During his weekly livestream today, Mayor Max confirmed he recently reached out to Kmart to gauge interest in expanding into New Plymouth, with the retailer indicating that a move to the region remains on the table.
"They have expressed a desire to consider New Plymouth still – it hasn’t gone away," Brough said during the stream.
He described the development as "official unofficial news" but cautioned residents that any concrete plans would take time to materialise due to standard retail challenges.
"There are some normal commercial constraints around size, returns, investments – but they have indicated a desire to come here," Brough said.
Seeking to progress the talks, he extended an invitation to the company for local assistance.
"I have made an overture to ask if Council can help them in some way, to please reach out to me," he said. "So we’ll now just wait on Kmart to make their own commercial decisions – which it won’t happen overnight by the way."
Securing a suitable location for the major department store could be a key hurdle for the project. Brough noted that while a central city location would be ideal for local shoppers, obtaining an adequate footprint in the CBD presents difficulties.
"I think it’d be great if they could come into the centre of town – but it’s really problematic I think with getting the space," Brough said.
Local retail data is currently being reviewed by Kmart before the company decides whether to progress with a store in the district.
"They’ve got some information I think they’re working through, and when they’re ready to take it to the next step they’ll come forward with that," Brough said.
Taranaki shoppers have frequently lobbied for a local branch, often travelling out of the region to Palmerston North or the Waikato to visit a Kmart. Questions on the topic are raised almost every week during the “Ask Mayor Max” livestream.
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If Kmart were to come to New Plymouth, where do you think the best location would be? Within the CBD, out near The Valley, or somewhere else entirely?
