Selected Target Stores Set To Close Down

Bad News for Target Lovers (who isn’t?). A selected number of Target stores are set to close as the business continues to struggle.

News.com.au reports that Target parent company, Wesfarmers, is scaling back its Target business and is planning to cut the number of stores by 20 per cent overall.

The company has not yet singled out which stores will get the cut. Although they did mention that Melbourne’s Highpoint will be downsized.

Guy Russo, Wesfarmers department stores chief executive said the closures would take place over the next five years.

Staff Could Be Re-Allocated

Mr Russo said that the staff members at the closing Target stores could possibly be moved to Kmart or Officeworks, which also falls under the Wesfarmers umbrella. However, he did admit that this isn’t always possible in smaller, regional towns.

“Where it’s a little sadder is when it’s in the country town and there is no other retailer,” he told investors in Sydney.

Kmart Is Thriving

Kmart, however continues to thrive and Wesfarmers are planning to open between eight and 10 new Kmart stores in Australia and New Zealand, as well as consider opportunities overseas.

Kmart managing director Ian Bailey said countries such as Thailand and Indonesia were markets experiencing a significant increase in the middle class seeking more aspirational products.

Wesfarmers new managing director, Rob Scott, said the company would focus on organic growth rather than acquiring new businesses.

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24 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 01 Sep 2022
    10:29 am
Our target closed and was replaced with a kmart. Target is not really that cheap and kmart i a much better option

- - Blossom said
  - 07 Apr 2019
    1:09 pm
Some things have a large difference in price even though they are the same quality, (probably bought from the same company) One example is “waterproof” mattress protectors

- - rovermum said
  - 13 Jun 2018
    9:19 am
I have been so confused by Target stores lately so while I’m sad, I think I understand. I don’t have one in my town so I’ve had to travel to two nearby towns if I want to go to Target. I feel it’s a store you need to walk through and not everything is available online. However, I have been disappointed over the last couple of years and find myself going there less and less, and more to Big W and KMart who are within my local shopping centre.

- - mom67623 said
  - 12 Jun 2018
    2:55 pm
It is very annoying to see Target will not be there for others and me!
Good to have such a great variety and now it will no longer be
We need more shops that compete with Big W
Is there nothing we inexpensive shoppers can do?

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 12 Jun 2018
    12:02 pm
That sucks- I prefer Target over Kmart any day, they may be more expensive but the quality is much more consistent.

- - Ellen said
  - 10 Jun 2018
    3:54 am
Aw sorry to hear, I didn’t even know Target was struggling !

- - Amanda Holland said
  - 09 Jun 2018
    10:29 pm
It will be a huge blow for those towns that are dependant on them

- - mom101628 said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    11:05 pm
I like both Target and K-Mart for different items – do hope my local stores aren’t the ones being targeted.
- mom265671 replied
  
  08 Jun 2018 , 11:35 pm
  Agreed. Grown to love them for different reasons.
- - musicmum said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    10:24 pm
If they did not waste so much money paying celebrities for their advertising campaigns maybe they would be in a better place financially. My closest Target changed a few years ago buy going from a small Target to one 3 times bigger and I don’t see it any busier than the smaller one. I think they did the wrong thing by moving it too, because it is harder to get to now that it is in the back of a shopping center whereas before it was on a street opposite a supermarket and more people would drop in, now they don’t bother going to the new one unless they really want to make the effort. More are using the online Target nowadays too. As for quality of clothes, I do not see any difference they all come from the same overseas manufacturers.

- - cherz said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    9:53 pm
We have only just got a brand new Target store in our refurbished Stockland Centre.

- - mom114371 said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    9:46 am
You can’t even compare target and Kmart. Kmart clothes quality is terrible.

- - mom112217 said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    8:58 am
A shame for the staff working at Target.

- - becstalou said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    8:48 am
We only have a country target but it’s so essential to our town I hope we can keep it.

- - nadine_hill said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    8:16 am
I prefer Target over KMart – I find the quality much better.

- - Newmumma87 said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    4:56 am
Target clothes quality is much better but they’d struggle to complete with how cheap Kmart is!
- mom93821 replied
  
  08 Jun 2018 , 5:48 am
  K Mart is cheap and they have effective campaigns.