears/Kmart logistics network has to send them for other parts of the store.

Now that a Don Quixote is open or about to open in Guam I expect this store is not going to last.

It would be a better fit for Target or Wal Mart. Probably Target.

I am not sure the Australia Kmart is the right fit for Guam based on its mix.

[Super S]

Guam Kmart sources about 50% of its items from local vendors now. It didn't used to be that much but it was always a large percentage.

They used to basically have everything a US Kmart had (private labels and such) and much more of a localized assortment for various categories in addition.

Food/drug/whatever else they can get (batteries, school supplies, seasonal) is and for quite some time has been from C&S and they still get what little the US Sears/Kmart logistics network has to send them for other parts of the store.

Now that a Don Quixote is open or about to open in Guam I expect this store is not going to last.

It would be a better fit for Target or Wal Mart. Probably Target.

I am not sure the Australia Kmart is the right fit for Guam based on its mix.

Target Australia seems to be a similar operation as Kmart Australia and not part of the U.S. operation.

But Target U.S. or Walmart would be able to more efficiently serve this store as they have a far better distribution system and have a better store network in place, not to mention much better buying power. Not sure Target would take it on after what happened in Canada though.

[storewanderer]

Guam Kmart sources about 50% of its items from local vendors now. It didn't used to be that much but it was always a large percentage.

They used to basically have everything a US Kmart had (private labels and such) and much more of a localized assortment for various categories in addition.

Food/drug/whatever else they can get (batteries, school supplies, seasonal) is and for quite some time has been from C&S and they still get what little the US Sears/Kmart logistics network has to send them for other parts of the store.

Now that a Don Quixote is open or about to open in Guam I expect this store is not going to last.

It would be a better fit for Target or Wal Mart. Probably Target.

I am not sure the Australia Kmart is the right fit for Guam based on its mix.

Target Australia seems to be a similar operation as Kmart Australia and not part of the U.S. operation.

But Target U.S. or Walmart would be able to more efficiently serve this store as they have a far better distribution system and have a better store network in place, not to mention much better buying power. Not sure Target would take it on after what happened in Canada though.

Target Australia has struggled and I think some of those have actually been closed and converted to other banners.

It would be great for all involved in Guam if Wal Mart took the store over (it would significantly help prices) but it would absolutely hurt various local businesses. I do think Wal Mart would keep a lot of the local vendors in place but would pressure them on price and with access to a way larger product mix than Kmart currently has access to some of those local vendor items are bound to be pushed out or sales fall simply due to customers having more product options from the vast Wal Mart ecosystem. The longer Kmart stays the better as it is very important to many small local product vendors, has absurdly high prices at this point, but still pulls high volume and employs a lot of people. The absolute worse case is an outright closure of the Kmart Store and no similar replacement. I don't think Don Quixote is too concerned about competing with Kmart, they are opening a grocery focused store in Guam called Donkey or something, and have strong experience in Hawaii competing with Wal Mart/Target/various grocery retailers. Wal Mart is a very upscale operation compared to a Hawaii Don Quixote. Maybe what they will put in Guam this Donkey thing is going to be better.

I will also point out Kmart Guam recently subleased its pharmacy to the Payless Supermarket chain (who operates a store in the same shopping center, reportedly a former Safeway, but unclear if it was affiliated with the US chain).

[buckguy]

The Australian KMart and Target currently are owned by the same company and share back office functions. Many of the Targets were converted to KMart which is quite different from the US operation—-more soft lines and better quality merchandise than US KMarts. The Targets are remarkably similar to US stores. All this is odd when you consider that Kmart did once have a relationship with the US a company but Target did not.

[storewanderer]

The Australian KMart and Target currently are owned by the same company and share back office functions. Many of the Targets were converted to KMart which is quite different from the US operation—-more soft lines and better quality merchandise than US KMarts. The Targets are remarkably similar to US stores. All this is odd when you consider that Kmart did once have a relationship with the US a company but Target did not.

The Australian Kmart seemed to better change with the times while the US operation languished. Do you know when the US Kmart and Australia Kmart quit being "similar" to each other? I think it was somewhat recent, like the early 90's. At one time I believe the two were nearly identical stores.

[rwsandiego]

The Australian KMart and Target currently are owned by the same company and share back office functions. Many of the Targets were converted to KMart which is quite different from the US operation—-more soft lines and better quality merchandise than US KMarts. The Targets are remarkably similar to US stores. All this is odd when you consider that Kmart did once have a relationship with the US a company but Target did not.

The Australian Kmart seemed to better change with the times while the US operation languished. Do you know when the US Kmart and Australia Kmart quit being "similar" to each other? I think it was somewhat recent, like the early 90's. At one time I believe the two were nearly identical stores.

K-Mart and Coles Ltd owned 51% and 49%, respectively, of K-Mart Australia. K-Mart exchanged its stake in K-Mart Australia for a 25% stake in Coles in 1978. K-Mart sold that stake in 1994. My guess is the stores changed their focus after K-Mart Corp was completely out of the picture.

This article in Business Insider has some pictures of an Australian K-Mart.

Given Coles' heritage as a department store, it seems logical they would run K-Mart as a department store rather than as a discount store. That's what Dayton-Hudson-turned-Target did with Target and what May Company did with Venture.