Kmart keeps rivals on their toes

If Invercargill’s retailers are feeling threatened by the arrival of Kmart they are not showing it.

On the contrary, they say the competition Kmart will bring to the city’s retail sector is a positive thing.

The Kmart megastore, which has hired more than 100 staff, opens tomorrow.

Neighbouring Retailers Group chairman Ben Fokkens, who owns Shoe Clinic in Esk St, said he welcomed Kmart’s arrival.

The group represents about 26 CBD retailers in Invercargill.

‘‘It’s going to keep people shopping in Invercargill as opposed to them venturing off to Dunedin or Queenstown,’’ he said.

Competition got more people out spending, Fokkens said. He hoped Kmart shoppers would walk ‘‘less than five minutes’’ to also shop at CBD retail stores.

Perhaps the biggest competition Kmart will face will be from The Warehouse, which has been in Invercargill for 30 years.

The Warehouse Invercargill’s store manager, Kelvin Mooney, also said he welcomed competition. ‘‘It keeps us on our toes,’’ he said in a statement.

This weekend The Warehouse will put on a range of pre-Black Friday deals, though Mooney did not say if it was in direct response to the opening of Kmart.

Briscoes managing director

Rod Duke said competition in retail was unavoidable.

‘‘We always like to have no competition. But, being realistic, competition forces us to smarten our game.’’

Briscoes, which has recently completed a $1 million refurbishment of its Invercargill store, was known for its famous brand names, which gave it a point of difference, Duke said.

First Union Southland organiser Ken Young said the opening of the Kmart store was a positive for not only the workers it would attract, but also for customers.

Kmart was one of a number of national chains that had agreed to pay its employees the living wage, he said. The offer means all Kmart workers with 12 months’ experience or more would be paid at least $21.15 an hour from April next year.

Invercargill deputy mayor Toni Biddle said months of hard work had gone into the Kmart store and she couldn’t wait to do her Christmas shopping.