New Zealand can expect to see four new Kmarts open their doors this year and the new Hamilton hub form 'a great platform for the future”.

That's according to Kmart Australia and New Zealand chief executive John Gualtieri.

Gualtieri​ was speaking to Stuff ahead of the official opening on Thursday of the Ruakura Superhub, home to their new distribution centre which itself will begin operation this time next year.

Gualtieri says he sees a long future for the company, both in Hamilton and New Zealand as a whole.

It's this long-term growth strategy that helped pave the way for their distribution hub shifting from Auckland to Hamilton.

'Kmart New Zealand is a growth business for us.

'We did a review of what's required for our business over the next couple of decades and, as we did that assessment, we realised we needed a facility that would deliver significant growth in volumes over the coming decades.”

That search took them to the Tainui Group Holdings development, which also includes logistics giant Maersk, Big Chill Distribution and the PBT Group amongst its tenants.

Gualtieri says the site ticks boxes for location and rail links, something he says will help the retail giant reduce its carbon emissions.

The relationship with Tainui also proved key.

'With Kmart we've got a sense of community, Tainui also has a sense of community, shared visions, values, so we kind of landed in Hamilton. It's a great place.”

He says the company has experience of working alongside iwi groups and mana whenua already - it opened its first New Zealand outlet in 1988 - but he says he still finds much to enjoy getting to know more about tikanga Māori.

He says the company will open an Ashburton outlet on October 20 this year, and promised at least four new stores this year on top of their existing 25, though he declined to be drawn on specifics such as locations.

'Three or four within the next year you'll see opening up in New Zealand.

'We see continual growth of the New Zealand market.”

He says he isn't fazed about competitors like Ikea and Costco making moves into New Zealand either. In fact, the exact opposite.

'I think competition is very good. It makes you a better retailer, makes you think and be more focused about what we do.

'We've got growth plans for Kmart New Zealand in both the North and South Islands for many, many years to come, so I like competition. It makes Kmart that bit sharper.”

He says their primary role is: 'Make everyday life brighter for our customers”.

He thinks that philosophy has struck a chord in New Zealand too, especially when asked about the reaction to their stores.

He may have another reason for his confidence in the face of potential competition too.

When Kmart's Rotorua outlet opened in 2018, for example, people began queueing 12 hours ahead of its opening time.

Asked for a view on that type of reaction it's the only time Gualtieri, as polished as you would expect a corporate leader to be, pauses to consider his answer.

'I've never seen lines at Kmart in Australia like I've seen in New Zealand.

'When we open up stores in New Zealand the whole community come out in force. They are amazing.”

He says they never offer opening day discounts either, so it isn't the scramble for a bargain that drives this devotion.

'It tells you Kmart is a recognised brand in New Zealand, a wanted brand.”

He believes the pricing structure, especially in these inflationary times, would help secure Kmart's place in New Zealand.

'Cents make a difference [now], and we do everything we can to hold our prices.”

He says they are still seeing some supply chain issues from the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly due to ongoing lockdowns in China, but that their contingency plans have put them in a better position than the last 12 to 18 months.

Customers can still enter an outlet and 'find what they're looking for”, he says.

Unsurprisingly, Gualtieri isn't the only one waxing lyrical about the potential for the Raukura Superhub.

'Ruakura Superhub is a super-sized project that will continue to create the sustainable economic benefits that go towards funding important social development, cultural, and environmental programmes for current and future generations of Waikato-Tainui,” says Tainui Group Holdings chair Hinerangi Raumati-Tu'ua.​

She says the development will extend benefits to Hamilton, the wider region and country.

'Commerce, jobs, efficiencies, homes, and environmental gains will all come from – in fact are already coming from – Ruakura Superhub.”

-Benn Bathgate/Stuff.