WITH people calling for the store to return for years, it is no surprise that the new Kmart retailer is going strong in Bathurst.
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The low-cost department store opened in the Armada shopping centre at the end of October, replacing Target, which is owned by the same company.
Armada's centre manager, Sandy Matthews, said the store has been been a fantastic addition.
"I think it has been a big boost to Bathurst. It has been a big boost to our centre," she said.
While many residents had been campaigning for a Bathurst Kmart, their efforts including a 'Bring Kmart to Bathurst' Facebook page that generated 1000 likes in days, not everyone wanted it.
Ms Matthews said she had heard negative feedback about losing Target to Kmart, but there was nothing that would have changed the plans.
"Unfortunately, people don't understand the financial reasons behind these decisions," she said.
Wesfarmer confirmed in early 2020 that it would be converting 10 to 40 Target stores and 52 Country Target stores in regional areas to Kmart stores.
It also planned to close 10 to 25 large format stores and 50 small format Target Country stores.
Ms Matthews said that Kmart has become a drawcard for Armada and is helping to bring foot traffic to other businesses in the centre.
Big W, in particular, is a beneficiary of the Kmart store, with the two "feeding off each other".
"I think, before, customers were going to Orange for Kmart and if they couldn't get what they wanted, they would go to Big W in Orange, so our Big W may have lost a bit from that," she said.
Kmart, along with two other new retailers, OPSM and Rockwear, are also bringing a more diverse range of customers into the shopping centre.
"They bring their own customers into the centre and demographics as well," Ms Matthews said.
"Kmart has brought in a lot of young families, 18 to 45-year-olds are coming into Rockwear for their sporting goods, and OPSM have their own clients as well, so there are a lot of new faces coming into the centre on a regular basis."
The new retailers are pushing Armada close to 100 per cent occupancy, and there are negotiations under way for a new retailers to potentially open in the new year.
"The centre is probably in the strongest position that it has been in in a long time," Ms Matthews said.
Armada has also seen very good Christmas trade in recent weeks, with Ms Matthews saying that customers started their shopping earlier than usual.
