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Chris Wilkinson: First Retail Group managing director on New Zealand’s largest Kmart opening today · Best of Business

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: You're listening to a podcast from Newstalk ZB.
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio. Now,
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: New Zealand's biggest Kmart has opened its doors today. This
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  Speaker 2: is the first Kmart as well in the country with
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  Speaker 2: the new design layout from the start. The big change
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: is that your checkout will no longer be in the
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  Speaker 2: middle of the store, but instead closer to the entrance.
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: Chris Wilkinson is with First Retail Group and with us now. Hi, Chris.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Hey, how are you doing?
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  Speaker 2: I'm very well, thank you. I keep getting told that
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  Speaker 2: you're fizzing for this. Are you?
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  Speaker 1: I'm good. Yes, I'm fizzing. Absolutely. I love Kmart.
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  Speaker 2: Why do you love Kmart, Chris?
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  Speaker 1: Oh, look, I think Kmart's phenomenal. It's great to see
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  Speaker 1: really just how they've captured consumers' imagination, how well they've
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  Speaker 1: done on the world stage in a very tough market. Look,
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  Speaker 1: it's not my favourite store, but I just love what
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: they're doing and how they are innovating.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I tell you what, I buy a lot
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  Speaker 2: of Kmart stuff online for the kids. It's a really
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  Speaker 2: easy-to-use system. They are doing well. Now, talk to me
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  Speaker 2: about the layout. Does it not make absolute sense to
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  Speaker 2: put the checkouts at the front rather than the middle?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it does. Around 10 years ago, they evolved to
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  Speaker 1: that format where they dragged the checkouts to the middle.
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  Speaker 1: It worked well at the time, but retail has evolved
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  Speaker 1: since significantly.
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  Speaker 2: Why did it work well?
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  Speaker 1: It drew people further through into the store. So what
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  Speaker 1: would happen is that people would make those sort of
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  Speaker 1: point-to-point destinations before, but this encouraged them to dwell longer,
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  Speaker 1: and that dwell time is a key aspect for retail.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Getting people to spend longer and engage with the product
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  Speaker 1: in the store is really very, very important.
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  Speaker 2: Is having the checkouts in the middle, though, not basically...
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  Speaker 2: opening up the chance that somebody buys a whole bunch
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: of stuff and then on their way out they're passing
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  Speaker 2: some T-shirts and they get a little five-finger discount.
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  Speaker 1: That's exactly what's happening. And, you know, in the last
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  Speaker 1: 10 years since that shift happened, we've seen quite a
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  Speaker 1: significant change in retail theft, but also antisocial behaviour that's
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  Speaker 1: happening in retail, which we never used to see on
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  Speaker 1: the level we're seeing now.
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  Speaker 2: Now, they are moving the beauty stuff to the front
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  Speaker 2: of the store. Does that suggest that it's a big
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  Speaker 2: selling item for them?
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  Speaker 1: Beauty is a key category item for many retailers because
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  Speaker 1: it's the kind of product you go back to every month.
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  Speaker 1: You don't necessarily need to go and buy a new
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  Speaker 1: shirt or new cups or saucers every month, but beauty
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  Speaker 1: is one of those things that has that regular and
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  Speaker 1: habitual draw, which is why so many retailers want to
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  Speaker 1: be part of it.
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  Speaker 2: Now, what do you make of the placement in Westgate?
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  Speaker 2: Is this going to draw people away from Sylvia Park?
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  Speaker 1: No, I don't think so. The reality is Sylvia Park
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  Speaker 1: has its own draw. It's got a lot of very
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  Speaker 1: unique retailers that are there. At the end of the day,
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  Speaker 1: the Kmart product is the Kmart product. It's the same
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  Speaker 1: whether you're buying it in Ashburton or you're buying it
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  Speaker 1: in Sylvia Park or Westgate. Interesting.
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  Speaker 2: Hey, thank you very much, Chris. I really appreciate your
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: time and enjoy visiting the Kmart when you get around
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  Speaker 2: to it. That's Chris Wilkinson, First Retail Group Managing Director.