Kmart fans line up from 3am for new Ashburton store

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

From reporter Kristie Boland:

Natasha Grant’s daughter wanted to start queueing for the opening Kmart’s new Ashburton store at midnight, but they compromised and turned up at 3am instead.

They weren’t the only eager customers already lining up at that time for the district’s first Kmart store.

“We saw one car here and thought, ‘oh cool, we're not the only ones’,” Grant said.

The doors of the new 3650m2 store officially opened at 8am on Thursday, with a long line of keen shoppers ready to snap up some new items.


The first customers were welcomed with applause by staff while Ashburton College and Tinwald School students sang waiata at the front entrance.

“It’s just the excitement of having something new in the town,” Grant said.

She stocked up on candles and said she looked forward to bringing her grandchildren back for some Christmas shopping, at a more reasonable hour.

Tinwald School student Nellie Clay, 8, had some shopping to do after her performance. She had just one thing on her list: a dragon costume.

She found what she was looking for straight away.

“It's well stocked and there's a good variety of things,” mum Kirsty Clay said.

Seventeen-year-old Darnell Lima said she normally ventured north to Christchurch for her shopping, but on Thursday she was on a clothes and makeup buying spree in her hometown.

Store manager Kim Spooner said she the new store had been “a long time coming”. Having worked in both the Riccarton and Papanui stores in Christchurch, she was ready to start her new role in the Ashburton store.

“There's just pure excitement. It's going to be great for Ashburton,” she said.

The store had about 88 staff, with more roles to be filled in the coming weeks. Spooner estimated about 200 people had applied for roles.

“The store gives people better access to affordable prices, and it's just in time for Christmas.”