Kmart to open at Sylvia Park
Kmart will open a 5000-square-metre store at Sylvia Park in Auckland next year, taking the space formerly occupied by Countdown at the southern end of the shopping centre.
It will be the retail giant’s seventh store in Auckland. The last one opened in the super city more than a decade ago.
Sylvia Park is owned by Kiwi Property Group. The listed property company’s retail head, Linda Trainer, said Kmart complemented the 60 new specialty retailers and flagship department stores being delivered as part of the mall’s Galleria project.
The $223 million project is now under way and is due to finish in mid-2020.
Kmart’s head of property in Australia and New Zealand, Ben Smith, said the company would continue its expansion across New Zealand and would soon announce yet another store.
The construction of stores in Invercargill, Queenstown and Napier is expected to be completed next year after delays.
Sylvia Park is currently home to more than 200 retailers, including the first New Zealand stores of global fast-fashion brands H&M and Zara.
In the past year, Kiwi Property has added to the mall’s shopper experience with the addition of The Grove, an alfresco dining area that features 10 restaurants and a new landscaped outdoor and entertainment area.
Trainer said that in coming months Kiwi Property would also finish its 600-space multi-storey car park and its $80.2m office tower, anchored by IAG and ANZ. The office tower would bring more than 1000 workers and customers to the site, creating a true town centre experience, she said.
Last year Sylvia Park was named New Zealand’s favourite shopping centre to visit in a nationwide survey conducted by Nielsen.