Kmart better than ever

Porirua’s Kmart store celebrated its 23rd year with a facelift that was a long time coming, its manager said.

An anchor tenant in North City Shopping Centre, the store had not changed much since opening in 1990, manager Julian Hopkins said.

‘‘When we opened, this was the biggest thing in Wellington. But we’ve got to the point where we had old fitting rooms, checkouts, signage, and the shelves were far too tall.

‘‘We’ve re-modelled everything and it was much-needed. The feedback from staff and customers has been brilliant.’’

It was six months in planning and took 10 weeks to carry out, but trading was not interrupted.

Porirua Mayor Nick Leggett reopened the store last Tuesday.

New floors, extra lighting and wider aisles were part of the fresh look.

Mr Hopkins would not reveal the cost, but said it would be known soon when Kmart’s annual report was released.