The big problem facing Kmart and Target
<p>There is no doubt Aussies are massive fans of the retailer Kmart, however new figures have revealed a major challenge on the horizon for the store.</p>
<p>Parent company Wesfarmers recently announced full-year earnings for its Kmart Group, which accounts for both Target and Kmart.</p>
<p>The figures revealed a likely drop of $103 million for the chains.</p>
<p>The jaw-dropping loss comes as a result of declining sales at the hand of Target, and lacklustre performance from the once star performer Kmart.</p>
<p>The department stores’ full-year earnings are now expected to reach between $515 million and $565 million – a 17 per cent decrease on last year’s hearty $618 million.</p>
<p>Between January and May, Target’s sales dropped by 2.3 per cent, all the while Kmart’s like-for-like sales grew by a mere 0.2 per cent.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
<p dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Wesfarmers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Wesfarmers</a> says sales at both its <a href="https://twitter.com/Kmart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Kmart</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Target?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Target</a> ops are going <br /><br />backwards ... <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24WES&src=ctag&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$WES</a> <a href="https://t.co/2gu0EUqLxf">pic.twitter.com/2gu0EUqLxf</a></p>
— Will Willitts (@WillWillAFR) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillWillAFR/status/1138927311560986624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 12, 2019</a></blockquote>
<p>The full year’s earning results will not be revealed until late August, however Wesfarmers has said in a statement that Target’s current offer “requires ongoing repositioning".</p>
<p>Managing director Rob Scott said he is still hopeful in light of the bleak result.</p>
<p>“Kmart will continue to invest in its customer offer and price leadership strategy that has delivered strong returns over the long term,” he said in a press release.</p>
